Concern???

[copyman]

well here is one you probably never heard asked before, my wife is getting a new job as a medical secretary at a infectious disease doctors office. since i will be starting tx soon and possibly my immune system may be down, is there more of a chance of her transmitting something from her job to me. is it possible for her to bring germs home on her clothes, etc? probably being paranoid and stupid but better to ask. thanks

[Kalio1]

your best bet would be to have her ask her new boss if it poses a risk to immune suppressed people such as yourself. They can give you an expert opinion.

[mikesimon]

It's always smart to check but I don't believe that TX results in a compromised immune system. If you're cirrhotic you may be immune compromised already but I wouldn't think that TX would increase the compromise any. That's just my lay opinion - for what it's worth. Mike

[Algernon]

Another lay opinion.  Can't be worse than living with 2 kids in elementary school through TX--I did that.  Never washed my hands more often than during TX...

Maybe you should ask your doctor.  He/she would probably know more about possible danger than your wife's new boss.

Good luck, Alg

[GrandOak]

If you are experience low WBC and ANC numbers requoring Neupogen rescue med, then you may want to inquire further about the risk.

Recent reports I've seen have indicated that like most chemo therapies our immune system numbers (i.e. ABC, ANC, etc.) are much lower than normal, that perhaps HCV tx does not put us at as much of a risk as other therapies of bein more susceptible to other illnesses.

[Myown]

I would tend to believe that since tx can lower our white cell count(and lowers other counts), that it would leave us open to infection, but if any in your family shops at malls, that to me is the breeding ground for germs also, but washing of hands, as mentioned is bigger than most people think.

I would ask the doctor, but also try to stay away from anyone in your house or elsewhere, if they get the winter flu. If our white and red blood cells are low from tx, it would put us in a compromised state, I believe.

I would like a bubble if I can find one on EBAy.You sound like you might be ready too. Niceguy can probably tell us where to get the best deal.. (Niceguy...I'm just joking with you.)

Scroll down this article and it will clarify some things.

http://www.chemocare.com/managing/low_blood_counts.asp

[FlGuy]

My wife works in the back ofc of a doc's ofc.  Although it's not an infectious disease ofc, for some reason they have a lot of iccky sick people coming in every day. My wife, kids and I have been no sicker than usual and the only thing my wife brings home are cute pens and note pads.  Like Algae said, your probably at greater risk from snot-nosed school kids. By the way while I was on tx and except for cirrhosis, low platelets, low anc, high blood pressure, wacky blood sugar, sleep deprivation, constant headaches, riba rage and skin irritations - I was never healthier than when I was on tx.

[NYgirl]

I wash wash WASH my hands.  I use an antiseptic cleaner on my phone (at work and home too!) to wash off the mouth piece (have you ever really LOOKED at one of them? aCK!). I wash down my keyboard and even my PENS. I'm not crazy I read in an article that pens have TONS of germs and they go person to person to person around companies.

I've NEVER done things like this before.  I actually found myself in the ladies room at work a few times spraying the doornob (which I won't touch) and surfaces with Lysol.

I have two school age kids too. Talk about always being ill!

But since I have been treating - I have not been NEARLY as ill as often as I used to.  In fact it's hard to think of any time I was really sick that was not related to tx right now.

So all that talking about washing and stuff - it really DOES work (shock!!!!!).  I am going to keep on being obsessive about it if I can after treatment. Getting sick is no fun whether you are on interferon or not!

(Just a lay person opinion here but if it was that contagious there...nobody would be working there.  I wouldn't sweat it. A job is an important thing to have).

[desrt]

Tx is a mixed blessing - you're on the best anti-viral Western Medicine has to offer, but if your WBC is down, you need to watch out for bacterial stuff.

[GrandmaA]

NYgirl thanks for your input. It's very helpful.

I don't think medical secretaries have patient contact but best to ask your boss.

Are we supposed to get flu shots as usual when on tx?

[Kalio1]

I said ask her new boss because he said her new boss was an infectious disease specialist. I agree, he needs to ask a doctor either his or his wife's new boss.

[way]

I was told by my ins.caseworker at BC/BS (and by others on this forum) that we ARE considered immune compromised. (never asked the Doc)The ins. caseworker(who is a reg nurse) told me to make sure to get a flu shot!
So far after 16 weeks my blood is still OK, and I have not had even a cold, and cuts heal fast, like before TX. I'm just saying...

[copyman]

my doctor said to get the flu & pnumonia shots. i think i asked this question before and some said they get it and some say that do not. i have gotten the flu shot the last few years, this was before i found out about the HCV. now i'm not sure if i want anything more in my body, but with the wife working this new job i may reconsider.

[mikesimon]

I've heard that too. And it would seem that if your ANC is low you might be more prone to infections. Since I am a transplant recipient I take anti-rejection drugs and I know I am compromised - immunewise as well as otherwise. I was never cautioned by my team to take extra precautions while on TX but maybe that's because they know I'll be careful regardless of TX. I can tell you this: I treated for 3.5 years and I never was sick one day aside from the sides of TX. Until last week, when I got a cold, I haven't had a cold or the flu since 1981 - not one time. This is purely annecdotal and extrapolations shouldn't be made but I think it's confusing that we take interferon to enhance our immune system and yet are characterized as immunocompromised. But the immune system isn't a one dimentional system and maybe therein lies the rub. Mike

[way]

FUNNY STORY--------I was washing hands SOOOO much (with all the water we drink and peeing every15 min.) and hands were getting so dry, so I got some hand sanitizer with aloe.

So I go to bathroom and use hand sani, then decide to brush teeth, then rinse mouth out-by grabing water with hand and YUK!!!!!!!!!It was like I rinsed mouth out with hand sanitizer.

[Pdilly]

We have one of those sinks at work that automatically come one BUT we have to manually pull for towels.  Door is no problem,  I back out of it with my behind...no toughing threre.