I don't know about anyone else, I'm starting to feel a little concerned about the very real possibility of a pandemic and what the heck we will do to deal with it. Sure we've had panics before that have amounted to nothing, like bird flu, but this virus is hopping from country to county with frightening speed.
The hospital I work at is running at capacity. The beds are full, the staff is short and it is very common to be out of supplies like blood pressure cuffs or linen. What will we do if there is a surge in patients when we can't even handle our day to day load?
What about us, the caregivers. I am a single parent, as are many of my colleagues. Will I put my family at risk by exposing myself? Will they? Who will care for our families while we care for the sick.
I hope that this turns out to be another case of overblown media hype. But I have to say, I'm a little scared.
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- ERnursey
- A hardworking ER nurse trying to survive until retirement and if I can have little fun or have a positive impact on someone's life, all the better!
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9 comments:
I'm scared too,hopefully it will be no worse than the regular flu.I'd be wearing a N95 mask though.
First things first, Nursey. How many people actually die from Seasonal flu every year? H1N1 seems to be much milder, doesn't it? How much of this media reaction is hype? My wife is a RN-RRT, and she says that peds cases
Are always much more contagious, and, really, 35-40 thousand die nearly every year due to seasonal flu. True, time will tell, but it seems to be wildly overhyped. Just sayin'........
Not worried, not even an iota!
I've been polling (informally) my patient's families (I'm a hospice RN), so far no one reports being concerned about this flu. Amazing, because families of hospice patients are usually totally terrified of the flu bug (not without reason). I've arrived at homes to find antiseptic hand wash screwed to the doorframe. Surgical masks are usually a much requested item during the flu season. This year, not one request. All my masks are gathering dust in my car.
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Yeah I'm a bit worried about this newest virus to ever hit the public since it is highly contagious and it caused death of most people in Mexico, according to the news. However, WHO has provided several preventive measures regarding Swine virus and I think, as long as we follow these steps and keep our surroundings clean, we can avoid the worst cases.
H1N1---same strain as 1918--how many people did that pandemic get
Dude, Swine Flu is SO NOT SCARY. Overblown media hype. If people had proper medical care and access to good fluids they probably wouldn't have died. All you can do with Swine Flu is drink fluids, rest, and stay home to avoid spreading the virus---same as any other flu! How much you wanna bet that the really bad flu/cold that was going around in january and was lasting 2-4 weeks once you got it was actually swine flu but it didn't have a name because no one in Mexico had died yet?
Also, how do doctors today have access to the virus that was known as Spanish Influenza in 1917?
I think there's a law (I forget if it's state or federal) that if there is a pandemic, then the medical personnel are first on the list for immunizations and things like that. I remember hearing something about that in the news, maybe last year.
I've worked ER's for almost 30 years. All my newer (younger) nurses are worried. I told them I was hoping for someone with this strain to cough on me to give me a week off. Seriously though, this is a very mild strain, the one I'm worried about is the mutation that will most likely raise it's ugly head this winter. If you get it now chances are you won't get it later.
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