Need some advice...

Marliese

I found out I was pregnant last week.  I work on a subacute rehab unit as a nurse, I have two precaution rooms.  Most of the time those patients are on precautions for Cdiff or MRSA or VRE, which with proper precautions I feel I am safe from contracting these.  However today I found out that a patient with Shingles was transferred into one of my rooms.  I am only 6 weeks pregnant today and I had wanted to hold off until the 2nd trimester to tell anyone at work and non immediate family. 

 I think tomorrow I have to go and talk with the director of nursing to see if I can either switch teams or have another nonpregnant nurse switch my Shingles patient with another patient. Any thoughts? Does anyone know if I am right about Shingles being dangerous to the fetus?

I'm very nervous as this is just coming up to my third month at this facility. We just bought a house and with baby on way I can't afford to lose my job. But baby is more important.

Thanks so much, any advice will help!

 

JennV514

I would tell your boss and get switched out of that room. Good luck!

landosmommy

I don't know if shingles is anything to be concerned about, but I would definitely tell your supervisor that you are PG. firing you for being PG is illegal, so I wouldn't worry about that.

BigFoot80

You definitely need to talk to your boss.  You don't have to share the news with everyone else, but your boss should be aware so he/she can switch out patients who aren't safe for you to be around right now.  And they can't fire you for being pg.  They can lighten your workload and cut your hours if you can't perform the job, but they can't fire you.

ungraceful13

I would do what you have to do to keep your baby safe. I had to quit my summer job bc the kids I work with are semi-violent. I work with autistic kids as my summer job and decided it wasn't safe enough.

augieskitchen

I am in a similar situation to you. I work in a lab and around harmful chemicals so I had to tell my boss the day after we got our BFP. I didn't want anyone else than me and DH to know that soon but it's for the safety of LO. I wouldn't chance anything.

rjade9

Were the blisters open?  If they were not in an airborne room (which they should be if the blisters are open) then you are fine. 

I had a similar situation during my IVF treament, although not contagious I requested to not have the patient again.

Marliese

rjade9:

Were the blisters open?  If they were not in an airborne room (which they should be if the blisters are open) then you are fine. 

I had a similar situation during my IVF treament, although not contagious I requested to not have the patient again.

We don't have airborne rooms at our facility, we would send them out. Only private rooms for precautions... good to know about the open blisters! Maybe I can see if they are open. But I guess I probably should tell my boss anyways.

You ladies are all so sweet for giving me advice and I'm glad to know that I can't be fired for being pregnant!  As you all must know, it's easy to be overlyworried and emotional at this time!

Pictures29

Yes, I really think you need to let your director know. I'm fairly certain they can't fire you for getting pregnant.

Mason&Mama

With the proper precautions it is okay to take care of shingles patients. I asked two of my OBs last pregnancy (I switched practices for insurance reasons). I have taken care of shingles patients with my last pregnancy and again with this one. If you can change assignments, go for it. However, it truly is ok if you wear the right protective equipment.

JPMD06

I had almost the same situation with my first pregnancy. A patient came in and as soon as I looked at him I  knew he had chicken pox. I was only 6 weeks or so and wasn't going to tell my boss for a while. But I came right out of the room and asked him if he could take that patient bc I was pregnant. He was very understanding

brittandjp

It sounds like the PP's already have it covered, but I agree. I definitely think you need to talk to the director and temporarily remove yourself from working with any patients that could potentially harm the baby in some way. I'm sure they will understand. Good luck!

spainy17

I have to reiterate that if the blisters are open then that patient should be in airborne precautions and you should not take care of them.  I work in an intensive care unit as a nurse and often have patient's with various diseases and some are just not safe while preganant - I have actually outed myself at work and have not even told my family yet!  They will be supportive, we always get outed early in the healthcare field!

Marliese

All of your posts have been so helpful.  I'm very glad I posted this, I felt like maybe I might be overreacting.  I have decided I am going to just bite the bullet, go sit down with my boss (who is fantastic and has several kids herself), and let them know.  It's better safe than sorry. I don't want to do anything to harm my growing child.  If they still want me to care for this shingles patient, I am going to find out if the blisters are open before I enter the room. If they are, I am not going to care for the patient.  A job is not more important than my little sweat pea.

Thanks for you help girlies! You all gave me some confidence I didn't think I'd have for several more weeks!

KappaUCF20

Yes, Shingles can be dangerous.  I'm not a nurse, but I work in radiation oncology.  Not only could I be exposed to radiation but if a patient has something contagious, there's that risk as well.  I made the decision to declare my pregnancy immediately and thought it was the right choice.  By declaring early, I was able to get a fetal dosimeter, and my boss/coworkers will make sure I'm protected as much as possible.  Recently my manager had a rash and, even though they were pretty sure it was a reaction to the amoxicillin she was on, rashes can also be a symptom of other illnesses like fifth's disease that are dangerous to a fetus so she told me to stay far away from her.  If she hadn't known I was pregnant, she might not have warned me.  I just told them to keep it quiet until my second trimester. I totally understand where you're coming from, but I highly advise that you tell someone (at least your boss) so they keep you and your baby out of harm's way as much as possible. 

KappaUCF20

Marliese:

All of your posts have been so helpful.  I'm very glad I posted this, I felt like maybe I might be overreacting.  I have decided I am going to just bite the bullet, go sit down with my boss (who is fantastic and has several kids herself), and let them know.  It's better safe than sorry. I don't want to do anything to harm my growing child.  If they still want me to care for this shingles patient, I am going to find out if the blisters are open before I enter the room. If they are, I am not going to care for the patient.  A job is not more important than my little sweat pea.

Thanks for you help girlies! You all gave me some confidence I didn't think I'd have for several more weeks!