The elderly population is more likely to contract skin infections than the younger generations, including infections that can lead to deadly sepsis. Nursing home staff have a duty to prevent infections, halt outbreaks, recognize the early signs of infection, and provide prompt medical care for skin infections. Studies indicate that 80% of skin infections in nursing home residents were contracted inside the facility . Skin infections were present in nearly five percent of nursing home residents included in the study.
Why Are the Elderly More Susceptible to Skin Infections?
As we age, the skin experiences changes that leave it more susceptible to infections. As skin cell quality deteriorates, the skin’s surface becomes more permeable and open to infection. Aging skin becomes weakened, drier, and more itchy, allowing the entry of infectious bacteria. When an elderly person becomes less mobile or confined to a wheelchair or bed, they become vulnerable to bedsores caused by unrelieved pressure on the skin’s pressure points. When not promptly recognized and treated, bedsores—or pressure sores—become ulcerated and open, allowing entry to dangerous bacteria. Infected bedsores are a leading cause of deadly sepsis in nursing home residents.
Elderly citizens often have compromised immune systems and medical conditions that leave them more vulnerable to infections at the same time that their skin’s barrier weakens and allows entry points for bacteria. When living in a group home environment with caregivers moving from room to room, infectious bacteria often spread from resident to resident, making skin infections more prevalent in nursing homes and elder-care facilities compared to the general population.
What Types of Skin Infections Are Common In Nursing Home Residents?
Bedridden status, compromised immune systems and group home living all support the growth and spread of dangerous bacteria in nursing homes. Many residents have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes and vascular diseases that lead to difficulty healing when they develop a wound, increasing the risk of infection. Common skin infections in nursing home residents include:
- Cellulitis
- MRSA
- Impetigo
- Necrotizing fasciitis
- Erysipelas
- Intertrigo
- Scabies
- Tenia Versicolor
- Herpes Zoster
- Herpes Simplex
Fungal skin infections are also common in nursing homes. Skin infections may work their way through an elderly person’s weakened or broken skin barrier and into the muscle and bone below before spreading to the blood. Infection in the bloodstream leads to sepsis. Sepsis is a deadly complication of infection caused by the cytokine storm of inflammation which leads to tissue death and damaged organ systems.
How Can Nursing Homes Prevent Skin Infections?
All nursing homes have protocols in place to prevent transmitting infections from one patient to another and to promptly recognize and treat infections. Unfortunately, chronic understaffing, high staff turnover rates, inadequate training, and poorly supervised staff commonly contribute to the high numbers of skin infections in nursing homes. Preventative measures should include:
- Frequent caregiver handwashing and the use of gloves to avoid spreading bacteria between residents
- Ensuring all nursing home residents have adequate hygiene care, apply moisturizing lotions to support skin integrity, and remain clean and dry
- Recognizing the early stages of skin infection and promptly treating the condition appropriately with topical care, wound care, and antibiotics
Catheter use, incontinence, bedridden residents with infected pressure ulcers, vascular ulcers, and diabetic wound infections are chronic problems leading to skin infection in nursing homes, despite preventative protocols. A study of 53 nursing homes and over 4,000 residents found that patient evaluations for skin infections were not uniformly established across facilities. The study also revealed that less than 25% of residents with the four most common infections in nursing homes received adequate evaluations meeting the medical community’s established diagnostic criteria.
How Can A Nursing Home Abuse Attorney Help?
If you or a loved one suffered serious complications from a skin infection in a nursing home, it’s important to know your rights. Every nursing home resident has a right to expect skilled medical care, prompt attention to adverse health conditions like skin infections, and compassionate care to support their human dignity. When a nursing home administration and staff fail to prevent or properly diagnose and treat a skin infection, and the result is a worsened medical condition, decline in quality of life, or wrongful death, there are legal options to hold the nursing home financially accountable. Call the Phoenix nursing home abuse attorney at Knapp & Roberts today so we can take swift action to achieve justice in your case.