4 Ways to Prevent Tracheitis

1. Wash Your Hands

The bacteria that cause tracheitis can be spread through skin-to-skin contact with an infected person, so it's essential to observe proper hand-washing hygiene at all times. Wash your hands regularly if you're in contact with other people, and always scrub before eating and after you use the washroom.

Because tracheitis primarily affects young children, you should also ensure that your kids have clean hands at all times. Monitor your children's hand washing, making sure they lather properly and thoroughly, cleaning all surface areas and hard-to-reach places beneath the fingernails.

2. Observe Proper Wound Care

It may seem counterintuitive to prevent a throat infection by keeping wounds clean and covered, but the microbes that trigger tracheitis can spread through contact with infected cuts and scrapes. If you have to clean your child's wounds, wear protective latex gloves and use antibiotic ointments to keep cuts sterile.

If you have flesh wounds, you should keep them covered with clean bandages and flush them out on a daily basis with peroxide. Tracheitis can also affect adults, particularly those with weakened immune systems or individuals who are particularly prone to infection.

3. Don't Share Personal Products

Avoid sharing personal items and products, such as towels and toothbrushes. A good rule of thumb is this: if it touches your skin, make sure it's yours and yours alone. Also, bear in mind that bacteria can survive on these surfaces for several hours and can still infect you if they manage to enter your body.

4. Avoid Unnecessary Contact With Sick Individuals

The bacteria that cause this potentially serious throat infection can spread in a variety of ways. Not only should skin-to-skin contact be avoided, but you should also take steps to prevent the transmission of the bacteria by avoiding unnecessary physical contact of any kind with a person who has or might have tracheitis. This includes kissing in particular, but contact with any of the sick person's bodily fluids, including saliva and mucus, can be dangerous. Thus, take care to dispose of used tissues with extra caution.

Last updated on: Nov 18, 2009

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