Did you contract anything from a patient?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Silly question but I am just curious. I have never directly seen or heard of any healthcare workers I know contracting anything from a patient at work, and I am in frequent contact and air borne isolation. Obviously it happens, like the ebola RN I remember reading about, but have you ever seen anything in your facility?

Speaking of contracting things- I just came across this:

For the next time you have ebola...

Quantum Ems Isolation/Containment Chamber, 8

Our rooms are all private, so they don't get special treatment -- just staff that hates going into their room dressed in garbage bags!

We had private rooms too. I always thought that some people thought it made them special. Like I'm sicker than you are.

Specializes in ICU, LTACH, Internal Medicine.

Just today. RSV pneumonia and waiting for legionella and bunch of other stuff :cry: No idea where else I could get it except from ER.

I got C-Diff. I was always careful to wear PPE and wash my hands, but I probably incubated C-Diff. So many are not diagnosed right away and as we know alcohol based sanitizer doesn't do the trick. I have MS and my immune system was suppressed from medications. I was off work for 6 weeks. Absolutely miserable.

A co-worker got c-dif, and another has had meningitis 3 times (although catching it so many times sounds rare). A former respiratory therapists told me he had positive TB tests that he likely caught from a patient. For the most part I feel safe and like I have a strong immune system. But I have admitted patients with all 3 of the above conditions before they got put on precautions. Just wash your hands often and wear gloves. Stay out of their face especially if they are coughing. Most people I know have never caught anything from their patients including me.

Specializes in Neuro/surg.

My mother contracted Hep C from a needlestick from a dialysis patient and has a converted PPD. I just got over a likely case of pertussis contracted from who knows where?? We had no cases of pertussis on my unit... I worked with TB, HIV, and leprosy patients over the summer in East Africa and didn't end up with anything, even without any PPE since that's just not a thing there.

+ Add a Comment