Sitting here in OB Triage on a lovely Wednesday night! I saw a pt earlier who came in with all of the Swine Flu symptoms and had been to Mexico in the past week! Yikes! Utilizing Droplet Precautions...I'm pretty sure th risk of contracting this new influenza A virus is very small for me. But, I was exposed in a way. My manager called and advised me that since I was exposed that I would need to go home immediately and not return to work....NOT! Would have been great if she were serious. Ha ha ha. Oh well. The glories of working in a hospital. What is interesting is if any of us spike a fever, have a cough, sore throat...any symptoms we cannot come to work and have to be cleared through Occupational Health before returning to work. Hard core! I mean, people do get sick with other things...it's not always going to be the Swine Flu. Oh well, better be safe than sorry. What's nice about this pandemic is that we are on respiratory alert...meaning children under 12 are not permitted in the hospital! Yay!
Take your vitamins people!
Nurse Carly says look out for these symptoms: Rapid onset less than 72 hours, fever 100 degrees or greater, and cough. Additional symptoms that could indicate the flu are...sore throat, myalgia, headache, and/or stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
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