getting sick from microbiology

[mbkgen]

I love microbiology and am interested in taking a course this year but there is one thing that is keeping me from taking it. I am concerned about getting sick from dealing with germs in the lab. I want to know if someone has gotten sick, be it a mild disease, from the lab work or i am just over-reacting and its not a big threat.

You can say i am kind of a germophobe but i do get ill pretty easily especially diarhea from eating a little "dirty" food while my brother, friends etc. stay totally fine from eating the same food. By dirty i mean slightly under-cooked or fast foods, food from low-quality restaurants etc.. So maybe other people in the lab would be fine while i may get sick. Just curious if after all the precautions will i still end up getting some bacteria or germs on me ?, i read about the endospores and spores that some bugs produce that are easily air-dispersed so is it possible to avoid them.

So what do you think should i take the course or pursue something different ?. I know i love microbiology, i read a few books my friend gave me and found it very interesting until reading about the fungus spores and viruses like ebola and marburg viruses which really gave me the scare. They were interesting though but i am scared of contacting a deadly disease because of my interest of working with them.

Sorry for the long post but i really don't want to end up regretting it, the college won't be refunding the fees once i enroll so i am thinking really hard about it and would need some advice.

Cheers

[green34]

You are more likely to get sick in a hospital than at micro lab. Anything you touch in a hospital is probably contaminated. The lab, well, you know you are potentially working with cultures that can make you sick. I had some strain of bacteria commonly found in he mouths of pigs and in pig bite wounds. We also had E. coli at one point. The same basic rules apply. Wash your hands, don't touc your mouth, and assume everything in lab is contaminated.

[bopeep82]

If you follow protocol, you won't get sick. You are dealing with level 1 and 2 microbes. Micro is fun and the lab is actually pretty clean, because you will take the extra time to clean your area when you first come in and before you leave. Millions have done it before you and millions will do it after you.

[hodgieRN]

You need to chill or else you are going to convince yourself that you have every cancer that you learn during lecture. Most times when people are "sick," its viral. You are 10 times more likely to catch something in the community then in micro lab.

[CalRNtoBe2013]

We used to tell the students that it is perfectly possible to get a venereal disease in a public bathroom...but the floors are usually cold and hard and a nice big bed is more comfortable.

Translation: Chill out.

I love this!! I will be stealing this quote in the near future :)

[Jenngirl34RN]

If you follow the normal precautions your instructor will go over the first day of class you will be fine. We did work with a couple of bacteria that could have gotten us sick if we had licked our petri dishes or stuck our fingers in our mouths after touching something, but it would be pretty difficult to catch anything. I know we did not work with anything that could become airborne and make us sick.