What would be your best advice?

[italianlifter]

Thanks for replying so quick. Your reply brings comfort cause I was reading before how health care workers are at a huge risk of contracting such diseases and about the Skin test like you said, that the TB test came back positive but the X-Rays where negative. Well about a week and a half ago I got my TB vaccine and it read 5 mm negative. I been having a slight cough but no blood coming up either. The TB shot kinda looks black and blue now and just is not going away and it bothers me.

 

[akflightmedic]

Wow...hypochondriac in the making. Please, seriously...give a LOT of thought to staying in this industry.

 

[italianlifter]

I can't just switch careers even if I wanted too. I have a car payment, phone bill and other bills that I still need to pay while buying myself food

 

[Qulevrius]

What careers, you're a bloody student for crying out loud.

 

[italianlifter]

I'm a firefighter 1 year on the job attending EMT school. 5 months into EMT already paid for. Really hard to just switch careers especially with my bills

 

[STXmedic]

You said you're an EMT student. You haven't invested anything except maybe some tuition costs. Switching careers shouldn't even cause you to bat an eye- especially if it's something you obviously won't be able to do.

 

[italianlifter]

Okay, well let me ask for advice. You spent 2 grand for school fully paid. Got 800 dollars left for a computer to pay off. 10 grand left in car payment and a phone bill. If I quit this job I won't be able to pay this stuff until I find another job. It's not quite that simple. Wish it was

 

[Chimpie]

If I quit this job I won't be able to pay this stuff until I find another job.

You find a job before you leave the one you're currently at. People do this everyday.

If you don't mind me asking, how much do you make a year?

 

[italianlifter]

35 grand right now.

 

[nater]

As healthcare workers we do have a greatly increased risk of contracting a disease over the general public. You will get something from a patient just like you will get something from your partner or someone you walk next to down the street. It is simple numbers, our exposure to germs is high, therefore we are more likely to get something. That said, catching a fatal disease is not as easy as touching contaminated tissue. I also thought no my immune system has become stronger since I started in EMS.

I didn't realize there was a TB vaccine. That sure beats 9 months of antibiotics.

I still think if you can't handle the thought of bodily fluids and worry about a sore spot from a shot, you won't have a good experience in EMS. Better to get out now before you get in even deeper.

 

[italianlifter]

I really appreciate you guys keep getting back to me even though I'm probably passing you guys off and I do apologize for that. I just thought I'd say one last thing, when I first started EMT school and working at the fire department I absolutely loved it. Not once did I think about the diseases or catching any of it. I was thrilled getting dispatched to medical calls cause I enjoyed helping the patients and most of all turning on the lights and driving the first responder vehicles. It wasn't until recently about 3 weeks ago is when I had my first blood exposure of a COPD male with Cancer who needed to be bagged. While I was bagging him his hand fell off the backboard and hit my forearm and got blood on it. 2-4 minutes later I got sanitation wipes and wiped it off until I got to the hospital to throughly clean it with soap and water. After that it's been bugging the living hell out of me and that's what prompted me to come here. Cause of that exposure I went to go get Hep A and Hep B vaccines while getting my TB vaccine renewed as well. Most recently I been coming down with a cough and that's about it with a fast heart rate and beat that is constant. I just didn't know how I would handle my first blood exposure cause all my others ended up on my clothes. See if there was an HIV and Hep c cure then I wouldn't even have this fear of it. Just the idea of there not being a cure and most likely never will just frightens me and I understand you guys think I'm trolling but I'm truly not. I was just seeking advice is all which I got and I appreciate that. Thanks

 

[Tigger]

That wasn't an exposure.

Also, I don't think you know how tb tests are read.

 

[Qulevrius]

Look. The bottom line is, you go when it's your time to go. Life is a lethal thing, everyone dies, it's just how it is. Doesn't mean that you should be careless, yet at the same time your obsession with bodily fluids exposure, is borderline paranoid.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Getting blood on your arm is far from an exposure. If EMS/hospital staff filled out exposure reports for every time they got blood on their shift there would be way to many reports to keep track of.

Part of your EMT course should have covered blood borne and airborne pathogens. Either that subject was not taught to you or you need to seriously brush up on how diseases are transmitted and what an actual exposure is.

And FYI, the skin TB test has nothing to do with the color of the area.

 

[Chewy20]

You don't belong on an ambulance right now.

 

[italianlifter]

Appreciate all the answer guys and gals. Right now I am going to face myour fears and go through with this. In the long run if I end up do catching something I will have to live with it but at least I know I contracted whatever the disease may be from helping someone in need. I may be scared of HIV and Hep c but what I do know for a fact is it doesn't get in the way of my job cause I've had many occasions where we came across patients and I did what needed to be done. I was just careful. I may be paranoid or a hypochondriac but hopefully I will soon overcome this. Anyways thanks guys!