Helping Prevent Surgical Site Infections

A surgical site infection is an infection in the part of the body where a surgery took place. Surgical site infections can cause redness or pain at the surgery site, drainage from the incision and fever.

To prevent surgical site infections your child’s doctors and nurses will:

• Clean their hands and arms up to their elbows right before surgery.
• Remove your child’s hair with electric clippers, if there is hair at the surgical site that needs to be removed. They will not shave your child with a razor. Shaving with a razor can irritate the skin and make it easier to get an infection.
• Wear masks, gowns, hair covers and gloves during the surgery.
• Give your child antibiotics, for some procedures, before the surgery starts. These will usually be stopped within 48 hours after surgery.
• Clean your child’s skin at the surgery site with antiseptic soap (a type of soap that kills germs). This is done in the Operating Room before surgery.
• While in the hospital after surgery, your child may receive daily baths with antiseptic wipes (a type of wipe that kills germs).

• Wash any clothes, blankets or stuffed animals that your child will use after surgery with laundry detergent on a hot water setting.
• If asked to by the nurse or doctor, bathe your child with antiseptic soap before the surgery.
• Do not shave near the surgical site with a razor before the surgery.
• Ask if your child will get antibiotics before surgery.
• If you do not see your child’s doctors or nurses clean their hands before and after caring for your child, remind them to do so.
• Trim your child’s nails short to reduce germs that can live under nails.

• If you do not see your child’s doctors or nurses clean their hands before and after caring for your child, remind them to do so.
• Family and friends who visit you should not touch the wound or dressing.
• Your child’s doctor or nurse will explain everything you need to know about taking care of your child’s wound. Be sure you feel comfortable caring for your child’s wound before leaving the hospital.
• Clean your hands and your child’s hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer gel as you enter and leave your child’s hospital room.
• Clean your hands before caring for your child’s wound. Washing your hands is a very important part of preventing infection. Don’t underestimate the power of hand washing! To learn more and watch a video, visit kidshealth.org/en/parents/hand-washing.html.
• It is best to keep your nails short with no added nail polish or decoration if caring for your child’s surgical site. Germs can hide easily under nails. Regular (enamel) fingernail polish, if worn, should be intact and chip-free. In particular, avoid artificial nails (acrylic, silk wrap, gels, overlays, extenders, tips or dipped nails) because germs can live under them even after handwashing. If you do have artificial nails, wearing gloves after washing your hands may lessen the risk of infection.
• Prevent your child from itching or touching their incision.
• For the first 2 weeks after surgery, make sure to change your child's clothes every day. It is also a good idea to change their sheets everyday if possible, and if they get anything on them. Only allow clothes and blankets that have been freshly washed around the incision.
• Make sure you know who to call if you have questions or problems when you get home.
• Watch for signs and symptoms of infection. Call your child’s doctor right away if they have pain at the surgery site, redness, swelling, drainage or fever.