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Leaving the Hospital with More than What You Came In With

When you first read this title you may be thinking that I’m talking about leaving with more debt or more bills, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I am talking about potentially going into the hospital for a diabetes related issue and leaving with something else, such as Hepatitis B.

When I recently went to the ER a couple of months ago because I thought my appendix was bursting (which it was not, it was a muscle strain), the ER nurse had asked me if I wanted her to check my BG with the hospital meter. My quick response was, absolutely not. I am known as a pretty big germaphobe. I don’t avoid every single germ possible or walk around with a gallon of sanitizer, but I do try to avoid any areas or situations that may just look full of germs (Yes, I know, the entire planet is filled with germs).

I bring up this story because if I allowed the ER nurse to test my blood sugar with the hospital machine, I could have been putting myself at risk. This just doesn’t sound like something that should happen. That a hospital setting could pass a disease onto me. Well, it shouldn’t, but unfortunately it is a possibility.

There is a webinar coming up on Tuesday, January 26th at 12 PM that I highly recommend you attend. Not just you, but anyone you know, because it is not just related to people with diabetes, but anybody going to a hospital.

The Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition is hosting a webinar with Dr. Pamela Allweiss, MD, MPH, Medical Officer for the Division of Diabetes Translation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She will be discussing the risks of virus transmissions in healthcare settings in the United States.

Register for this webinar today and share with at least one person that would be interested in learning about this serious problem and some ways that we can make it stop.

For a little more information of how Hepatitis B can be spread in a healthcare setting, check out Christel’s post at The Perfect D.