Scabies

[lonewolfiern]

Months ago I developed a severe dermatitis but it went misdiagnosed. Scabies has now become part of the differential and I received the first treatment a few days ago. My husband and other family members have absolutely no symptoms. The derm thinks I picked it up from work in ICU. I am involved in heavy patient care and on a few occasions, I did sit on the john at work but will never do that again after this nightmare.

If this turns out to be true scabies, should I tell my boss, or just keep quiet about it?

Thanks for your advice.

Sonja

[adventure_rn, MSN, NP]

What do you hope to achieve by telling your manager? Realistically, I doubt the hospital will accept responsibility for the exposure, especially if you can't pinpoint a particular patient. Even if they do, they may turn it around on you and accuse you of not using appropriate PPE. I honestly don't know anything about scabies, but I'd be worried about being placed on medical restrictions from work if they become concerned that you might infect patients until it is resolved (especially depending on where it is). You coudl go to employee health, but again they might have certain work restrictions. The only way I really see it ending in your favor is if a bunch of other people have also been exposed and have talked to the manager (indicating a systemic problem), which we have no way of knowing.

[lonewolfiern]

Adventure, thanks for your thoughts.

When I had surgery for a rotator cuff tear, I became more aware of how to treat post op patients: I lowered my voice when speaking to them, and informed them of any movement or event that was to take place, etc.

Now that I have experienced the possibility of contracting scabies, I am more aware of using PPE.

So in an ADULT ICU, when giving baths, inserting flexiseals, Foley's, wiping, cleaning and the removal of such filth to the dirty room down the hall, I have become more vigilant in covering every aspect of my scrubs, including my hair. I wear the Pouf hair cover as ancillary ppl come into the unit and say, "oh, you work in the kitchen now?" 😉

What is glaring to me now is the lack of awareness my coworkers, including myself, have towards protecting themselves in acquiring something worse than scabies. Rarely do I see anyone in my unit donning plastic gowns in close patient care except for those in isolation.

It's easy to forget things you don't see (like bacteria, mites, virus).

BTW, I have worked at this awesome system for 25yrs, so I'm not trying to get $$,or workman's comp.

Sonya

[Steph41]

Great reminders for us all