Going home to loved ones after caring for COVID-19

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Just curious how others are addressing the issue of taking care of covid patients and returning home to family, friends, roomies, etc.....

I'm an OR nurse in a level 1 trauma and it's impossible to know if our patients are free of the virus. Most cases are emergent.... Therefore there is a great chance I may care for an ill patient and won't even know it. I know this is not inclusive just to OR nursing but nursing in general.

I would LOVE to spend intimate time with my girlfriend (we currently do not live together, but we're planning on moving in before all covid happened) of course my priority is her health and safety which makes me want to isolate however I know that many many many nurses have families that they return home to.

Just wondering what it looks like for you all?

Matt

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Good question, I wish I had an answer. I'm worried about this as well. Patients are screened by asking if they have traveled, had contact with someone infected but the truth is those questions are not going to catch everyone. It's circulating in communities now in greater numbers than we know, so any patient in for respiratory issues is potentially infected.

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Specializes in Psych, Med-Surg.

I agree that's just another factor for concern. Working with insufficient ppe is not only putting our lives at risk, but also our loved ones at home. Some of us have elderly parents or babies..

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My concern exactly. I have a toddler and a four-month-old at home. From what they are estimating this to be, exposure will be inevitable at one point. Should I plan to completely isolate myself from my family ? Will it be enough to wear mask and wash constantly?

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I'm having the problem where my babysitter is scared to take care of my baby because my husband is a pain management ARNP and I'm a PCU nurse. Baby has an ear infection and isn't allowed over there until its 100% healed. Not sure I'm even going to be able to work without childcare! And my husbands ex wife is trying to keep his kids from him because of what we do for a living.

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4 hours ago, emergencynurse2011 said:

I'm having the problem where my babysitter is scared to take care of my baby because my husband is a pain management ARNP and I'm a PCU nurse. Baby has an ear infection and isn't allowed over there until its 100% healed. Not sure I'm even going to be able to work without childcare! And my husbands ex wife is trying to keep his kids from him because of what we do for a living.

Sounds as if you need to find a new babysitter, one who accepts sick children. Only reason I can see for her to refuse a sick kid is if there are other children present. Otherwise why even say you have a babysitter at all?

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She has two teenagers, and I could understand if my kid had the flu, but an ear infection??? We are debating getting a new one because she is now saying with what we are exposed to all the time she isn't comfortable with us even coming to her house to pick the baby up...just not sure how well this is gonna end. Feel like I'm getting stigmatized for being in healthcare

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Specializes in Ophthalmology.

I completely understand. I am in an ambulatory clinic and we had yet to provide care to a COVID-19 positive patient. But everyone is panicking. I reassure them that I have been in healthcare for 30 years and have never had an infection that I have picked up from a patient. I have never brought anything home.

Of course I am concerned! Of course I am cautious. Very Cautious. But....This is a new kind of craziness. I have never seen attitude like this before.

Stay happy, Stay healthy!

T-Wave

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On 3/23/2020 at 8:13 PM, Alinanurse said:

My concern exactly. I have a toddler and a four-month-old at home. From what they are estimating this to be, exposure will be inevitable at one point. Should I plan to completely isolate myself from my family ? Will it be enough to wear mask and wash constantly?

If it's any consolation, young kids (even newborns) have been extremely resistant to the virus. Even in Wuhan there were only a tiny handful of cases reported in children, and the children who had it fared really well with very mild symptoms. Three positive, pregnant moms in Wuhan gave birth to newborns who tested positive, and the babies were all totally fine (asymptomatic despite being positive).

Younger kids seem to be even more resistant than older kids. There's only been one child death in China and one in the US, and they were both late teenagers (16 and 17, I think). I know we still don't have all of the answers, but I think the rationale is that part of the disease progression involves an overactive immune response which can damage your organs. Babies have very immature immune responses (under controlled circumstances, can literally transfuse a baby up to age 2 with the wrong blood type and they'd be OK), so they're having less severe sequelae from the virus.

Hopefully that will help ease your worries at least a little bit.

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