work makes me sick, literally :OP

We're exposed to a lot and also our increased stress levels put us at greater risk. I was told by my boss that I would probably get everything going the first year. I got a bad cold back in October and got a NASTY case of the flu in January. I was so sick and weak I couldn't get out of bed and slept for 12 hours at a time.

We had a nurse who cut himself cleaning up a MRSA wound and got a horrible MRSA infection. Also had a nurse who was on antibiodics for a UTI, wiped out her intestinal flora, and got c-diff (couldn't prove it was hospital acquired though and was a per diem worker and didn't have sick time to cover her missed days).

Fortunately, I haven't been sick from a hospital acquired illness. Most of the illnesses our unit has MRSA, c-diff and the like aren't likely to affect us healthy people, we're more likely though to infect other sick patients.

I think we do things to boost our immune system like eat right, exercise, and sleep, etc. that's our best defense other than frequent handwashing.

Of course, one never knows when a SARS-like illness will spread. Can be a bit scarey.

Nurses are like kids just starting school or daycare...come down with everything intitially, before we build up an immunity. THEN as we get older, our immune systems get strained and if we're not careful we risk illness. I have soooo many older nurses who have acquired infections and been surprised. Including MRSA that went systemic and almost killed one friend of mine. Nurses with pneumonia are increasing in my circle anyway.... CAP is really acquired on the job for us I suspect...of course employee health doesn't see it that way, do they?

So the moral is be respectful of these bugs, stay healthy and strong, take your vitamins, eat well and protect yourself as much as you can, nurses. The scariest thing to me is there are always those unexpected situations you can't prepare for. And if your patient has something you just are SOL.

Still worrying about a full face explosion of vent tubing mist on a Hep C patient here and hoping for the best.

i have had sooooo many skin tests but never possitive... but it always worries me b/c it is something we could be exposed to and not even know it... and be infected with and not know it, worse still!!!

i was taking vitals on a patient i was transferring to er for suspected pneumonia. i was squatted down taking her bp when she decided to cough. unfortunately, we were face to face, as she was sitting in a wheelchair. i have had many, many bouts of bronchitis since childhood, but this was the first time i developed pneumonia.

I have gotten sick several times, but our hospital actually handles it in a manner that is the opposite of compensation. Even if we have a DOCTORS NOTE, we get "written up" for calling in sick. If we have to call out sick more than 3 times in a rolling YEAR, we get a disciplinary letter that goes into our file. If we get more, it could ultimately end up in our termination. Again, this includes being sick with a doctors note. The only times I have been sick I believe are a direct result of working with sick patients. And yet I have to come to work and spread all my germs and possibly put my patients' and coworkers' health at risk.

I agree that not only do we have an increased exposure level to who know what germs are floating around here -- I think the additional factors of high stress, low staffing (more stress), sicker patients (more stress), family stresses (more stress) -- complicate things -- doesn't do much to boost the immune system!

We just have to practice the best preventative measures that we can (universal precautions etc.) and pray alot!! The post that mentioned rest and good diet -- that is what was CAN control to take care of us!

I think that the "Call in" policies that some places have adopted -- tick me off!! We are all human and are going to have days when we are truly ill! On those days, it seems counter-productive and downright stupid to expect someone who is running a fever, coughing... whatever... to work anyway!! Health care! Gotta love it!

Just to add a word or two about the call in policies...I think it can be a hazard to your liscense coming into work when you're sick enough to stay home. Or worse, a danger to your patient(s). I know that when I am sick, I don't think as clearly as I do when well. I could overlook something that I normally wouldn't.

I haven't really caught too many colds, but it could be that I became a nurse after having kids and they'd already exposed me to so much, lol. I do have some allergy trouble that comes on while at work. I swear it's some mold in our vents.

Of course you can't help it if someone coughs/sneezes in your face. But you can cut down your risks by remembering strict handwashing and TRY to avoid getting face to face with patients as much as possible.

a month or so ago i walked into a confused pt's room to answer a ringing IV pump to find her pumping blood into her bed from her extracted central line site. she had pulled it out leaving it hanging on by it's suture and had lost quite a bit of blood so it was everywhere. of course i grabbed up her sheet and put pressure on the wound and called out for help. i was in the thick of it and without gloves!!!

we secured the wound after getting gauze and holding pressure, removed the suture and placed a pressure dressing... of course we all wore gloves except when i first came in and took action... no time for gloves when your pt is in danger!

so i washed and washed and it seems that i had no exposure my body couldn't handle.... but it is still so appearant to me that our job requires us to accept the high risk of exposure as routine and we are not compensated when our job does make us sick.

so if we get TB or AIDS or Hep C will we loose our jobs?

taken from the ana code of ethics for nurses

"the nurse owes the same duty to self as to others, including the responsibility to preserve integrity and safety, to maintain competence and to continue personal and professional growth."

this should be tattooed on the forehead of anyone who tries to implement a punitive sick call policy. many nurse managers would do well to keep this in mind also (some already do, but most could care less in my experience)

how about what our job does to our hands! the cracking and stinging with each wash and the need for that instant soap when we are in a hurry or in a bad way... never enough lotion to mend them on the run either... i am always glad when i get my couple days off, just to heal up the cuticles forget the manicured look!

I have CFS and my immune system is the pits so I do anything and everything to keep from catching 'what's going around'. If I do catch something, it takes me twice as long to recover. This year, I am meticulous about my little 'keep from getting sick' rituals and here's what I do.

1. As soon as you get to work, wipe down all work surfaces with disinfectant wipes. Pay close attention to the phone and call bell system. Do the phones again a few times throughout the day.

2. DO NOT touch your face...ever...while you are at work. Learn to keep your hands as far from your face as possible.

3. Take a daily vitamin and get tested for B12 deficiency. If you are deficient, get the shots! You can also use sublingual B12.

4. Eat properly and get enough rest whenever possible.

5. Leave a tub of disinfectant wipes in the bathroom and wipe the toilet down before each use.

6. As every nurse knows...WASH WASH WASH your hands!

7. Use that little tube of antibacterial hand gel on your patients! As long as there's no contraindication. They spread infection like wildfire because they aren't washing their hands. Or if possible, educate them on the importance of handwashing and see that they do it.

Muy staff may think I'm crazy, but I don't care. They will be appreciative when they realize we're the only unit not getting sick!