Almost no one has positive feelings about getting ill. It often derails our daily lives, makes everyday tasks into trials and causes us to feel run down. For a traveling nurse, even a common illness can take on new power.
In an average year, 5 to 20 percent of all Americans will suffer from seasonal influenza, and more than 200,000 will be hospitalized from flu-related health complications.
Traveling medical professionals potentially feel the pinch of the illness perhaps more than others. The stress associated with illness is magnified by the numerous ill or injured patients they are treating with prior conditions. The danger of a patient catching a nurse's illness and worsening their already frail condition is too much to risk.
A traveling nurse can take a variety of precautions to avoid the spreading of germs and getting ill. Daily intake of vitamins, healthy nutrition, regular physical activity will all help, as will washing one's hands and forearms before touching the face prevent illness. Nurses can further prevent the spread of germs by wearing scrubs only at work and not traveling home or to an outside lunch in them.