Risk of getting your family members sick?

[Pete_soon2bRN]

Hi everyone, i am currently working on my ADN right now and i'm starting to learn more about the hospital setting and how it tends to have many pathogens. I have no doubt that i want to be a nurse, but my biggest concern is that i might spread something to my significant other or my children (don't have any yet). I am aware that MRSA colonizes in some facilities and respiratory infections are common as well. I'm told that we build up an immunity to it and that we should be fine, however im still worried that it can spread to my family members and im still not sure how serious it can be. I did some research on my own but id appreciate if someone can give me some insight and clarify some things.

I've research that we should clean our scrubs right away when we get home, if i take them off and throw it in the "dirty pile" how much of a threat is it of causing an infection to other people? i wouldn't want to throw it in the washer every single day due to bills, so if you have a method that works, can you please share. and for shoes i plan to like.. soak em with alcohol or something before bringing them in the house, will that work?

should i wash the scrubs alone?

How serious is MRSA really and should i be worry that it can spread to people in my household if i catch it? is it easily spreaded? can it be suppressed enough? What about the norovirus?

When someone is on TB prophylaxis.. what exactly is being done?

I just really like to know how serious some diseases are that i'm likely or could get, can it be beaten, if it can't really be rid of how likely am i to spread it to my family?

what are some precautions or tips that i can take to prevent my love ones of being infected with something that i might've caught?

Thank you guys, i really do appreciate it if anyone can give me some info or insight.

and please be honest, i like to know what i'm really up against.

[Mandychelle79, ASN, RN]

Honestly other than the weird chronic things my kids have going and need to see specialists for my kids miss very little school due to illness.

[Fiona59]

I've been swabbed for MRSA and it was NEGATIVE. Much to my surprize, considering I've spent a lot of time in isolation rooms.

The only time I've been sick as a result of a communicable disease, it wasn't my fault and it wasn't work related.

Wash your hands people! Especially food handlers.

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

oh ok, ill still change it anyway to make me feel better, and im currently taking microbiology now.

thank you for your responses guys

I figured as much. It's easy to let yourself get freaked out when you learn about all the germs floating around out there. Try to focus on the amazing things your immune system is capable of :)

[Sour Lemon]

My kid gets sick every time we go to Chuck E Cheese or ride the carousel at the mall. Otherwise, he's been fine.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

In 14 yrs of nursing, I don't know that I've ever become sick from a pt. One year when there was a huge flu vax shortage and I wasn't able to get one, I did get the flu, but I don't know for sure where the exposure happened.

People in the community have MRSA -- it's not necessarily a hospital acquired infection anymore. People with it use shopping carts, use public restrooms, touch the fruits and put back the bruised ones, go to the gym, use public transportation........ all without PPE. At least in facilities, we have endless access to PPE and have cans of hand sanitizer in and outside of each room.

I have never done anything special with my scrubs -- they get washed in cold water with everything else.

[Amy01]

These risks are low compared to the potentials of germs kids can bring

[NurseJamillah, MSN, NP]

I worried about this, also! I am a student as well and towards the end of the semester, one of our instructors said to us, "eventually you all will have MRSA in your nares. It's just a hazard of being a nurse." She also advised that we blow our noses and then do saline washes when we get home if we feel like we may have come in contact with anything that we may have inhaled. I have allergies, so I do this daily, anyway, but it still looms in the back of my mind that one day I may bring something home to my family. Anyway, I thank you for asking, OP, and I am thankful for the responses!

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

My kid gets sick every time we go to Chuck E Cheese or ride the carousel at the mall. Otherwise, he's been fine.

My husband brings my daughter to Chuck E Cheese when I'm working at the hospital. Agreed. A visit to that place is a ticket to misery for the next week or so because she WILL be sick within 24 hours of visiting that creepy mouse. She even told me one day that he gave her a high 5 and that "Chucky was sticky!"...yep. she had the creepy crud the next day and shared it with me about a week later.

Before having a child I worked in a hospital for nine years. I was sick about once every 2 years. I think most people get a cold, what, maybe twice a year? So, that would make me healthier than many in terms of communicable diseases and I worked in acute care. Hand washing is key. Change your clothes and wash your hands again when you get home. Keep your work shoes out of reach (kids love to play with their parents shoes so out of reach in the garage is good). Other than that, anything else seems like overkill.

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

I worried about this, also! I am a student as well and towards the end of the semester, one of our instructors said to us, "eventually you all will have MRSA in your nares. It's just a hazard of being a nurse." She also advised that we blow our noses and then do saline washes when we get home if we feel like we may have come in contact with anything that we may have inhaled. I have allergies, so I do this daily, anyway, but it still looms in the back of my mind that one day I may bring something home to my family. Anyway, I thank you for asking, OP, and I am thankful for the responses!

Many of us probably do have MRSA in the nares. Years ago we were exposed to patients for several days before there sputum test came back positive for MRSA. It was only THEN that we gowned, gloved, and masked up each time we went in the room.

I hate when instructors invoke fear into students about things like this. Follow standard precautions and isolation precautions when applicable. To have someone paranoid about the what ifs and blowing their nose after work each day and flushing with saline is just crazy. If this was truely worth doing every healthcare worker would own a NettyPot. I mean, how many of our patients that have infections are telling us "yeah, I got this and I work/used to work in healthcare"? It's more likely to pick it up at WalMart. Oh, and if you really want to be creeped out, just observe other people touching the food in the produce department. Then we buy and consume what everyone else has had their hands all over.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

I've been sicker with my son in daycare than I ever was working. So much sicker!

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I've been sicker with my son in daycare than I ever was working. So much sicker!

That's actually been researched and authenticated! Our kids bring home most of the germs from other kids.

Norovirus is highly contagious. That goes through a school like wildfire and goes home with the kiddos too.

Grocery store shopping cart handles are pretty dirty and I always use the antibacterial wipes most stores offer now to wipe down the handles. And I wash the outside of all fruits and veggies before I eat them. I noticed my son washing the watermelon he bought yesterday before cutting it on the cutting board. So, I'm rubbing off on my family.

What I notice out in public is people picking their nose or using their fingers to remove chewing tobacco from their mouth and then wanting to shake your hand. Who knows if they washed their hands after using the bathroom? I'm more cautious about being out in public than I am in the hospital.

Sometimes, depending on what kind of day I've had, I do take my shoes off outside and carry them to the basement where I wash them (I wear running shoes). I don't take any special precautions with my scrubs unless, yes, I get blood or feces on them.

And I too hate it when instructors scare students about MRSA.

Even though I'm cautious out in public in some ways, I never wrapped my kids in cotton. They got dirty with the rest of the kids and their immune systems thanked me.

[Purple_roses]

Follow the appropriate precautions, wash hands often, take your shoes off before you walk around your house, launder your scrubs on hot, and shower when you get home. You should be fine.