Infection from hospital?

[jaideeguy]

I just did an over nighter at a private hospital for a diagnostic procedure [colonoscopy] and felt great before I checked in. Checked out the next after noon and that evening I was totally drained then at bed time I felt a tickling in my throat that got worse and worse and coughed so much that it kept my wife awake as well. The same thing for the next two nights, getting worse, now sinus and chest mucous and cramping in the stomach from the coughing spasms. Tried to sleep in a sitting position, but not comfortable and couldn't sleep.

Question is...........did I pick this up in the hospital?? No one around me has a cold/flu and I've heard that 'the hospital is the best place to catch a disease'. And should I report it to the hospital??

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Sure, go back there and plead that treatment should be covered under their warranty.... LoL, as they say. But could always ask and who knows, they might accept your request.

In any case, get treatment somewhere, find out what you have, and report it back to where you RONed.

Mac

[jaideeguy]

If I don't improve by tomorrow, then I will go into my regular hospital where I know the English speaking Drs and they have all my records.

BTW, the Dr who did the procedure RXed Cipro and Flagyl and I'm not sure if he did it for my bowel condition [diverticulosis] or as a post op med. Will either be broad range enough to get my sinus/cough back in order??

one problem is that we live 30k from the nearest decent hospital.

[AyG]

It's so common there's a name for illnesses picked up in hospital: iatrogenic diseases. They affect about 10% of in patients. In the United States such diseases kill about 225,000 patients per year. But really, what is one to expect? Hospitals are full of sick people.

[jaideeguy]

Yeah, although this hospital was hi-so looking a closer inspection reviled lots of dirt in the corners, much dust in the aircon units etc.....not to mention the pillow. If there is ever a next time, I'll bring my own pillow.

Do these iatrogenic diseases manifest themselves as cold/flu symptoms??

[Farma]

There's a bug doing the rounds that gives nearly identical symptoms to what you have. It takes about 4 - 6 weeks to clear. It's not just confined to Thailand as I caught it in the middle east last year and I know others in the US and UK who've had it too. My missus is just getting over it and we think she caught it on a flight.

Just because it showed up after a trip to the hospital doesn't mean it was caught there.

[jaideeguy]

The hospital caters mostly to falangs and gets a lot of 'medical tourists', could be????

In my case, the incubation period [if contracted in the hospital] would be around 24 hrs.

how long did it take your wife to show symptoms Farma??

[Farma]

We'd just come back from holidays with all the associated temperature and weather changes. We arrived back on a long haul flight and her tickling throat started the next day. By the 2nd morning it has worsened with gunk being coughed up.

It's the same symptoms I experienced about 10 months ago. I went to bed one night not feeling the best and woke the next morning with sinus, tickling throat and feeling horrible. It was more of a head cold with itchy throat to start with and then progressed from there.

It took me 6 weeks to clear it away and the wife is nearly back to normal after 5 weeks.

[jaideeguy]

I hope that's not my bug......i really don't have 5 to 6 weeks to spare and now I'm worrying about my family who I've been in close contact with. Sounds like that TV series 'Survivors' and a few other doomsday scenarios.

So, was it ever officially diagnosed as a virus or a bacterial infection?? and any treatment or just suffer it out??

[jrtmedic]

Sounds to be purely co-incidental.

[jaideeguy]

it seems that most of have experienced a sudden onset. Mine could have been from the purging from the colostoscopy., the procedure, hospital germs, and now feeling the side effects of manyover the counter and RXed drugs.

Hopefully more to report tomorrow...........

[jrtmedic]

I worked in hospitals for over 30 years -----never caught a thing !

Edited August 19, 2013 by jrtmedic

[MrHammer]

Sounds like you have a case of the common cold or at worst the flu. I don't get why you think this is a big deal. The things to worry about in hospitals are MRSA - that is multi resistant staph infections or pneunomia which can be worse strains for the same reasons.

Sinus, cough - sound exactly like a viral infection i.e. the common cold. If no fever, then no need to worry. If fever, then flu is the most likely. Keep hydrated and sleep. Probably gone in 4-5 days.

[jaideeguy]

Well, last night I finally got a decent night's sleep. I think maybe due to the stronger OTC meds I took.

Used to be that those kind of colds/infections responded well to good old 'Tiffy' that you could buy at any store, but they changed the formula and removed the good psudopheds and replaced them with an inferior decongestant.

Yeah, maybe the sudden onset was just coincidental and/or triggered by the stress of the procedure.

[Sheryl]

Agree with jrtmedic that likely coincidental and sounds like a respiratory virus. Being asleep for the procedure may have aggravated it a bit but not likely to have caused it.

Taking zinc will help lessen the severity and duration of respiratory infections but needs to begin as early as possible. "Redoxan" sold widely contains zinc + Vit C.

BTW flagyl and cipro are not routine post-procedure meds. Sounds like you are being treated for a bowel infection.

[jaideeguy]

Wow, you've been a busy mod today Sheryl.....thanks for your input on both posts. Will look for Redoxan.

The cold symptoms seem to be subsiding [knock on wood], but the terrible side effects of Flagyl are no fun. I just wanna be normal again!!