My kids have chickenpox, I'm immune, problem with direct pt contact?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in progressive care telemetry.

I'm a nursing student, tomorrow we start our 2nd semester. Two of my 3 kids have active pox at the moment. My 3rd hasn't come down with it yet. I had CP as a kid and shingles in high school (that was tons of fun, let me tell you!). Last year my titer showed I was immune.

Am I going to be told to stay home from clinicals or take some kind of precautions?

I'd try to contact your clinical instructor as soon as you can to clarify. I doubt if your school has a varicella exposure policy for its students, so it's likely to be up to his or her individual judgment.

Off hand I would say you would be considered no danger to your patients due to your blood test that shows you are immune. It would be different if you were not immune or if you had never been immunized.

Specializes in Maternal - Child Health.

If your school doesn't have a policy, the institution where you will go for clinical probably does. I assume that you won't go to the floor on the first day of the semester, so that should give you time to notify your instructor and for her to clear things with employee health at your clinical site. I doubt that you will be excluded from clinicals as long as your titrer shows immunity.

I hope your kids feel better soon!

Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

Here is a good website on the transmission. It says that respiratory droplets as well as touching can transmit the disease...so being in the same room with them can spread it.

However, I am more concerned about something getting picked up on your clothing and carrying it to the clinical site.

I wonder if you should change clothes at the facility?

http://www.medindia.net/patients/patientinfo/chickenpox_about.htm

Specializes in ER.

You don't have to worry about getting CP/Shingles but I would think you could carry the virus in on your person and contaminate surfaces and patients. I think you should call your instuctor and plan to miss clinicals. I'm sorry this has happened to you. I hope your children are feeling better soon.

Let us know how things turn out.

Specializes in progressive care telemetry.

Thanks everyone. I let my professors know and they didn't seem to think it would be a problem. I also let the clinical coordinator know and haven't heard back from her yet. Our first clinical isn't til Thursday and it's orientation and the next one isn't til next week. My 3rd finally started breaking out this afternoon/evening so I'm thinking all 3 will be over the worst of it by Thursday?

In any event I'll let you know what the clinical coordinator says. I'm sure if we ere starting OB or peds right away I'd be sitting on the bench for a while!

Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

I do not believe that you can pass on varicella if you do not have an active case.

Specializes in progressive care telemetry.

Heard back from the clinical coordinator, no problem with going to clinicals. I do think I will change into my uniform away from my children tho, just to be sure nothing travels on it to my sites.

I think one of the twins is over the worst of it, no new pox and the ones she has are crusted over. The other twin is still breaking out as is my son. Lord help us over the next few days esp. my husband who will be staying home with them while I go to school today!

Specializes in ER/Ortho.

I remember the chicken pox. My two boys got them when they were 4 and 5. The first one was really sick with a high fever etc, but not so many spots. The second one had spots every where, but he wasn't very sick. The first child was sick about a week before child two got sick. Then child 1 got well about a week before child 2 started clearning up. Surprise then child 1 got them all over again as soon as child 2 got well. The Dr said that some children who do not break out all over, seem to get them twice like that.

Let us know what happens.

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