Serology: blood test that determines whether a person has an antibody to an infection, and are therefore protected (whether through vaccine or natural infection).
So I had the routine serologies done at the beginning of this pregnancy and had protection to the usual things (Hep B, Rubella) and was negative for other nasty infections. Yay!
However, my varicella (chicken pox) was “indeterminate.” I’ve never had chicken pox, but did get the vaccine before medical school. I’ve had 2 exposures now to kids with chicken pox, one where I was completed gowned and masked and gloved for, and the second was a kid with recurrent vesicular lesions for whom I only gloved. I don’t know why I take these risks, I should have just gowned and masked and freaked the kid out anyway to protect my own! Ahhh!
I also asked for my parvovirus (fifth disease, slapped cheeks) serology to be tested since I’d be working with germy kids. And it showed I have NO antibodies! Unbelievable! Surely 4 years of working with sick kids would have exposed me to this common virus!
My home is also trying to kill the baby: my first house on the island was newly painted so I got to smell paint fumes for a month. If you do a Pubmed search (medical literature), there’s an association with later childhood leukemia. My second house here has mold, at least in the basement. The previous tenant there put a mattress in the basement and is not overgrown with mold. The landlady placed the mattress in the garage where I park the car with the windows open, and now my car smells like soil! That’s right, mold in my car…fungal spores trying to find its way into my lungs and reproduce.
Now I know that in all likelihood, the fetus will be okay. But it’s amazing how many environmental hazards there are for a pregnant woman. Well, at least I didn’t have any Maple Leaf lunch meat.
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