Question

Critical Thinking

1. Is the everyday use of antibacterial soap a good idea, given that most microorganisms residing on the human body are harmless?

2. It is a busy day at the doctor’s office, and the medical assistant has been struggling for more than 10 minutes to convince a 6-year-old child to open his mouth and allow the medical assistant to collect a throat culture specimen. The child is becoming enraged and refuses to open his mouth, and his mother appears helpless to get him to follow instructions. After refocusing the child’s attention on his school and activities, which calms him down, the medical assistant is finally able to persuade him to open his mouth slightly. But just as she is about to swab his mouth, the child swipes her hand away and starts to become upset again. The swab has touched the inside of the child’s mouth. Does the medical assistant continue with the collection procedure or begin the process again?

Answer 1

1.Is the everyday use of antibacterial soap a good idea, given that most microorganisms residing on the human body are harmless?

For destroying disease-causing germs, antibacterial soaps are no more effective than normal soap and water. Standard soap appears to be less costly than soap and hand sanitizers that are antibacterial. On the skin's surface, daily soap won't kill good bacteria.

2.It is a busy day at the doctor’s office, and the medical assistant has been struggling for more than 10 minutes to convince a 6-year-old child to open his mouth and allow the medical assistant to collect a throat culture specimen. The child is becoming enraged and refuses to open his mouth, and his mother appears helpless to get him to follow instructions. After refocusing the child’s attention on his school and activities, which calms him down, the medical assistant is finally able to persuade him to open his mouth slightly. But just as she is about to swab his mouth, the child swipes her hand away and starts to become upset again. The swab has touched the inside of the child’s mouth. Does the medical assistant continue with the collection procedure or begin the process again?

As the necessity is for a specimen of the throat culture, the medical assistant should immediately terminate the medical procedure and use a fresh sterile cotton swab as the swab is infected with the mouth flora. This is achieved because in different areas of the body, the flora is different. Because of pH variations and sensitivity to the environment, the flora present in the mouth varies from those present in the throat. The aim of a culture of throat swab is to detect the presence of organisms that cause infection in throat.