Aaaaaagggghh!

Specialties Emergency

Published

Now that I've got that out of my system........four days ago I helped care for a Oaxacan woman who had been diagnosed with strep several days before and was getting sicker, so her husband brought her to the ER. She was weak and needed help to get out of the car and on the gurney. Turns out she was in major DKA and was almost shocky. All four of us had some contact with her in the ER. She was admitted to the ICU and is still there. This morning I got a visit from Employee Health.....the patient was found to have a severe case of head lice last night. After spending the day itching (psycosomatic, I'm sure) I went to Occ Med and was given a bottle of Nix. Great. No, I don't have lice but gotta be preventive. Husband is not happy about this. Neither are my kids (their feelings were made known as I passed the bottle of Nix around tonight).

Eeewwww!

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Yep, know just what you mean. When I worked overseas in pediatrics, seemed ~25% of the kiddos had lice.

So, you have my sympathy. To put a positive spin on it, it could have been worse - it could have been scabies. Ewwwww! indeed.

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oaxacan woman

????????

carotid

supplying oxygen-rich blood

to billions of brains globally

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Oaxaca (Wha-HA-ca) is a state in Mexico. The Oaxacans are one of the indigenous Mexican Indian groups. Speak a different language than Spanish, much like China has different dialects. The boys go to school and learn Spanish, the girls are kept at home.

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I live overseas (in Germany) and we have a rampant lice population....this school year we have been without the little critters but last school year....my daughter had it 5! times- the whole kindergarten was absolutely infested- really horrible and irritating, but thankfully not dangerous and I never had such a clean house or sheets as I did last year....:chuckle

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There seems to be regular break outs in our local school (luckily my kids have only had it twice each in 7 school years) down under. My 12yr olds male teacher was telling me that he had seen them in one of the students and started scratching as he was telling me, so for part of his christmas present (as a bit of a joke) my son gave him a nit comb, he appreciated it.

Just as an aside, but when I went to school I never had lice/nits, and my theory is all those years ago my mother use to have us wash our hair with soap. I think the soap scum left a film on the hair and the little bu**ers couldn't attach - well that's my theory!!

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*shudder* I found out after I posted this thread that the doc found a dead cockroach in the pt's ear when checking her ears out. And all the days she was in house, she vehemently refused to take a bath. Oaxacans believe that bathing removes any protection on the skin.

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Ha! This is just ironic. I was just coming here to talk about my itching, which I'm sure is psychosomatic too! I had a patient today (only for about 5 minutes because another nurse panicked and ran him to resus!), he had scabies (not his presenting complaint) and really, I've not stopped scratching since. I've even grabbed some piriton from work in the hope it would stop me scratching, lol.

Lets hope it's gone by the morning, otherwise I'll just drive my coworkers crazy all tomorrow ;)

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"I've not stopped scratching since"

What is it about the words that can bring on a sudden, maddening itch??? The IF nurse was literally still in the middle of her sentence when all of us started scratching our heads!!

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Itch Itch Scratch Scratch!!

schoona i never had lice while in school either, but my daughters who both had hair to their waists got them...what a lovely time that was! I know it's not a proven preventitive....but after the first time of the nit pic threw their hair I started rinsing their hair with diluted white vineagar. Never had a problem after that!! (I also use vineagar sprayed on bandana's in the summer to keep black flies away while I'm gardening-works great!!) Seems like lice is such a common thing now days....the school nurse told me it was really no big deal when I called her just slightly flipping out. Maybe its that attitude, maybe its the cost of treating, maybe its the work involved in treating the whole house that has made it 'no big deal'. But when I was a kid....ya didn't wanna be the one with cooties!!

Itch Itch Scratch Scratch!!

As far as scabies go....facility I work at had a major outbreak...and guess who did manage to get those...and bring them home to share with the whole family.!! Husband was livid! It was almost the end of my working there. (10+ years and never brought any thing home!! except a pen or two :) ) At that time I was working as a CNA (LTC) and there is just no way that I can think of to not have skin to skin contact (arm under the shoulders for turning, etc.)

Itch Scratch :)

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I'm itching just reading this!!!! scratch scratch:p

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Specializes in NICU.
I'm itching just reading this!!!! scratch scratch:p

Yeah, my ears started tingling after that cockroach post. Ewwwwwwww.

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