Study shows a coat for you nose may prevent disease during surgery

A University of Iowa study finds coating the inside of a surgery patient’s nose with a special ointment may help keep them from getting sicker. Our noses are full of all sorts of bacteria which, in about a quarter of Americans, can cause serious infections and even death after a patient goes under the knife. The study’s lead author, Dr. Trish Perl, says the infections are -not- being caused by the air in the hospital, but by a patient’s own body.Dr. Perl, a professor of medicine, says the ointment is placed deep in the nostrils, or nares, to eliminate most types of bacteria and prevent them from becoming a problem.The antibiotic ointment is called Mupirocin (myoo-PIE’-roh-sin). With a thin coating inside the nose before surgery, Dr. Perl says it can wipe out all sorts of infections, before they threaten a patient’s health.