Monday, September 29, 2014

Weekly update September 29

This morning most of the calls I took were about the nasty cough/cold that is going around many of my patients and  families.
In the afternoon it took an abrupt turn and everyone I spoke to was vomiting!
These tummy bug  kids have low to moderate fevers, stools are not quite normal, but not soft enough to be described as diarrhea.
The kids all look pale and miserable and then perk up quite a bit after vomiting. I don't have a sense of how long it lasts yet.


In the office we have had lots of sore throats.
We had some positive strep tests, but not quite as many as last week.

I had lots of calls about head lice and pin worms, both are out there....

We got a health advisory update about the Enterovirus D-68 which is the official name of the nasty virus that has been in the news.
There are no reported cases in SF as of yet.
We are seeing a spike in wheezy patients this week.

As per the flu update. There is still no sign of actual Influenza circulating, which is a very good thing because there is no current word on when we will get more of our vaccine.
 We still have some flu mist in stock and are getting 50 doses this week.

I promise that as soon as the vaccine is in, we will have a few weekend clinics so that we can play catch up and get all of our families protected

Stay well.
Judy

Friday, September 26, 2014

Flu Clinic Cancelled Tomorrow

Unfortunately we do not have enough flu vaccines in stock to hold our Drop-in Flu Clinic tomorrow.

We have a small, reserved amount of vaccines for those of you with scheduled appointments (hopefully enough to hold us over to the next shipment) plus about 70 flu mists (live, intranasal) for children older than 3 years without a history of asthma. If you fall under this category, call next week for an appointment. Flu vaccine hours are as follows, please call for an appointment in the morning of the same day.

TUES/WED/THURS
10-11:30am
2-4pm

Due to our limited number, we are reserving these flumists for our pediatric patients. Parents please visit a pharmacy such as Walgreens or ask your primary care physician.

We expect our shipment next month so check back with us!

Remember, it takes about two weeks for protection to develop after vaccination and children who have never received a flu vaccine will need two doses the first year.



Monday, September 22, 2014

Weekly Update 9/22/14

We are seeing all sorts of stuff out there this week.

Hand Foot Mouth is rampant, but the young kids with it seem to be handling the symptoms without being super miserable. That is not the case for the adults who are getting it. These folks are quite uncomfortable.
We are also seeing strep throat. so sore throats are worth checking out, especially if they come along with any fever. Congestion makes it less likely to be strep, but not impossible.

We are seeing tummy bug, with some vomiting and diarrhea.

There are lots of coughs and colds. Some kids have been croupy. I am not seeing tons of wheezing.

Media reports that the nasty Mid West Virus that hospitalized hundreds of kids has been seen in California but not in the Bay Area yet.

Bear with us about the flu vaccines.

As of today we have about 100 doses of flu mist left and about 40 doses of the baby flu.
We will be getting enough to vaccinate all of our patients, there is just an irritating lag in the delivery.

There is no sign of Flu out there thank goodness!

wash those hands and stay well!
~Nurse Judy

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Weekly update September 16

Yesterday was so nutty in here that I didn't have even a moment to get to the blog until today.
We were booked and double booked. Thanks everyone for your patience.

Thank being said, there is nothing terribly alarming that I am seeing in our patient population.
As you can imagine we are getting plenty of calls about the alarming virus that is affecting folks in the Mid-West.
I am actually surprised that I haven't seen any whiffs of it at all.
We do have loads of kids with cold and coughs, but as I said last week, the parameters for when to bring your child in for an evaluation remain the same. If they seem to be having trouble breathing, get them seen!

This week I also have had a number of folks with a short bout of diarrhea/vomiting/ general tummy ache.

I also had a number of cases of pin worms and head lice ( not the same patient thank goodness, but groan none the less) Welcome to the "back to school" season.

Regarding the flu...we are experiencing a delay in getting the bulk of our vaccine. We have a few doses of shots for the babies in stock.
I am hoping that we will see the flu mist at least later this week.
I am now updating my Friday Emails with the status of the flu season, so if you are on the email list check, you can check there for updated info
(if you want to be added, just shoot me an email to nursejudynvp@gmail.com)

We may or may not be able to hold a Saturday clinic this month. It depends on our supply.
We fully expect to be well prepared to vaccinate everyone who needs it in October and luckily there doesn't seem to be any active Flu out there yet. It usually comes quite a bit later in the season.
I will keep the updates coming.

Stay well
~Judy

Monday, September 8, 2014

Monday Update 9/8/2014/Scary respiratory virus

For those of you who read the news, there is a very scary respiratory virus making the rounds in the Mid West.
I have not seen any cases here yet and I hope that remains the case.

http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/09/coldcongestion-review.html

This week's blog post is especially timely...
It gives the basic parameters for when you need to be seen and then reviews basic care.

With ANY virus, if you are worried about your child's breathing they need to be seen.

We are seeing plenty of routine coughs and colds in here, but nothing out of the ordinary.

We are still waiting for the Flu Mist to be delivered.


New Topic.
We had some recent schedule changes and left messages on the phone number that we have in our computer scheduling system. Some folks have made changes and did not receive our messages in a timely fashion. Please make sure we have your updated contact info so that we are able to reach you if we need to!

One more topic.

Stanford has openings in the weight control center for folks between the ages of 8-15.
It is a bit of a schlep down there, but we don't have anything quite as good here in the city.
The contact number for more info is 650-725-4424

Stay well.
Judy

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Weekly update September 3rd

Labor Day signals that most of our older kids are back in school. Usually this means "bring on the coughs and colds etc", but so far today most of the illnesses were fairly mild.
I do have several patients with what I am suspecting is Hand/Foot/Mouth virus.
There are a bunch of kids with mild colds and ear infections.

We still only have a small percentage of our Flu Vaccine...no Flu Mist yet. We are not seeing any glimmers of Flu yet either, thank goodness.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/08/201415-flu-season-vaccine-info.html

I will update this site weekly as things evolve.

Stay well.
~Judy