SARS in Toronto!

[TX Guy]

Hey I just saw on the news that a thousand people have been quarentined at a hospital in Toronto!

Do you all know anything about this?

I hope our Toronto members are alright.

Is this virus realy something to be worried about or is it kind of being hyped like the shark attack thing?

Paul

[Little One2]

Originally posted by askater11

I hear hospitals in Essex and Windsor have stopped visiting hours...to help stop spreading SARS.

My Uncle lives in Canada. Last month he came from China. He was sick. He's all better now but my Aunts sick.

What kind of symptoms do patience with SARS have?

Symptoms: Very high fever, cough, sob, dyspnea,

It is a form of pneumonia

[nurseleigh]

Ohhh I see. . .

Somebody giving THEIR opinion to a fellow nurse to stay home based on medical condition is bad. . .

Calling others irresponsible because of that advise based on YOUR opinion is somehow supportive.

That makes perfect sense, thanks for clearing it up.

It is still MY opinion that if another nurse feels the need to stay home due to this disease, that is her/his choice to make and I am no better than her/him becuase I go to work.

Leigh

[JMP]

Starts with flu symptoms--- extreme headache, body aches- ---- feels like you have been hit by truck.

Then fever which is high--over 38 degrees C.

Then the cough and shortness of breath. At this point, if untreated develops into pneumonia----resp failure. Can be seen at this point via chest x-ray.

Deaths have been due to resp failure or muli-organ system failure due to hypoxia.

[JMP]

Listen Leigh. I pointed out the post.

If you have a problem with my opinion....well.... you will have to have a problem with it.

I too am living-working in this situation in a critical care area and therefore, just like everyone else am entilted to my own beliefs.

I made a point earlier about RN's wanting more professional profiles. It has been a fairly common complaint. My point was that if we want to be taken seriously as a group of professionals... well we have to act like them. I think as a collective group sometimes we miss that point.

This is a situation that calls for cool heads and strong hearts. We have to be.

Am I scared? Yes.

Do I think I am better than anyone else on the job? No.

Do I think we have professional accountability in THIS situation. YOU BET.

[hapeewendy]

a few things...

firstly, I am very responsible professionally , I do not want to get out of work , I want to work ,do what I can and help during this trying time for everyone. However, I believe that my immune status is cause for concern. I have addressed this with my family physician , who doesnt seem too concerned about SARS in general and has greatly disappointed me with his lack of support. thats a whole nother issue, the Rheumie dr I was seeing is of course out of town, so I am being referred to another rheumatologist ASAP in order to get and keep everything in check..... now would someone take this pesky lupus off my hands so I can go help on the SARS floor already?

okay that was my attempt at a light bit of humour , but honestly , while I dont believe that the answer is to hoard myself up in my apartment in the fetal position ordering masks off E-bay , I also dont think that because I happen to be unfortunate in the sense that my immune system is weakened, that I should have to put in a situation that although concerning for all, is potentially desperate for someone like myself. I shouldnt have to go to a unit like the SARS unit based on the fact that I am a nurse and knew getting into nursing that I could potentially face these kind of issues. Of course I knew that my health could be at risk , what I didnt know, not that it changes one darn thing, is that I had lupus. Even if I knew going into nursing school that I had lupus it wouldnt change a thing. Nursing is what I'm meant to do,and I'll do it . But right now we have nurses voluntarily working in the SARS unit so I really dont see the point in making all of us go there. I think people who are at increased risk need to be staffed on other units and for the most part kept away from SARS Patients.

I'm not "special" or wanting anything more from my healthy co workers. Infact the nurses who worked on the SARS unit last night had a great night compared to the one we had on the floor. Our unit nurses are taking up the brunt of the loss of some of our staff to the SARS unit. IF I could feel safe in going to that unit and surrounding myself with SARS patients, then I would , in a heartbeat, as would most of my co workers, I'm not in that place of comfort, dont know if I will be or not but I'm hoping the more we know the better we all can deal, not just myself, everyone. If I could make my lupus vanish forever, or even just while this mess is going on , I would surely do it, I want to help, I want to be proactive, I want to be there for patients and staff .

But as you know, I cant get rid of my lupus (funny how we take possession of illness like that , my diabetes, my lupus , my asthma - just a side note , sorry)

anyway...... I thank you for thinking of myself and my fellow nurses who have to deal with this on a daily basis, deal with the media hype, deal with all the misinformation and unanswered questions, deal with the fact that the incidences of SARS are still steadily increasing and facing our own mortality at least a little bit....

If we want to talk about professional accountability then I think I owe it to my patients to be able to serve their needs in the best way I can , while I'm physically and mentally healthy....

not to compromise my immune system and my ability to even practice nursing by putting myself voluntarily in a questionable setting....

patients needs us more than ever, I'm not ready to be stuck at home or in the hospital for months because of this, so yes , I'm doing what I can not to have to to be there....

[nurseleigh]

Symptoms: Very high fever, cough, sob, dyspnea,

So. . . how do they make the diagnosis between pneumonia and SARS? Has anyone really said how long someone is infected with SARS before they are usually diagnosed?

Leigh

[JMP]

Leigh

EVERYONE who has contracted SARS can be traced back to the initial contact- in otherwords, everyone had exposure to travel to China-Hong Kong- or family member of someone who traveled there. Then, that person or persons when to hospital- exposed hospital workers- and other patients to the virus. And then the health care workers exposed their family members------- so currently there are over 1000 people with exposure in quarentine.

They (government) is putting a tight net around ALL hospitals in this area since all cases have been clustered or linked to hospital exposure.

The way they would know if you had the flu vs. SARS is by tracking your exposure--- if you had suspected exposure and symptoms you WOULD be quarentined----for at least 10 days.

NOTE HERE:

MOST patients in quarentine are not sick and the ones that are sick are getting better.

SIX people have died in Ontario. Most of the six got sick and where not identified early...... before all of this started and died from multiple organ system failure.

[askater11]

How old are these people that died from SARS?

[JMP]

The first people in Ontario that died from SARS where relatively young people- one was in his early 40's. His mother was the inital patient that had travelled to China and he had cared for her at home when she was extremely ill. He had long term exposure to the virus and was NOT treated early.

The last two that died in Ontario where in their 70's.

[RNonsense]

"I believe that my immune status is cause for concern."

I agree. I also agree that immunocompromised pts. should not be in the same room as contagious ones...I agree that staff on safe return to work programs should be given light duties...I agree with pregnant staff not being around radioactive isotopes...so forth and so on...

Guess I'm pretty unprofessional.

[JMP]

Originally posted by RNonsense

"I believe that my immune status is cause for concern."

I agree. I also agree that immunocompromised pts. should not be in the same room as contagious ones...I agree that staff on safe return to work programs should be given light duties...I agree with pregnant staff not being around radioactive isotopes...so forth and so on...

Guess I'm pretty unprofessional.

Now see, this is the type of hysterial diatribe that gets us into these ridiculous situations.

At NO time did I say we should put immunocomprised pts in with contagious ones or that pregnant staff should be around radioactive isotopes......

My point was directed at a partiular post, which I referenced.

However if you believe (given the current up to dated info we have related to SARS )that someone with lupus, or any other immunocompromising condition, should quit a job, live on credit cards then why not just say so, instead of getting silly??

[RNonsense]

We did. You attacked US, remember?