AM64
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- Feb 11, 2016
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I don’t wear a mask in public. Around here you can enter several businesses and they don’t say a word. Wash your hands, don’t go out of you are symptomatic and protect the compromised.
As for my hospital, we were required to wear eyewear with side protectors for patient facing encounters. Has not stopped several people getting sprayed in the forehead and it dripping down. So we went to totally occlusive eyewear or face shield.
I wear a n-100 which they recently tried to outlaw because of the exhaust vent. They were concerned that if we had any other respiratory illness we would spread that to covid pts. So, I put n-95 disc in the exhaust vent. They can’t get past my work around.
In the beginning they were repurposing masks. They tried several different methods to reuse n-95
and surgical masks. After several attempts including a high vapor residual rinse and side effects that were untenable like burning eyes, Severe rhinitis and breathing difficulties. The supply from China finally caught up and we were able to use new masks and not repurposed masks. I got sick of having rhinitis constantly from the surgical masks, so I wash my surgical masks and change my n-100 filters every month. I no longer have issues with my nose. Whatever they use to permeate the surgical masks causes constant irritation to my co-workers and myself.
There are donning and doffing procedures in place including the wipe down area for your N100, goggles, shield outside every droplet plus room. Most covid rooms are positive pressure and allow escape of anything aerosolizing in the room like hi flow nasal cannula, non rebreathers and bipap on positive pts. Vented pts are on a closed circuit with no outside aerosolizing. We wear surgical masks in common areas and non covid rooms.
My point of contention with infection control with every hospital has been positive pressure room usage, doffing in common areas outside the room ( there is no anteroom which is required for infection control ). We have sliding doors with gaps in them allowing free airflow out of room. Common areas are affected with that airflow continually. So we have staff that wear an N95 with a surgical mask over the top of it. It can get very uncomfortable after 12 hours. We have had 3 workers get ill, one was covid positive and the other 2 negative with respiratory and cold symptoms. The covid pos is already back to work. She’s 72.
There was a solution used by one hospital in Richmond. They put strong air intake unit in every room and vented it via hepa filter to the outside. Yes, they cut into their windows. It essentially turned it into a negative pressure room. Expensive for 18 rooms but effective. You could feel the vacuum going into the room.
So when I say I’ve been bathing in covid for 2 years I’m being honest. This is the case with most hospitals employees who are hands on and on a covid unit.
Sidenote:
Hope you are doing ok after your valve replacement. By your posts the only danger was the wifes driving.
Thank you. Doing well. I had the 30 post procedure echo yesterday. No regurgitation, and the valve is well seated. Some issues I'd been having and attributed to mild asthma before the procedure were apparently symptoms of cardiac failure because the lungs cleared immediately after the TAVR and no episodes of breathing problems since. Heart rhythm has been much better than before the TAVR - took a couple of weeks to settle down. At the appointment yesterday, they suggested participating in a Watchman trial - the implant to close the left atrial appendage; I'm considering it because I do have a bundle branch block and periods of A fib.
Take care; I really hate the conditions necessary in hospitals right now, and I know you feel them far more acutely. I've been amazed at the empty hallways during the hospital visits over the past several months - sometimes it almost felt like a ghost town. My wife had covid in August of 2020, and she's still struggling with some lingering effects; seeing that first hand tends to make you very wary.
