Always follow the advice of your care team.
Precautions Inside Your Home
Follow these guidelines for 100 days after your stem cell infusion (Day 0) unless noted or directed otherwise by your care team. Speak with your care team about any specific questions you have.
Visitors
Home Cleaning
Guidelines for cleaning your home after transplant are below. You should not do this cleaning yourself, since it may expose you to germs or fungus. Your caregiver should help with the cleaning tasks or help find someone who can provide support.
If you stay at a short-term housing location contracted with Dana-Farber, housekeeping staff should not enter your room for daily cleaning. Make arrangements with the facility to discard/pick up linens and to borrow a vacuum cleaner for periodic cleaning. It is a good idea to have Lysol wipes available for spot cleaning counters and other surfaces as needed.
Daily cleaning
Tip! Keep disinfectant wipes in the bathroom to make daily cleaning easy for your caregiver.
Weekly cleaning
Laundry
Plants
Cleaning Reminders:
Pet Care
While pets can be a great source of comfort and companionship during recovery from transplant, they can also put you at risk of infection due to your reduced immunity.
General Pet Care Guidelines
Pet-related exposures
If your pet gets sick and develops diarrhea, have it seen by a veterinarian. Ask the veterinarian to examine your pet’s fecal sample for cryptosporidium, salmonella, and campylobacter. These can cause bacterial disease which can be harmful to immune-compromised patients. Contact your care team if any of these sample results are positive.
Cats
Cat ownership can bring risks to stem cell transplant patients, due to the potential for exposure to toxoplasmosis (if the cat goes outdoors), cat-scratch fever, and intestinal infections. Unless cats are always kept indoors, it is preferable to board or temporarily rehome them for one year after a stem cell transplant.
Litter boxes:
Scratches and bites:
Dogs
Birds: We recommend that you do not have birds as pets after a stem cell transplant. This increases your exposure to bacteria and fungi (from the droppings in their cages, etc.) and puts you at high risk of infection.
Reptiles: Avoid contact with reptiles (e.g., snakes, lizards, iguanas, and turtles) to reduce the risk of salmonellosis.
Tropical fish: Wear gloves when cleaning tropical fish aquariums to reduce the risk of infection with Mycobacterium marinum. Someone else should clean these aquariums.
Exotic pets: Avoid contact with exotic pets (e.g., monkeys or other primates).
Ferrets: Avoid ferrets because they can contract and transmit influenza.
Barns and barnyard animals: Avoid direct contact with livestock. Do not enter barns, corrals, pens, coops, and other areas where animals are kept. These areas are contaminated with manure and nearly impossible to keep completely clean.
Discuss any concerns or specific pet care questions with your care team.
Please refer to the comprehensive guide - Stem Cell Transplantation: An Information Guide for Patients and Caregivers - for more information.
Visitors
- Limit the number of visitors to your home to reduce your risk for infection.
- Avoid close contact with anyone who is not feeling well or who has a respiratory illness.
- Speak with your care team for guidelines specifically for you.
- Your care team will advise you when it is safe to have regular visitors into your home.
Home Cleaning
Guidelines for cleaning your home after transplant are below. You should not do this cleaning yourself, since it may expose you to germs or fungus. Your caregiver should help with the cleaning tasks or help find someone who can provide support.
If you stay at a short-term housing location contracted with Dana-Farber, housekeeping staff should not enter your room for daily cleaning. Make arrangements with the facility to discard/pick up linens and to borrow a vacuum cleaner for periodic cleaning. It is a good idea to have Lysol wipes available for spot cleaning counters and other surfaces as needed.
Daily cleaning
- Clean the shower stall, bathtub, toilet, and sink each day for the first month after your transplant to prevent the growth of bacteria (mold and mildew), fungi, and viruses.
Tip! Keep disinfectant wipes in the bathroom to make daily cleaning easy for your caregiver.
Weekly cleaning
- Vacuum all rooms.
- Dust all rooms.
- Do a thorough cleaning of bathroom(s) and kitchen.
Laundry
- Use the warm water cycle.
- Wash all new clothes before you wear them.
- Always use the same detergent. This will help reduce skin rashes, a common problem during and after transplant.
- If there is a baby in the house using cloth diapers, wash diapers separately from all other laundry. You should not handle dirty diapers.
- If using a laundromat or central laundry area, wipe the drum with disinfectant wipes (Lysol or other) and make sure there is no visible mildew prior to using.
Plants
- Remove plants (live and fake) from the rooms you will be using.
- Do not handle or re-pot any plants in the house.
- Silk or dried flower arrangements should not have dried mosses as a base.
- Dust silk or dried flower arrangements regularly.
Cleaning Reminders:
- You should not be doing the cleaning.
- You should not be in a room when it is being cleaned.
- Wait at least 30 minutes before entering a room that has just been cleaned to allow dust and strong smells to settle.
- Focus on the rooms you will be using.
- Do not go into areas that are likely to be damp (like the cellar, attic, and/or garage) and have increased mold (fungus or bacteria).
- If your basement is well-ventilated and has been “finished,” you may spend time in it.
- Avoid contact with all chemicals, including paints, aerosols, cleaning fluids, paint thinners, strippers, solvents, etc.; they can cause nausea and trouble breathing.
Pet Care
While pets can be a great source of comfort and companionship during recovery from transplant, they can also put you at risk of infection due to your reduced immunity.
General Pet Care Guidelines
- Wash your hands thoroughly after handling or petting your pet.
- Do not pick up pet feces or litter boxes. Someone else should do this for you.
- Do not allow animals on your bed.
- Keep pets up-to-date on all vaccinations.
- Stay away from animals with diarrhea, rashes, mange, hair loss, or fungal infections.
- Call your care team if you are scratched or bitten by any pet or animal.
- Follow the guidelines outlined by your care team.
Pet-related exposures
If your pet gets sick and develops diarrhea, have it seen by a veterinarian. Ask the veterinarian to examine your pet’s fecal sample for cryptosporidium, salmonella, and campylobacter. These can cause bacterial disease which can be harmful to immune-compromised patients. Contact your care team if any of these sample results are positive.
Cats
Cat ownership can bring risks to stem cell transplant patients, due to the potential for exposure to toxoplasmosis (if the cat goes outdoors), cat-scratch fever, and intestinal infections. Unless cats are always kept indoors, it is preferable to board or temporarily rehome them for one year after a stem cell transplant.
- To reduce the risk of toxoplasmosis (a common infection in cats that can transfer to humans), always keep cats indoors and do not feed cats raw or undercooked meat.
- To reduce the risk of Bartonella infection, maintain flea control.
- Testing cats for toxoplasmosis or Bartonella infection is not recommended.
Litter boxes:
- Litter boxes should be cleaned daily by your caregiver or other member of your household.
- Do not change the cat litter yourself.
- Keep litter boxes in rooms that you do not use.
Scratches and bites:
- Avoid activities that may result in cat scratches or bites.
- If you are scratched or bitten:
- Wash the area right away.
- Do not allow cats to lick your cut or wound.
- Contact your care team immediately.
Dogs
- Avoid contact with dog urine or feces. Someone else should pick up your dog’s feces.
- Dogs should not sleep in your bed.
- Avoid close contact, especially near your face.
- Do not allow dogs to lick your face or wounds.
- Groom your dog regularly.
- Wash your hands thoroughly after handling your dog.
- Avoid activities that may result in scratches or bites. If you are scratched or bitten:
- Wash the area right away.
- Do not allow cats to lick your cut or wound.
- Contact your care team immediately.
Birds: We recommend that you do not have birds as pets after a stem cell transplant. This increases your exposure to bacteria and fungi (from the droppings in their cages, etc.) and puts you at high risk of infection.
Reptiles: Avoid contact with reptiles (e.g., snakes, lizards, iguanas, and turtles) to reduce the risk of salmonellosis.
Tropical fish: Wear gloves when cleaning tropical fish aquariums to reduce the risk of infection with Mycobacterium marinum. Someone else should clean these aquariums.
Exotic pets: Avoid contact with exotic pets (e.g., monkeys or other primates).
Ferrets: Avoid ferrets because they can contract and transmit influenza.
Barns and barnyard animals: Avoid direct contact with livestock. Do not enter barns, corrals, pens, coops, and other areas where animals are kept. These areas are contaminated with manure and nearly impossible to keep completely clean.
Discuss any concerns or specific pet care questions with your care team.
Please refer to the comprehensive guide - Stem Cell Transplantation: An Information Guide for Patients and Caregivers - for more information.