Drowning in flu - hang in there, folks!

Vailgang · Dec 5, 2003

I don't work family practice so don't have patients with the flu but I got it myself and it was H***. I haven't been that sick in probably 7 years. I went home twice from work and one day said no way am I coming into to work. I stayed in bed for 3 days and my fever wouldn't go below 100.

But I didn't go to the doctor just waited it out as I know that it is a virus.

No, I didn't get my flu shot as normally I don't get sick, but maybe next year.

Hang in There,

Jill

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Dec 5, 2003

I was scheduled for my flu shot from work next Wednesday. But guess what i woke up with yesterday? THE FLU!!!!

:imbar

(not that i'm embarrassed but that's about the color of my face now)

live4today, RN · Dec 6, 2003

After having the worst possible flu (to me) a few years ago, I now get my flu shot faithfully. Had the shot the last several years now, and have only had a mild case of the flu since that time (meaning it lasted several days instead of a week or more, and I knew I wasn't going to die from it) :rolleyes:

Big Bab's · Dec 7, 2003

Man, our office has been nuts for the last week and a half..I'm in Wyoming, one of the hardest hit states so far......Monday and tuesday we pretty much functioned as "flu ER"....it was awful!!...one after another, I think we admitted at least 12 this week, to the hosp.....we finally ran out of vaccine Thursday morning and it has slowed down a little because of that...we're supposed be getting more in on Monday......Thankfully I got my shot back in early November!!!.....Our hosp. and nursing home are now "closed to visitors" as of yesterday, too many people getting infected from just visiting!!.....Our lab and the hosp. lab ran out of swabs for flu tests!!.....and our pharmacies around town are scrambling trying to get in more vaccine, Flumadine and Tamiflu....I feel like we're at war or something, our office usually closes at 5:30 each night, but with all this we've been staying open til 7:00 or so, pretty much when they stop comin' we close down.....The real scary part is that this may just be the beginning, if you figure all the people that have tested positive for influenza have infected like 10 or 15 people, allow a week or so for them to incubate, well, lets just say that the next 2-3 weeks aren't gonna be any better!!.....sheesh!!...I'm tired just thinkin' about it!!! :)

laurasc · Dec 8, 2003

We ran out of vaccines. There's supposed to be more coming this week some time, but for now people wait. So far in my area there has been 5 confirmed influenza cases (all A-Fujian) and 2 deaths.

Glad I got my flu shot!

Laura

MrsWampthang, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2003

I work in the ER and we are seeing a lot of folks with the flu coming in because they say:a) My doctor couldn't get me in for x amount of time and I couldn't wait that long; or b) My doctor's office was booked so they told me to go to the ER.

This last two weeks we have been swamped with pediatric cases of cough, fever and vomiting; it has been a regular pediatric clinic. We are also seeing a lot of people that are their 20s who have the flu and don't have a doctor or "I can't go to my doctor because I owe him money."

It is to the point that we want to jump up and hug someone that comes into the ER for an actual emergency!

I don't mean to upset or offend anyone, but I just wondered if the patients are telling the truth:rolleyes: because it does't make sense to me why these patients are being told to go to ER when we are just as swamped as doctors offices. Again, please don't take offense; I don't mind taking care of patients that are sent by or from a doctor's office that really needs to be in ER, but flu symptoms?! :eek:

Thanks, Pam;)

Big Bab's · Dec 16, 2003

Originally posted by Pamela_g_c
I work in the ER and we are seeing a lot of folks with the flu coming in because they say:a) My doctor couldn't get me in for x amount of time and I couldn't wait that long; or b) My doctor's office was booked so they told me to go to the ER.

This last two weeks we have been swamped with pediatric cases of cough, fever and vomiting; it has been a regular pediatric clinic. We are also seeing a lot of people that are their 20s who have the flu and don't have a doctor or "I can't go to my doctor because I owe him money."

It is to the point that we want to jump up and hug someone that comes into the ER for an actual emergency!

I don't mean to upset or offend anyone, but I just wondered if the patients are telling the truth:rolleyes: because it does't make sense to me why these patients are being told to go to ER when we are just as swamped as doctors offices. Again, please don't take offense; I don't mind taking care of patients that are sent by or from a doctor's office that really needs to be in ER, but flu symptoms?!

Thanks, Pam;)

Our office is basically functioning as as ER now just because of the reasons you spoke of......There's just SOOO many people coming in with this stuff!!!....We've pretty much abandoned our "schedule" and are triaging and treating "first come first served", and if its a true "ER" situation then we send them to ER, otherwise we just "work 'em in"......We've been staying open til they stop comin' in, usually 6 or 7 at night......I'm in rural Wyoming so we are doing our best to help our ER stay an ER, I'm not sure if other offices or the general pulic is looking at it this way, but they need to!!.....Or they're gonna find out in a hurry when they take a loved on into the ER for cardiac problems and they can't get the help they need right away cuz its full of runny noses!!.....Now don't get me wrong!!....Everybody needs treatment!!..but they really ought to think before they send people to the ER becuz "our schedule is booked!..we can't possibly see anymore today!".....At the least, offices can cancel "well person exams"..ie..paps, physicals, well-child checks...etc...until this all dies down, thats what we've done I just wish we could do more!!

Quicksilver · Dec 17, 2003

:confused: I know what you mean. I don't work in an office but the hospital ER where I work was crowded almost every night for the last two weeks with flu victims. The health dept here was flooded with people wanting flu shots for their kids after a 20 month old died from it. Now I can't find anywhere to get shots for my two teenagers, the clinics and everywhere they were giving them out is out of vaccine(including the place I work for) I was stupid, kind of poo-pooed it. Didn't think there would be much from it... just like last year. Then BOOM... it hit. Am just hoping some more vaccine will be available. So far nobody has gotten really sick in our house. My daughter got that stomach flu twice but is okay. I got my flu shot from work before the rush started .

Just didn't realize that it would get this bad.....

Nurse Ratched, RN · Dec 18, 2003

Originally posted by Pamela_g_c
I don't mean to upset or offend anyone, but I just wondered if the patients are telling the truth:rolleyes: because it does't make sense to me why these patients are being told to go to ER when we are just as swamped as doctors offices. Again, please don't take offense; I don't mind taking care of patients that are sent by or from a doctor's office that really needs to be in ER, but flu symptoms?!

No offense taken here :). I've had patients leave because they don't want to wait the 1-2 hours it was the past two weeks in our walk-in clinic. We'd hear comments like, "I'll just go to (urgent care center, ER, whatever.) I don't have time to wait." I would tell then they were welcome to go where they chose, but the waits were going to be similar or worse everywhere else (it was.) One urgent care facility had 15 cars lined up in the road waiting to get in just to get a parking spot :eek: .

I personally have never recommended anyone go to ER from our facility for a non-emergency unless we have someone coming in after we have closed with some silly complaint demanding to be seen then. Then it's, "You have two options: wait until tomorrow morning to be seen here or go to the ED and spend $500 minimum plus wait a few hours. I recommend you come back here in the morning because this does not qualify as an emergency."

Dave ARNP · Dec 18, 2003

Doc and I have been taking turns staying open later so we can see our patients rather than having the overflow go to ER. Many of the practitioners who do not keep their offices open, are opting to come into ER and assist in treating patients with Med-Surg nurses being called in to come to ER and assist.

With the schools in the area closed hopefull we will see a good decline, but I don't expect to see a big difference until after the first of the year.

Sad thing is, starting Friday night Doc and I are closed and not on call until 29th. Our local hospitalist group is covering inpatients, and my best friend and her doctor are covering our patients. We will just be availble over the phone :)

Dave, who is ready for the time off!

laurasc · Dec 19, 2003

Drowning in flu? Now I got it! :bluecry1:

It started on Wednesday with a cough and by Wednesday evening I was really, really sick. The only reason I'm sorta standing now (Friday) is probably because I had the flu shot and already had partial immunity to this. Otherwise I'd be dying.

What peeves me a little is that I talked to one of the docs at work about my symptoms and saw my FP yesterday and neither one of them made the diagnosis. It was last night when I was lying awake in bed, hurting all over, coughing, fevering, headaching and feeling all over miserable and sorry for myself that it suddenly hit me.....EGAD, methinks I have the FLU! :eek:

What really upsets me is that I was working all day Wednesday with early flu symptoms. How many people did I infect that day? I think of the couple I saw, the hubby with renal failure and the wife with leukemia. Or the woman who came in for a flu shot from me because she had her spleen removed. Or the 5-day old baby I did a well baby check on. I washed my hands 500 times that day and I made sure I coughed into a kleenex and in a secluded area (then washed my hands). But was it enough? Then there's the receptionist at work who refused the flu shot. I kept using her computer. Will she be sick over Christmas because of me?

I have to go in today for a couple of hours. I won't be seeing patients, but I do have some stuff that needed to be done yesterday but didn't because I was too busy dying on my couch.

Much as I love nursing, I hate this aspect of my job.

Laura