So, you are due for a visit to your family practice Phoenix, AZ doctor and you know you may be stuck in the waiting room for a bit longer than usual. After all, this is the busy season for doctor’s offices everywhere and the flu has taken hold in a big way, which means sicker patients in the waiting rooms than usual. So, how do you ensure that you don’t leave the doctors office in Phoenix, AZ sicker than you were – or were not – when you came to it? Consider a few tips:
- Ask to be separated from the acutely sick patients, perhaps in a different waiting room: Your family practice doctor Phoenix, AZ doctor might be willing to let you sit in a holding area different from ill patients in order to ensure that you don’t get sick as well. If this area is not already designated, you might request this of the staff.
- Wear a mask: No, not the Halloween variety, but rather a surgical-type mask that can prevent germs from getting in your mouth and nose and moving on to infect the rest of your body.
- Wash your hands often while you are in the office: Since you and the sicker patients are touching the same door knobs, waiting room pens and anything else that is a common area component, you can easily pick up flu germs – or other bacteria – from touching in shared spaces. Avoid this by washing your hands often during your visit in an attempt to stay as healthy as possible.
- Bring along some sanitizer: Sick patients in your doctors office in Phoenix, AZ means they are touching door knobs and other components in the office, so in addition to washing your hands, it pays to sanitize them with an antibacterial sanitizer as well. There are a number of products on the market even geared towards killing flu germs and other viruses.
The quicker you can get your visit over with, the less likely it is that you will get the germs lingering around the office. You might also ask for your visit to be scheduled in the morning, before some of the sickest patients come in the door. If you are seriously worried, then you might be better off waiting until after the holidays when things start to calm down a bit to ensure that you don’t end up with anything before the celebration.