Among Friends

[puttypiesmom]

My dental appointments are in the summer.  A close relative had a dental appt not long ago and developed severe flu symptoms.  She lives alone and was too sick to go online and too sick to buy groceries and was out of just about everything.  I ordered online for her not just food and water but over the counter medicine to help her sleep.  She was so happy and did eat alot she said.  Bought her a lot of her favorite brand soups too. 

When there is blood involved as there sometimes is in your mouth from a dental appointment, it is not wise to go during flu season.  How anyone could think that was safe is beyond me.  

I told her to make sure she laundered all the clothes she was wearing that day.  

She is currently on the mend got her voice back after being hoarse for days from all the coughing; no more fever too.  She was very close to calling an ambulance before the groceries arrived.  

[ROMARY]

'Oh, and another thing'.......... Don't pet other people's pets if they have a cold or have recently had a cold or flu.  Same with your pets.  If/when you have a cold, flu, whatever, please make sure that you advise others to keep their hands off of your pet.    Seems (to me, anyway) as though it would be easy to spread germs, bacteria, flu, virus, etc. via pets' heads.. 

[ROMARY]

ALERT:  Sorry, I just posted on the wrong thread.  If my post here  bothers you, please let me know and I'll remove it.  Thank you.

[Moonchilde]

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wrote:

The possibility of picking up a 'bug' is out there for anywhere, but I believe the odds are higher at certain types of Dr.'s offices. 

The dentist and other specialists that aren't taking in 'sick' patients are much less likely to be full of flu germs or people with them, than the primary care offices will be. 

We have dental appointments in Feb and March and I'm not, at this point, too worried about those. 

I know I have gotten sick just before a dental appt. and I cancelled so as not to make either their staff sick or anyone else that would come in. I hope others will be smart enough to do the same.

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I have called a dentist’s office the morning before an appt and told them I had a stuffy head, sneezy cold, and did they want me to reschedule, and I was told just come on in! I suspect that they do that because lots of people will cancel just because they don’t want to go to the dentist, so the office wants to remove that as an excuse :-(

[Moonchilde]

I am fortunate to not be severely immune-compromised. Theoretically since I have diabetes I am considered at extra risk, but my immune system is fine.

I can see doing what you can, simply - using vitamin supplements, hand sanitizer, etc., but I will not hibernate or turn Mr. Monk to avoid catching a virus, even the flu. If you’re never exposed to a virus, you’ll never have any immunity either.

The idea of carrying around a tub of wipes and using them every time you touch something, no matter what it is or where you are, of hunkering down in my house for weeks or months, not going to events I want to attend, going out and coming home to wash every article of clothing I had on simply because there might be a germ there somewhere - just not me, ever. 

I haven’t had a cold in a year at least, maybe more. I haven’t had the flu in decades. I don’t ever do any of the things in the paragraph above. I’m not sickly or compromised to the point of needing to be paranoid about it.

I understand that severely immune-compromised people must take extreme precautions, but I just don’t. I’m not going to be destroyed by a cold or even the flu. I would rather not have either, but in a sense they’re the price, sometimes, for living. And every time I get something, I’m building immunity. Maybe not for something next week, but for 5 years from now.

[LeoGrl]

I actually had a dental appoinment scheduled for tonight and cancelled it yesterday.  I originally cancelled due to the threat of bad weather but then started to think about the flu and how I've seen doctors and dental offices so carelessly cleaned in the past.  Maybe I'm a little paranoid but doctors and dentist offices put me on high alert.  I've been faithfully taking Vitamin D every day since I read that that vitamin is even better than Vitamin C for prevention.  I have my hand sanitizer with me and try to remember not to rub my eyes or touch my mouth or nose.  My biggest threat, however, is probably working in my office.  Keeping fingers crossed!     

[Noel7]

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wrote:

I'm reading your flu posts and it made me think -- I have a routine dental check up on Tuesday. It takes a while to get an appointment. I'm going to keep it, but will also wonder how germ-free this environment is. I went to a home and garden show at our city convention center this weekend. So many people and I didn't touch escalator handles or barely anything else. Left after an hour. Not the smartest thing I've done this year.  

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@jeanlake

I just cancelled two of our non-urgent appointments until April.  If you go, remember magazines and other items in the office carry germs, and the danger comes from then touching your own face.

[BalletBabe]

The biggest things that people do wrong is , they sit down and grab a filthy magazine.   Do not touch the magazines.  Take your own with you and seriously I am avoiding all appointments till this passes.   You can catch a lot in any Dr. or Dentist waiting rooms.  

[Noel7]

People can be contagious BEFORE they feel sick with the flu.

[proudlyfromNJ]

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wrote:

The biggest things that people do wrong is , they sit down and grab a filthy magazine.   Do not touch the magazines.  Take your own with you and seriously I am avoiding all appointments till this passes.   You can catch a lot in any Dr. or Dentist waiting rooms.  

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@BalletBabe  I've been grabbing those magazines forever in both Doctor and Dentist. Every three months for each. I'm still here, alive and kicking.