have you ever caught norovirus from work or a patient?

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jan 11, 2015

Its seems to run rampant in hospitals and other healthcare facilities this time of the year.

More likely to contract it in community than in a facility. Schools were closed down (little formite children are horrible at handwashing) especially in schools. Most people get norovirus and don't even know it until it's run its course

Gooselady, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2015

It is that time of year! January and Feb.

Yes, I did get noro from a patient -- I got sick for a solid six days, and when I came back to work at least one other nurse had been flattened by it. The patient was a healthy 30 something who'd gotten severely dehydrated and was in her first trimester of pregnancy, so they thought it was hyperemesis gravidarum until her family started getting sick.

It's so debilitating. You puke and ***** for three or four days and need three or four more to be able to stand up straight and not shake. I've had those 24 hour bugs before, who hasn't, but noro is a bit worse. On my oncology unit, if a person had noro or was being ruled out for it, they couldn't be put into our medical beds due to the infectious nature of it.

poppycat, ADN, BSN · Jan 12, 2015

Last summer I caught it from my private duty patient. He got sick on a Thursday & I worked that night. By Saturday I was sick as a dog. His entire family got it as did all 6 nurses on the case and 2 of our husbands! It was not a fun week for anyone.

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Jan 12, 2015

Yes, well I don't think it was norovirus because that one tends to be pretty vicious and last a few days, mine only lasted 24 hours, but it was the stomach bug none the less.

I was triaging a patient in the ER and she coughed right in my face while I was doing her vital signs, I felt the spray! :shy: . This was a 22 year old who was no longer vomiting and had been keeping fluids down for a few hours, I still have not figured out why she was coming to the ER?! Needless to say two days later I spent the night throwing and going! Now whenever I have anyone with anything infectious, even a cold, I wear a mask!

HPRN

AdobeRN · Jan 13, 2015

I did catch some kind of stomach bug from a kid - even with the kid in isolation, I gowned/gloved everytime I went into the room. I had worked 3 - 12 hours shifts in a row with the same pedi patient admitted for vomiting & diarrhea. Second day patients dad was in the ER with same symptoms, by the third day mom had a trip to the ER. The morning of my first day off my stomach was bothering me - by that night vomiting & diarrhea came along - last about 3 days. Ended up passing it along to one of my kids - whatever it was it was pretty aggressive & fast.

Nola009 · Jan 13, 2015

I got some sort of stomach virus from work (probably). Everything I've read on Norovirus says there's emesis and diarrhea involved. I didn't have those symptoms. Just terrible, unrelenting nausea. And fatigue. Oh, and a potassium level of 2.8.

Blue Roses · Jan 15, 2015

Last winter the unit I work on had a major noroviris crisis. We have about 40 beds and it ran through the patients like wildfire. About 50% of the bedside care staff caught it.

I remember how meticulous I was with hand washing and cleaning everything in sight, but I had one patient with it and that night at 3am I woke up vomiting. Then came fever and diarrhea, in that order.

Everybody had it. The unit was being run by a skeleton staff and isolated until it went away. No admissions or discharges. And the staff who was sick was told to stay home.

Gooselady, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2015

Blue Roses reminds me that this same norovirus occurrence at my hospital closed our psych unit a week or so after I had it. It was closed for almost two weeks.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Jan 15, 2015

I've gotten it twice...within the same amount of weeks.

It ran rampant at the medical daycare that I worked; 30% of the kids had it...one cluster of kids would have it, then another, then another, then staff got sick.

It was awful.

blondy2061h, MSN, RN · Jan 16, 2015

I had it in nursing school. I got it our first day back from winter break, so I didn't get it from a patient. I had a long lecture that night. Went in feeling fine. About half way through I started feeling quesey and crampy. Three quarters of the way through I started vomiting. The diarrhea followed within an hour. My classmate drove me home and I puked in his backpack (that he thankfully dumped out) while simultaneously pooping on his car seat. Not my finest moment. I got home and went right to bed. There was no rest to be had. I vomited and had diarrhea every few minutes. I got a fever later that night. Around 1am I passed out on the bathroom floor. I was hallucinating. I couldn't even stand up. I crawled to my parent's bedroom and told them I had to go to the ER. We got there and they quickly started rehydrating me and replacing electrolytes. I was already acidotic. I had to go for a chest x ray and abdominal film and passed out again when I had to stand up there. Despite every antiemetic in the book I could not keep even sips down. I was promptly admitted (to a semi private room with an elderly lady!!!). I was in the hospital 48 hours. I had NO idea before that that anyone could get that ill that quickly. My mom got a much milder version and the remainder of my family was thankfully spared.

tara07733 · Jan 16, 2015

I had it in nursing school. I got it our first day back from winter break, so I didn't get it from a patient. I had a long lecture that night. Went in feeling fine. About half way through I started feeling quesey and crampy. Three quarters of the way through I started vomiting. The diarrhea followed within an hour. My classmate drove me home and I puked in his backpack (that he thankfully dumped out) while simultaneously pooping on his car seat. Not my finest moment. I got home and went right to bed. There was no rest to be had. I vomited and had diarrhea every few minutes. I got a fever later that night. Around 1am I passed out on the bathroom floor. I was hallucinating. I couldn't even stand up. I crawled to my parent's bedroom and told them I had to go to the ER. We got there and they quickly started rehydrating me and replacing electrolytes. I was already acidotic. I had to go for a chest x ray and abdominal film and passed out again when I had to stand up there. Despite every antiemetic in the book I could not keep even sips down. I was promptly admitted (to a semi private room with an elderly lady!!!). I was in the hospital 48 hours. I had NO idea before that that anyone could get that ill that quickly. My mom got a much milder version and the remainder of my family was thankfully spared.

This sounds utterly horrible!! It made me realize that I need to make sure that my 7 year old son keeps his hands washed. I cannot imagine the effect this has on young kids.

Now here's a question from a pre-nursing student: What was the cause of the acidosis? I'm sitting here thinking about A&P and trying to figure this out. I'm sure it'll come to me while I'm in the shower, LOL!