Surgery During Flu Season

[mcsf]

Hi. My surgery date is fast approaching (Feb. 20). The one thing I cannot stop thinking about is having surgery during flu season. It has been pretty bad in California this year because of the H1N1 virus. Am I being too worried about it? I did get a flu shot in the fall. Thanks.

 

[Tirone]

I was worried myself too about getting the flu before or right after surgery. Overall, all you can do is take the flu shot, good hand hygiene, stay away from coughing people. If possible you could even go further and avoid crowded places (subway, cinemas...), but I didn't want to go that far for myself. Still, there's no guarantee for not getting sick.

This year's flu shot covers H1N1, so don't worry about that. Good luck for your surgery!

 

[ottagal]

I don't have much more to add other than what Tirone shared which is good advice.

-Make sure that whoever is visiting you in the hospital uses Purell or washes their hands when entering your hospital room.
-Eat well and get your sleep between now and Feb. 20.

Wishing you all the very best with your upcoming surgery.

 

[Tdot]

Have you considered supplementing with vitamin c? I take about 1000mg Dayly mixed with juice or water and sip throught out the day. I also got the flu shot. So far I haven't been sick at all this winter despite my family all being sick. Stark contrast to last year. Might want to ask your docs about it first though.

 

[T in YVR]

I don't think you're too worried about it - I was the same way. As my date approached, I was ultra aware of anyone who was near me who might be sick. I avoided them like the plague. My wife and son caught colds in the days leading up to my surgery. I even spent a few nights sleeping on my own when my wife's cold peaked ...couldn't even kiss her goodbye when I went in for surgery. At that stage, avoiding a cold was pretty much paramount to me. And I did avoid it. Lots of hand washing, changing bed sheets when they were both sick, keeping the windows in the house cracked open to let in fresh air, a weekly house cleaner, etc. Maybe I was paranoid, but I didn't want to have my surgery delayed, or to get sick right after I had it. Just take whatever precautions you think you need and make sure you get plenty of rest...

 

[Jkm7]

Both of my OHS were in active flu season and I took all possible precautions such as staying away from crowds, washing my hands frequently, going out of my way to avoid being near someone with a cold or newly recovering from flu and, of course, had flu shot. I was very fortunate to remain cold/flu free though had a scare in the week before my scheduled 2nd surgery when I awoke one morning with a sore throat. Happily it did not develop into anything and I was fine on surgery day.

I wish you the best and hope you successful skirt any flu symptoms.

 

[epstns]

My surgery was also in late February. We stayed away from crowds for the final month or so. By the time I got home from the hospital, we weren't seeing visitors for some time, so no problem when I got home. Normal precautions are about all you can do.

 

[neil]

my surgery was feb 7th and no problems, suppose all you can do is try to be careful, am sure you will be fine

 

[tom in MO]

I had the same problem, my surgery was in late february. I got a cold in early february so that set me off. It all left about a week before and everything was fine. Don't worry. The worst that could happen is the surgery would be postponed for a week or two.

 

[Tirone]

This is ironic: Just two weeks after my post above, I got the flu. That was 6 weeks postop and I had to sneeze and cough for 7 days. Especially the sneezing was super painful. At that time of the recovery even a simple flu throws you back to bed and makes you feel miserable. I have no idea were I picked it up since I was very cautious not to be in crowds and around sick people... Guess you can't really avoid that.

 

[Paleowoman]

Sneezing is dreadful post-op ! I'm now just over three months post-op and I sneezed the other day and it didn't hurt anymore

When I was in ICU the nurse looking after me was coughing and looked unwell so I asked him how he was. He had a sore throat ! I was petrified I would catch whatever he had and covered my mouth and nose whenever he came near. One of my consultants happened to pay me a visit and I whispered to him about the nurse - he probably thought I was delusional due to the morphine but no, it was all true and I later complained to the hospital that nurses in ICU shouldn't be at work if they have a cold or virus.

Thankfully I didn't catch the nurse's virus/cold/flu.