I'm curious about all of your thoughts on this; I have been a nurse for five years. I have a very healthy lifestyle -I do not drink alcohol, I do not smoke, I eat very clean, I exercise, I'm not ever around small children, I should be the picture of health. I do everything right. For the past year and a half I have caught debilitating colds on average every 2-3 months. I have changed nothing in this time frame, I live in the same area, I'm diligent about hand hygiene - I work on a PCU floor 2 to 3 times a week and I even wear a mask year round (seems a lot of patients tend to cough all over me with no regard covering their mouth).
I'm considering leaving patient care because of this I can't think of any other rhyme or reason as to why I get knocked down every two months with a nasty cold, sore throat headache congestion that last 7 to 10 days. My pcp is hands-off, says it's bad luck & all my test are negative. When I'm well I'm 100%- I feel great I have no ailments & everything is good, and then boom I get knocked down.
my question to you -if you give direct patient care, how often do you get sick? my nurse friends that have left patient care comment about how their immune system was so strong and they had built up such immunity when they were giving patient care. Now they feel they get sick all the time because they're not in the hospital anymore which I think is odd. any tips or advice is much appreciated:)
I'm curious about all of your thoughts on this; I have been a nurse for five years. I have a very healthy lifestyle -I do not drink alcohol, I do not smoke, I eat very clean, I exercise, I'm not ever around small children, I should be the picture of health. I do everything right. For the past year and a half I have caught debilitating colds on average every 2-3 months. I have changed nothing in this time frame, I live in the same area, I'm diligent about hand hygiene - I work on a PCU floor 2 to 3 times a week and I even wear a mask year round (seems a lot of patients tend to cough all over me with no regard covering their mouth).
I'm considering leaving patient care because of this I can't think of any other rhyme or reason as to why I get knocked down every two months with a nasty cold, sore throat headache congestion that last 7 to 10 days. My pcp is hands-off, says it's bad luck & all my test are negative. When I'm well I'm 100%- I feel great I have no ailments & everything is good, and then boom I get knocked down.
my question to you -if you give direct patient care, how often do you get sick? my nurse friends that have left patient care comment about how their immune system was so strong and they had built up such immunity when they were giving patient care. Now they feel they get sick all the time because they're not in the hospital anymore which I think is odd. any tips or advice is much appreciated:)
Haha well I drink alcohol regularly, am around small children all the time (pediatric nurse here), haven't really cleaned my house in months and all I ate today was cheese and ice cream and I NEVER get sick. Seriously. The last time I called out sick for being acutely ill was at least 4 years ago. I did get strep throat last year from a patient but, as I'd just returned from the developing world, I originally assumed it was malaria. 10 days of PCN and I was as good as new, no work days missed either.
i'm also critical with my use of hand sanitizer out in the world. I'm always wiping down things, wiping off steering wheels, sanitizing my hands before I get in the car after the grocery store, etc. A friend brought to my attention several articles that blame hand sanitizer as the reason for getting sick/bug resistance which I find hard to believe, saying it's depleting my immune system. crazy.
I think this over-sanitizing you're doing doing might be contributing to your low immune response. You need to expose the immune system to pathogens in order to prime it for action. If you're always killing everything, you're not allowing your immune system to work. Also, you're killing off good bacteria that is meant to keep bad bacteria in check. There are plenty of studies talking about the perils of too much sterilizing/cleaning of everything. Look them up.
Sent from my iPhone -- blame all errors on spellcheck
I'm adding my weight to the weak immune system crowd.
You're making yourself sick.
Go play in the dirt or something. It's good for you. Garden without gloves. Pet a dirty dog. Give a dirty kid a big fat smackeroo on the lips. Don't sanitize the handles at the grocery store.
You've got to exercise that immune system. It has no idea how to handle pathogens because you're overcleaning and oversanitizing your life. Every time you come across a germ, your immune system is throwing little baby punches that are totally ineffective. You need to build it up until it can knock the germs out.
Sure, you'll be sick as a dog, for a month or so. Once you have caught everything that's going around and have beaten it, you will go much longer in between sick periods. You will be able to fight off the lesser bugs without getting sick and will have an easier time when you do catch something.
I only wash my hands after using the bathroom, before cooking, and before eating. (Except at work, where I wash my hands at least 50 times a shift.) I only sanitize the bathrooms and the kitchen once a weekish, sometimes once a monthish. I kiss my dogs frequently and pet their dirty little selves barehanded. I garden barehanded.
I rarely catch anything except stomach viruses anymore, and the last one of those was four years ago. The last time I had the flu was in 1997. The last time I had a cold was in 2003. Of course, now that I've said this, I will probably catch the Superflu. (Stephen King reference for my nerdy friends.)
Specializes in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgical.
Yeah, I'm also in the "you're sanitizing yourself into oblivion" camp and pretty terrible by OCD cleaning standards. My house gets cleaned with vinegar or those natural cleaners, I wash my clothes with earth-friendly detergents and hang most things outside to dry, my scrubs go into the same general laundry pile as my regular clothes (however, they go directly into the laundry room hamper), I'm oblivious to sanitizing carts at the grocery store, I drink raw goat milk, swim in a public swimming pool, my friends' little kids and dogs slobber all over me, and in general I only use hand sanitizer when camping. I wash my hands well at work though.
I've got food poisoning exactly twice over the past few years, and that ironically was from well-cooked takeout food.
However, I make an effort to eat healthy, I don't drink alcohol anymore, exercise, and avoid secondhand cigarette smoke when out. I used to suffer from chronic ear infections and allergies as a kid, but I think that having a hyperactive immune system has worked out in my favor as an adult.
I was constantly sickly during childhood with chronic sniffles and colds several times per year. My parents smoked in the house and car. Uncoincidentally, I stopped becoming sick the moment I moved out of their house.
A physician once explained that the children of smokers are more prone to illness because constant exposure to passive smoke causes the child's immune system to literally fall asleep at the wheel. It's interesting...
This is the exact reason my dad quit smoking cold turkey when I was about 3 years old. I had constant ear infections. Although me imitating him taking a drag from a cigarette by trying to puff on my crayons may have had something to do with it, too
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
This is the exact reason my dad quit smoking cold turkey when I was about 3 years old. I had constant ear infections. Although me imitating him taking a drag from a cigarette by trying to puff on my crayons may have had something to do with it too [/quote']
You're fortunate your father kicked the habit early in your life. My parents continued to light up in the house until 2004, and they still continue to smoke in their cars in spite of their inability to afford the $6 packs of ciggies in this day and age.
And yes, I had the major ear infection at age three or four. It was a rite of passage for many of us who grew up in a cloud of carcinogens.
Specializes in Med-Surg., Oncology, Observational Units.
Been doing Med-Surg bedside nursing in a big academic setting and have not gotten sick in at least four years. Make sure you are taking a pro-biotic and working on replenishing the good gut bacteria. Also, stop it with the hand sanitizer and get dirty again in the proper setting of course. Also, hand sanitizer has triclosan in it and is being proven to be toxic for your body and possible carcinogenic. Make sure you are eating a diet rich in whole foods and cut back on the sugar. Excess sugar is not good for strengthening your immune system. Hope this helps!
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Although others here might disagree - I would seriously consider cutting back on had sanitizer in everyday living. Hand sanitizer is meant to be used in situations where soap and water are not readily available. Some products especially those containing Triclosan have actually been shown to inhibit immune function. Also consider the number of MDRO's that have come about since the advent of hand sanitizer. I had to stop using it when I was in the diversion program because is known to cause false positives for alcohol consumption. During hat time I worked acute psych with lots of homeless folks and I rarely got sick. I recently got back in the habit of using it at work as in LTC you hardly have time to breath much less thoroughly wash your hands. I have gotten more colds at this job than any other. The sanitizer does not cause you to be ill but it lulls your immune system into a false sense of security.
When I worked nights on a floor with lots of overtime, I was sick *constantly*. It was a combination of stress, exhaustion, and wonky circadian rhythms. I could practically set my watch by the fact that I would get bronchitis or a nasty cold if I worked more than five shifts a week, no matter that I ate well, ran and worked out, and used excellent hand hygiene. I had bronchitis three times in one year and more colds than I can count.
Now that I work days and no overtime if I can possibly avoid it, I'm rarely sick. Sleep deprivation and poor sleep hygiene can really do a number on you. Especially if you're working shifts back-to-back, you may not be working a ridiculous number of total hours, but your third twelve in a row without much sleep in between can really wear down your reserves.
ok ok I'll lay off the sanitizer and see what happens :) I do have ocd about bugs. Thanks all for the info on how sanitizer can deplete the immune system. The reason I don't drink alcohol anymore is because at age 31 I now seem to have a hangover after 2 drinks! I do have a (sometimes) dirty dog that I cherish and we're always together, always petting and kissing her and we are about to get another one.
I am on the probiotics, I just wonder if you can overdo the probiotics? I take Kombucha and have a greek yogurt a few times a week. My manager suggests stress management with one of our counselors at occupational health, which i"m open to. The only thing is that I am the most un-stressed out I've ever been in my life. I'm blessed to say I am in an amazing place right now, the only stress I have is when I am at work two days a week, 12 hr shifts and yes I'm a hampster in a wheel there and it's unpleasant, but I have such a great home/personal/family life it melts away once I get home. Could be a residual effect, not sure. I have coping mechanisms for after a shift stress management- yoga, walk the dog, eat a good dinner, sleep, etc.
.thumb.jpg.1a244cedeaa5f9fabd6836ced9c0b3f7.jpg){kind=small}
emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B
2,942 Posts
I rarely got sick before i became a nurse and now after 7 years in the er, my immune system has become something like sandman slim.