Bed Bugs

Nurses Safety

Published

I have a question, and no one can seem to answer it, or even give me an answer. First off, I'm not technally a nurse, I am a CNA. I work in the Home Health Care Field, and I do love my job. my problem is that my client has bed bugs, and the home office really doesnt seem to care. I terrified for my client and myself. I want to refuse to go back until the issue is resolved, but I know that they will fire me for doing so. I know that there are laws to protect workers from this sort of thing, but I am at a total loss as to what I am to do. If I somehow bring one of these things home with, Ill be living on the street. Please help. Thank you.

Specializes in pediatric and geriatric.

bedbugs will bite you while your awake. I know this first hand because I was working the night shift and always had these clusters of itchy red bumps, well one night I was just sitting watching tv and happened to look down and see this bug crawling up my pantleg of course I flung that thing sky high, but then I decided to to collect it in a ziploc bag, went home did internet search and learned it was a bedbug. Then I worried about diseases from the bites and learned they are not known to carry disease, but I still wonder sometimes. For a long time I was paranoid of every bug I saw in my house and always checking my sheets. Over it now, but seems they keep popping up in the news.

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

Maybe they just come out at night and can't really tell if you're awake or not? But anyway :barf01: just thinking about them grooming themselves with a waxy substance and injecting their saliva into my skin with their elongated mouthparts and then proceed to feed on my blood for 10 minutes (average "blood-meal"time) makes me want to pretty much call bugkiller 911. :barf01: And yeah they are very hard to get rid of - the sooner the better! My friend in Colorado took like 6 months to get rid of them!

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Specializes in Neuro Critical Care.

If you put your clothes in the dryer on high for 30 minutes you will kill the bed bugs from clothing and linen. I would do this automatically for your own safety, especially working in home health. Bed bugs is a huge problem for my city and the hospitals and this is how our infection control guru told us to get rid of them if we are exposed.

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I read of some company using huge heater fans to heat up the inside of the building so the bugs died. Worked very well.

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Specializes in LTC, Memory loss, PDN.

How do you know it's bed bugs? If you're sure, run. You cannot single handedly help this client, but you can prevent the spread. I think someone already said it, report it to the health department and find another employer.

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I'm really worry bed bugs. I had a patient yesterday and he currently has bed bugs. I actually saw a bug was crawling on his arm. It was freaking me up. I got rid of my uniform and took a shower before leave from work. Should I worry bring a bug home? I just have a baby girl and really worry

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