when you are sicker than your patients...

so it's never a good omen for your day when you feel worse than most of your patients. there's a lovely gastroenteritis going around and, lucky me, i seem to have caught it. not surprising, considering how many times my face has been sneezed and coughed in over the last few weeks.

here's a tip that i learned the hard way. wear a mask when swabbing people's throats. that way, when they gag and cough, you are somewhat protected.

saw some neat stuff today, though, despite feeling wretched.

a resident came in with a dislocated shoulder from a slip-n-slide incident (presumably involving a lot of alcohol). pretty much behaved like an ass, which is sort of what he's known for. a little boy with a septic joint from a laceration that was sewn up a few days ago. a young baseball player with a nasal fracture from trying to catch pop-up flys with his non-dominant hand who had clear rhinorrhea ever since the injury...didn't turn out to be csf rhinorrhea, but it was good to go through the differential. lots of non-specific viral stuff but overall really pleasant families, which always makes things easier.

plus, i was working with one of my favorite ed docs who totally gets my sense of humor. we have a good time. he wouldn't give me an iv, though, for my own rehydration, but that's ok. i guess i didn't really have mental status changes...yet. i've been working on the ORT. alternating gatorade with emergen-C. if i wake up tomorrow obtunded, you'll know why.

based on the number of parents that i convinced over the phone to wait until clinic tomorrow to be seen instead of coming to the ed tonight, tomorrow is a busy day. off to sleep i go...