Prednisone- susceptibility to infection?

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I have a quick question that I'm asking only because the dr.'s office is closed. Im a nursing student on Prednisone (short term), wondering if I should mention this to my instructor regarding wether I should avoid isolation pts for the 2 weeks I'll be taking it? I know this decreases WBC count and decreases the immune response so I assume it could make me more likely to pick something up and maybe mask the infection if I got one, but I don't know for sure. With finals on the horizon I don't want to get even more sick!

Thanks for any advice.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.
I have a quick question that I'm asking only because the dr.'s office is closed. Im a nursing student on Prednisone (short term), wondering if I should mention this to my instructor regarding wether I should avoid isolation pts for the 2 weeks I'll be taking it? I know this decreases WBC count and decreases the immune response so I assume it could make me more likely to pick something up and maybe mask the infection if I got one, but I don't know for sure. With finals on the horizon I don't want to get even more sick!

Thanks for any advice.

You'll probably want to wear a mask when caring for infectious patients; it's what I did when I had a horrendous asthma attack brought on by acute bronchitis during my second year of nursing school. I was on prednisone for six weeks, and to say the least I was pretty gun-shy about taking care of people with pneumonia and meningitis. So I'd put on a mask whenever I went into the rooms of contagious pts, and everything was fine.......I got over my own illness and succeeded in avoiding others'. Don't stress too much.......you'll be OK.

:)

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