PRR – Students – Disease Outbreaks

PREPARE

Students can prepare by checking their immunization records and making sure they are up to date with all required vaccinations. Students can set up appointments at their local school with a nurse to go over their immunization record, as well as to set up an appointment for vaccinations if required. If students are traveling, it is highly recommended to set up an appointment with a travel nurse in order to check for possible vaccinations needed for locations they are traveling to. If you have symptoms of any disease, make sure to call your local doctors office to set an appointment to get checked as soon as possible!

Create your infectious disease emergency kit. An emergency kit for emergency situations should also include supplies for infectious disease outbreaks. The following supplies that are specific for infectious disease outbreaks to include in an emergency kit are:

  • water-resistant bag to hold all of the supplies
  • Important papers documenting specific medical conditions, medicine, allergies, etc.
  • soap
  • hand sanitizer
  • disinfectant
  • disposable gloves
  • eye protection
  • sterile saline
  • face masks
  • tissues
  • thermometer

Resources:

  1. Many recommended vaccines can be found at local pharmacies, travel clinics, and health centers. You can visit this website to find a list of places near your area to get vaccinated! Make sure to call in advance and ask about the cost to make sure it is affordable for you. https://www.vaccines.gov/getting/where
  2. A list of clinics that provide low or no cost vaccinations for children under the age of 18 in Los Angeles can be found here: http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/ip/clinics.htm
  3. Any individual traveling should always check the CDC website for recommended vaccinations to their destination here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list/

RESPOND

In the event of an infectious disease outbreak, stay up to date with information from credible sources. Look out for incorrect or misleading information being spread by fact checking the information with the sources listed above or other official sources.

 

Additionally, take necessary precautions to avoid catching or spreading the infectious disease. This could mean a variety of actions including: changing your daily or scheduled routine in order to avoid specific places, wearing a face mask, among other precautions. Look to the credible and official sources for specific guidance.

 

Continue to take care of your general health during these times. Having a weakened immune system may make you more susceptible to catching a disease. The immune system can be weakened from a variety of factors including stress, too much or too little exercise, an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol, nicotine, and other habits.

 

If you or someone you know are experiencing symptoms of the infectious disease, seek medical attention from medical providers. Those medical providers will contact and report the case to appropriate health department(s) as needed who can provide more specific guidance if required for the situation.

RECOVER

Those who have caught the infectious disease during an infectious disease outbreak may have to take specific steps to recover from it.

Medical and public health professionals will provide specific guidance for how to recover medically from the disease.

There may be additional concerns to consider when recovering from an infectious disease outbreak as one who had the disease. Depending on the infectious disease itself, medical professionals may take certain steps with the patient for the sake of the patients’ health and the safety of the public, which may include: social distancing, quarantine and/or isolation. All of these change how much one individual or a group of people interact with the intent of limiting or halting the spread of the infectious disease. This may be a stressful situation and it is also important to address behavioral and mental health of patients. For more in depth tips on addressing such concerns, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a resource that may be accessed here: https://store.samhsa.gov/system/files/sma14-4894.pdf

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