bringing bugs home...

Nurse Izzy · Jan 11, 2003

Handwashing Handwashing Handwashing! And, when you get home make sure the first thing you do is wash your uniform - don't just throw it in the hamper! Oh - don't know if you're wearing whites or not, but Cascade is wonderful for washing whites - keeps them white and doesn't yellow them like bleach does.

Best of luck to you!

Elizabeth

WashYaHands · Jan 11, 2003

Remove your shoes in the garage or first thing when entering your home, especially if you have little ones who play and crawl on the floor.

Linda

RNIAM, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2003

It is amazing to me how many nursing students get ill the first few weeks of clinical. Now matter how well you wash your own hands, there are just as many who don't ewwww! Just wash your hands and remind everyone around you to do the same. Eat well, get lots of rest and exercise. That should do it.:)

RN2B2005 · Jan 11, 2003

Not in clinicals yet either, but I've worked in a medical facility for the last seven years, and have always washed my hands CONSTANTLY, used a water-resistant hand lotion, changed out of my work clothes as expediently as possible, and changed my shoes at work when I worked in a direct-care environment.

I've actually brought home fewer bugs than my husband has; he's a teacher and every Fall he spends the first few weeks of school with the sniffles and a cough, which he generally gives to me. Now that I'm a stay at home mom, and working only part-time, I have caught MORE colds...probably from being around snotty-nosed toddlers and my son, who is a walking disease vector.

The thing to remember is WASH YA HANDS. Most respiratory bugs are transmitted via direct membrane contact--touching a contaminated surface and then rubbing your eyes or nose, which is why a TB patient can cough all over you and you'd probably still be OK, but if a guy with a latent cold shook hands with you and then you rubbed your nose, you'd be miserable a week later. There was actually some study showing that you can KISS a person with a cold and not get infected, unless you were into Eskimo kissing or something.:chuckle

Good luck.

louloubell1 · Jan 11, 2003

What washyahands said is right on. Aside from good handwashing, it is so important to ditch your shoes & uniform when you get in. Many of the bugs we encounter (C-dif for example) can be spread through contact with contaminated objects like our gross, disgusting, smelly shoes. Ok, maybe it's just my shoes that are gross, disgusting, & smelly.

Lou

Convicted of placenta previa & serving time on couch arrest ~day9

Loubell RN 2B · Jan 11, 2003

Thanks everyone for your reply's... I knew of course the handwashing thing was a constant but I just wondered if there was anything else. Taking your uniform in to be washed first thing and leaving shoes at the door was a good one too..

I have two active boys that keep me with the sniffles sometimes (oh yeah, it could be my cat too) but I definately did not want to bring anything home to them...

Thanks again everyone,

Lynda

cpgrn · Jan 11, 2003

Handwashing is of course the most important thing you can do. I work in a school with small children and I'm sure that's the reason my son has been sick so many times this year. I come home, take off my shoes and shower but some days I feel like a germ vector. I think I am becoming immune to some of the germs but I still carry them home with me.

emily_mom · Jan 12, 2003

If I'm picking my daughter up from the sitters, I run home and shower first. My scrubs are put in a special basket in the garage and also shoes. I usually spray the bottoms with Lysol and NEVER walk into my house with them. I know my sitter appreciates me not bringing god knows what into her house.

Along with what everyone else said about handwashing and standard precautions, that's about all you can do. I know no matter what I do, if I get run down I catch something. Make sure you get enough sleep. Eat healthy and try to exercise.

Kristy

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2003

The subway ride in Philly scares the bugs away.

But seriously, wash hands when you leave work and when you get home. Change clothes immediately. Do not wear work shoes into the house. Get your vaccinations as you should.

SpecFuz · Jan 14, 2003

A friend of mine that is a hospice worker told me about a product called, Gloves In A Bottle? http://www.glovesinabottle.com/

She let me try it one day because my hands are always cracked to the point of bleeding from being so dry - and I haven't even started wearing latex gloves yet!

She advised me to buy some and I tried some. It puts a coating over the hands so apparently the water won't penetrate in and tear my hands up...thing is, I wonder if it means that my hands aren't actually that clean?

Spec