Generally when the headlines start talking about a new mysterious virus, I know I can count on a few extra calls.
I checked in with the San Francisco Public Health Department's communicable disease team to get an update.
The message that I got was that there is no need to panic.
There in fact has been a mysterious virus noted in California for the past 2 years. This virus has caused paralysis in one or more limbs and for that reason it has some similarities to polio. About 20 patients in total have been affected. There have been no deaths.
All of the patients have had their polio vaccinations.
There have been teams closely watching and studying this. The report just surfaced this week, which is why the media is currently doing stories about it.
The Doc at the Public Health Department stressed that there is NO epidemic. The odds of getting this are actually about 1 in a million.
There have been no cases reported at all in San Francisco.
Of course, if your child presents with any odd weakness in any of the arms or legs, it goes without saying that I would want you to call and report that to your doctor immediately.
~Judy
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Weekly update february 24th
There are lots of coughs and colds around.
Some of these are coming with a high fever.
We are still seeing a spike of conjunctivitis and ear infections.
We have seen some recent cases of viral hives. Some of the patients have had feet and hands that are also swollen for a day.
Several of our patients were seen in the ER this weekend with croup and RSV.
We are still seeing Strep throat and a smattering of Influenza.
If you stay up to date with current events you know that there have been an increase in the reported cases of Measles in California this year.
I will pass along as many full details as I can uncover.
Judy
Some of these are coming with a high fever.
We are still seeing a spike of conjunctivitis and ear infections.
We have seen some recent cases of viral hives. Some of the patients have had feet and hands that are also swollen for a day.
Several of our patients were seen in the ER this weekend with croup and RSV.
We are still seeing Strep throat and a smattering of Influenza.
If you stay up to date with current events you know that there have been an increase in the reported cases of Measles in California this year.
I will pass along as many full details as I can uncover.
Judy
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Weekly update February 18th
I hope everyone had a nice 3 day weekend.
As expected, the pile of charts waiting for us this morning was enormous, so thanks for your patience if awaiting a call.
There isn't one overwhelming illness making headlines, I am seeing a little bit of everything.
If I had to crown a winner it would be the cough/cold./ fever kids. The cough has been lingering for weeks and weeks.
We are also seeing quite a bit of conjunctivitis.
I have reports of some hand/ foot/mouth exposures and slap cheek exposures at day cares, but I haven't seen too many of those in the office.
I have a handful of kids with some mild vomiting and diarrhea.
We have seen some strep throat. About half of the tests are running positive, and half of the sore throats are just viral.
We have had in increase in RSV as well, which is unfortunate, I was hoping that that would fade away.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2013/11/rsv.html
We are still seeing some flu circulating.
That case of Measles in the Bay Area is certainly frightening.
We usually vaccinate patients when they turn 15 months, but kids can get the shot as early as 12 months.
If more cases of Measles turn up and your child is over a year and un vaccinated, feel free to check in with us about coming in for the MMR protection before the 15 month check up.
Measles is a very serious illness. It would show up with a dramatic rash, fever, red eyes and a child who looks pretty sick.
Thanks to years of vaccination, we rarely see the actual disease anymore.
Also, Reminder that if you have a new insurance plan for 2014, PLEASE CALL YOUR PLAN to make sure that we are on it. For instance, There are a number of new Blue Shield PPO plans that we are NOT part of.
We would love to be able to check for you, but honestly each call can be an aggravatingly long wait on hold and we simply don't have the time to do this. We also often don't have your current info if you have recently changed....so alas this is ultimately something that you will need to deal with.
Stay well
~Nurse Judy
As expected, the pile of charts waiting for us this morning was enormous, so thanks for your patience if awaiting a call.
There isn't one overwhelming illness making headlines, I am seeing a little bit of everything.
If I had to crown a winner it would be the cough/cold./ fever kids. The cough has been lingering for weeks and weeks.
We are also seeing quite a bit of conjunctivitis.
I have reports of some hand/ foot/mouth exposures and slap cheek exposures at day cares, but I haven't seen too many of those in the office.
I have a handful of kids with some mild vomiting and diarrhea.
We have seen some strep throat. About half of the tests are running positive, and half of the sore throats are just viral.
We have had in increase in RSV as well, which is unfortunate, I was hoping that that would fade away.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2013/11/rsv.html
We are still seeing some flu circulating.
That case of Measles in the Bay Area is certainly frightening.
We usually vaccinate patients when they turn 15 months, but kids can get the shot as early as 12 months.
If more cases of Measles turn up and your child is over a year and un vaccinated, feel free to check in with us about coming in for the MMR protection before the 15 month check up.
Measles is a very serious illness. It would show up with a dramatic rash, fever, red eyes and a child who looks pretty sick.
Thanks to years of vaccination, we rarely see the actual disease anymore.
Also, Reminder that if you have a new insurance plan for 2014, PLEASE CALL YOUR PLAN to make sure that we are on it. For instance, There are a number of new Blue Shield PPO plans that we are NOT part of.
We would love to be able to check for you, but honestly each call can be an aggravatingly long wait on hold and we simply don't have the time to do this. We also often don't have your current info if you have recently changed....so alas this is ultimately something that you will need to deal with.
Stay well
~Nurse Judy
Monday, February 10, 2014
Monday update 2/10
We are seeing lots of coughs and colds.
Many of these folks have high fevers.
Some of the fevers have been lasting around 4 days or so.
If you are not super worried and your child looks okay, I am going to stretch out my "3 day fever" rule and give you an extra day before you need to check in.
On the other hand, any child who is super fussy or has a fever that is not responding to medications, should be checked out.
We have seen lots of strep throat.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/01/strep-throat.html
I think I may be starting to see some slap cheek making the rounds.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2013/10/slap-cheek.html
For those of you who do not get my weekly emails, Below is my most post with some guidelines about when your child might be contagious.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/02/when-is-your-child-contagious.html
If you are on my list, the emails come out every Friday. If you don't get one (and you miss it) check your spam folder.
We are seeing a few cases of influenza. Because the scary H1N1 is still out there, I would advise getting the flu shot if you haven't done so yet this season. The protection lasts a year.
There are a few mild cases of loose stools, but the tummy bug seems to have taken a back seat to all of the respiratory woes.
Our office will be closed on next Monday.
Stay well!
Judy
Many of these folks have high fevers.
Some of the fevers have been lasting around 4 days or so.
If you are not super worried and your child looks okay, I am going to stretch out my "3 day fever" rule and give you an extra day before you need to check in.
On the other hand, any child who is super fussy or has a fever that is not responding to medications, should be checked out.
We have seen lots of strep throat.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/01/strep-throat.html
I think I may be starting to see some slap cheek making the rounds.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2013/10/slap-cheek.html
For those of you who do not get my weekly emails, Below is my most post with some guidelines about when your child might be contagious.
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/02/when-is-your-child-contagious.html
If you are on my list, the emails come out every Friday. If you don't get one (and you miss it) check your spam folder.
We are seeing a few cases of influenza. Because the scary H1N1 is still out there, I would advise getting the flu shot if you haven't done so yet this season. The protection lasts a year.
There are a few mild cases of loose stools, but the tummy bug seems to have taken a back seat to all of the respiratory woes.
Our office will be closed on next Monday.
Stay well!
Judy
Monday, February 3, 2014
Monday update
Welcome to February.
We are still seeing quite a bit of the tummy bug lingering. I think it might be a little less than it was last week, so hopefully we will be done with it soon.
We are seeing quite a bit of strep throat
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/01/strep-throat.html
We are seeing lots of kids with colds/ coughs/ fevers/
We have some kids with flu. It is NOT too late to get a flu shot.
Unfortunately we are also getting calls about PinWorms.
For those of you who do not get the weekly emails, here is a link to my most recent Pinworms post
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/01/pinworms-ugh.html
Last week we were seeing some kids with croup, but I haven't gotten any calls about that today.
Stay well
~Nurse Judy
We are still seeing quite a bit of the tummy bug lingering. I think it might be a little less than it was last week, so hopefully we will be done with it soon.
We are seeing quite a bit of strep throat
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/01/strep-throat.html
We are seeing lots of kids with colds/ coughs/ fevers/
We have some kids with flu. It is NOT too late to get a flu shot.
Unfortunately we are also getting calls about PinWorms.
For those of you who do not get the weekly emails, here is a link to my most recent Pinworms post
http://www.nursejudynvp.blogspot.com/2014/01/pinworms-ugh.html
Last week we were seeing some kids with croup, but I haven't gotten any calls about that today.
Stay well
~Nurse Judy
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