The Active Family

I’m not a doctor, but I look like one. I pull on scrubs every day and I wear a nifty white coat. So while I don’t command the salary of a doctor, I do most of the “dirty work”. I’m also in charge of sanitizing the op room in between patients, as well as sterilizing everything in site that can be!

Needless to say, I come in just as much, if not more contact with “ick” than the good doc does. As such I’ve been extra vigilant about my cleaning and preventative measures than I think I have ever been. With the H1N1 Flu being highly prevalent in the Boston Area, our office has been proactive, asking patients to cancel if they have any flu like symptoms, upping our top to bottom cleaning schedules, and being ever vigilant about the sacred hand washing. Anyone with jobs in health care should be doing these things as a matter of course but if we as a community are going to get control of the situation, we need to stay on our toes.

Can you even imagine what would happen if the doctors and nurses in a major metropolitan city begin spreading this flu? We all work in close proximity to each other, spreading the flu would be devastating. Luckily for us, the oldest advise works the best. When people ask me how they can best protect their families, I tell them to wash their hands, often and thoroughly. I get a few odd looks. I hear the echos of “DUH” in their minds. Let me tell you how many people don’t wash their hands. I wash so often I have to resort to alternating washing in water and using purell. My nail beds are prone to infection if I wash too frequently. The purell works well enough, but I hate when doctors rely solely on that to keep germs at bay. I like seeing my doc come into the room and head to the sink!

My long and rambling post today heads to just one thing. Promote hand washing in your family. Stay home from work and school if the flu symptoms present, and call your doctor for advice if you don’t feel well. Stay Healthy!