Thursday, October 20, 2016

germs...

Germs...

Did you know that between seventy to eighty percent of your immune system is located in your GI tract? 

Years ago, before I was diagnosed with gastroparesis, I worked as a certified and licensed pharmacy technician. I learned and witnessed first hand the effects of certain germs. A cold can spread very easily and a stomach bug can spread through a family like wildfire. 

A few years after my diagnosis, I had enrolled in an EMT class. I was telling my GI doctor about my future plans and how I was more comfortable and proficient in a medical atmosphere verses an office setting. My GI doctor informed me that as a GP patient, my immune system was weakened because seventy to eighty percent of my immune system was in my GI tract. My GI tract didn't function and work like a normal person therefore my immune system was weak and compromised. If I planned on working in the medical field, I would continually be sick. 

Since then, I have learned to be more cautious around germs and being in public. The first Christmas that Jacob and I were married, I came down with a cold that actually landed me in the emergency room. I had originally went to a local urgent care but due to how my body was reacting to the cold, I was sent to the emergency room. I could barely move from being so weak. It was miserable and somewhat embarrassing.

Whenever our daughter was born, we were cautioned by her doctor that she may have a compromised immune system based on my medical history. Time would tell. Last fall and winter were LONG to say the least but it was totally worth keeping her at home and healthy. Over the past year, she has been sick a couple of times and do you know who caught everything that she had, this mama! With cold and flu season approaching, I am more cautious when we are out and about. 

I realize that I am over protective and a bit extreme at times. I know that she will get sick at some point, it's part of being human but I would like to keep us as healthy as possible. The idea of being of being so sick that I would have to leave my daughter so seek medical attention really bothers me. I want to be there for her.

So as a GP patient and a mama, use good hygiene, wash your hands and stay home if you're sick.