Here piggy, piggy, piggy. Pigs fly, Swine Flu!
For the first time, I am actually working for an employer that is being proactive rather than reactive in the face of a potential disaster. There are masks and alcohol hand scrub at every appointment desk. There are huge red signs instructing patients to wear a mask if they are sneezing or coughing.
We have been advised that no one with flu-like symptoms is to be booked to the clinic, they are to be telephone triaged and given the appropriate home care treatments. Yes! There is nothing that we can do for them in the clinic, so it is much better to have the patients stay home, take care of themselves and not expose anyone else to the potential infection. If a patient really feels obligated to come in and cough on us, we have been instructed to place a mask on them and isolate them until they may be triaged.
However, I cannot believe the absolute flocks of people who have been coming in because they MIGHT have been exposed. One sniffle, sneeze or cough and many of them think that they have caught the Swine hybrid flu, even though they have not be to any of the places that currently have flu victims, nor have they traveled. As near as I can figure, some seem to think that they might have gotten it just because they were exposed to the news reports on TV.
No one seems to be paying attention to what actual information that the news channels are providing. It is not flu unless there is some combination of fever, body aches, headache and cough. Although there may be other symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, those symptoms are primarily associated with gastritis or gastroenteritis, which some will call "flu" or "stomach flu", but are technically not flu virus related. Flu is more like a cold than a stomach bug.
Pay attention! I cannot say this enough. If you have flu-like symptoms. STAY HOME! Do drink plenty of fluids. Fever dehydrates you. You need to keep drinking non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic liquids to stay hydrated. Do take an over the counter analgesic and other over the counter medications to manage your symptoms, especially to keep the fever down. Don't stay in bed. Get up, sit in a chair, concentrate on doing some deep breathing. If you have an incentive spirometer, use it. It will help prevent a secondary infection like pneumonia.
The following cannot be stressed enough. GOOD HAND WASHING is the best preventative measure. Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Avoid touching your nose or eyes after touching telephones, door knobs, pens or anything else that someone else may have touched. Carry your own pen rather than using the one provided for your convenience. If you can't wash your hands with soap and water, carry some alcohol gel and use it consistently.
Preventing infection is everyone's responsibility, not just the responsibility of the health care workers around you. Be Proactive. Stock the necessary supplies so that if you become ill, you are able to stay home. If you become ill and do not have the supplies, ask a friend to bring them to you and leave them on your door step so that you do not expose others and do not expose yourself to anything else while your immune system is weak.
I think that if everyone gets on board, we can minimize the number of flu victims and thus minimize the number of fatalities.
We have been advised that no one with flu-like symptoms is to be booked to the clinic, they are to be telephone triaged and given the appropriate home care treatments. Yes! There is nothing that we can do for them in the clinic, so it is much better to have the patients stay home, take care of themselves and not expose anyone else to the potential infection. If a patient really feels obligated to come in and cough on us, we have been instructed to place a mask on them and isolate them until they may be triaged.
However, I cannot believe the absolute flocks of people who have been coming in because they MIGHT have been exposed. One sniffle, sneeze or cough and many of them think that they have caught the Swine hybrid flu, even though they have not be to any of the places that currently have flu victims, nor have they traveled. As near as I can figure, some seem to think that they might have gotten it just because they were exposed to the news reports on TV.
No one seems to be paying attention to what actual information that the news channels are providing. It is not flu unless there is some combination of fever, body aches, headache and cough. Although there may be other symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, those symptoms are primarily associated with gastritis or gastroenteritis, which some will call "flu" or "stomach flu", but are technically not flu virus related. Flu is more like a cold than a stomach bug.
Pay attention! I cannot say this enough. If you have flu-like symptoms. STAY HOME! Do drink plenty of fluids. Fever dehydrates you. You need to keep drinking non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic liquids to stay hydrated. Do take an over the counter analgesic and other over the counter medications to manage your symptoms, especially to keep the fever down. Don't stay in bed. Get up, sit in a chair, concentrate on doing some deep breathing. If you have an incentive spirometer, use it. It will help prevent a secondary infection like pneumonia.
The following cannot be stressed enough. GOOD HAND WASHING is the best preventative measure. Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Avoid touching your nose or eyes after touching telephones, door knobs, pens or anything else that someone else may have touched. Carry your own pen rather than using the one provided for your convenience. If you can't wash your hands with soap and water, carry some alcohol gel and use it consistently.
Preventing infection is everyone's responsibility, not just the responsibility of the health care workers around you. Be Proactive. Stock the necessary supplies so that if you become ill, you are able to stay home. If you become ill and do not have the supplies, ask a friend to bring them to you and leave them on your door step so that you do not expose others and do not expose yourself to anything else while your immune system is weak.
I think that if everyone gets on board, we can minimize the number of flu victims and thus minimize the number of fatalities.