03-11-2020, 02:38 PM
(03-11-2020, 01:44 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: Because most people are familiar with the flu and what to expect. This coronavirus is a new strain and we are stilling learning how bad it can get.
If we had a flu strain circulating with a mortality rate similar to that of the Spanish flu of 1918 there would be panic.
There is a certain amount of fear or panic when people have a MRSA infection. It’s staph, but a certain strain of staph which can cause infections with increased morbidity or mortality and is resistant to antibiotics which would work against normal staph. And even among MRSA infections there is the community acquired type which approximately 80% can be treated effectively with antibiotics on an outpatient basis. Then there is the hospital acquired type of MRSA that is very aggressive and resistant to all but the strongest IV antibiotics we have available and frequently causes extended hospitalizations, severe complications like necrotizing fasciitis or sepsis which can lead to amputations or even death. But, that’s the one people hear about on the news which is why they have so much anxiety when the hear MRSA or believe they may have a staph infection.
They have enough info to make them fearful, but not enough information to assuage their fear. A big part of my job involves patient education to help them understand when the do or don’t need to worry. That can be difficult. Sometimes impossible.
My neighbor is forty years old and morbidly obese. 600+. He has cellulitis, and over the last few years he's had to go to the hospital every few months (he's learned to recognize the symptoms) when the symptoms kicked up. A couple days ago he scheduled to be picked up today to be taken, but was seriously considering not going because of coronavirus. Now I understand he runs a greater risk than most of us, but he currently HAS a serious life-threatening condition.
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
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