There may come a time when your only option for helping sick loved ones is to nurse them at home yourself.  Unfortunately all predictions for a modern flu pandemic include the precaution that there will not be enough hospital beds, doctors, nurses and respirators to accommodate those likely to contract a deadly influenza.  I’ve researched several different ways to set up a quarantine room and I’d like to share my plans with you.  Hopefully this will inspire you to have a plan yourself!  For the purpose of this plan, let’s assume that your husband contracts the deadly influenza, and you’re the only one available to care for him.  To me, thinking about my kids contracting it is too scary, so we’ll start with spouses.

Most houses have a master bedroom or suite with an attached bathroom.  This is the best set up for a quarantine room.  The best first prevention of spreading a deadly virus is staying away from those that have it.  Do not allow infected family members to roam the house, touching the fridge and faucets with their germs.  So, if you have a master bedroom with a bath, you’re almost set.  Otherwise, pick a room that is close to a bathroom that can be used exclusively by the sick person.  You also want this room to have a window or sliding doorway for ventilation.  Fresh air is your friend - you don’t want to close sick people off in a room with no air circulation.  Even better, have a fan ready to blow out contaminated air while you’re tending to your loved one.

I have purchased five large sheets of plastic drop cloth from the hardware store.  You could also use old plastic shower curtains.  With duct tape, secure this plastic sheet a few feet from the door leading from your hallway into the quarantine room.  Leave the bottom half loose so you can easily lift and fit into the space between the plastic and the door.  This will hopefully stop airborne germs from entering the main part of your home.  The other plastic sheeting should be used to section off an area of the room for the caregiver to change clothes.  This is where you can put on your sick room clothes.  You should not care for a sick one and then wear the same shirt, pants and socks to walk around the rest of your house. 

I’ve been thinking that I want my sick room clothes to be long sleeved, long pants, socks and maybe a shower cap.  That way the exposed areas (hands and face) are easy-to-clean and you don’t have to shower every time.  You also want a box of gloves and disposable masks.

One note about masks:  I think I’ve decided to stock up on as many painter’s masks as I can.  I know that the N95 respirators are the only masks thought to effectively filter the flu virus, they’re just too expensive for me to stock up any quantity.  These masks are not reusable.  Think about it, if your husband does get ill, you’ll be in the room several times a day.  At around $13 per filter, that’s pretty expensive.  So, I’ve decided that for myself, I’ll use whatever precaution that is readily available to me.

On a table in your sectioned off change area you should keep hand sanitizer, antibacterial wipes, kleenex, and a spray bottle with bleach.  It’s been said that if you mix 1 gallon of water with 1 cup bleach and 1 cup vinegar, you have a very potent bleach that will kill a deadly influenza virus.  I can’t find any factual documentation about this, but it did kill the black fungi in my shower that nothing else would remove.  I’ve heard this mixture is recommended for killing anthrax - so I guess it’s worth a try.

You also want to keep dishwashing liquid, towels and washcloths near the sink as you should not wash the sick patient’s dishes and utensils in the kitchen.  Everything the patient uses should be kept in the quarantine room.  Think about any personal comfort items that you might need - lip balm, lotion, a heating pad, books and magazines and even a television, oh and you definately want a cool mist humidifier.  In fact, you should have several humidifiers and a large stock of filters.  Do not use the humidifier in the sick room for any other purpose.  Once your husband is well, throw that one out!  I guess you could disinfect it, but to me, it’s not worth risking contamination - that’s why I have several stocked up!

You’ll also want to keep two large trash cans and plastic liners in the sick room.  One is for soiled linens and clothing and the other is for trash.  Always use gloves when taking out the trash from the quarantine room, and preferably take it out through an outside door rather than walking it through the house.  You can launder items as usual in your washer, using plenty of bleach.  Only real chlorine bleach is effective at killing the influenza virus in the washing machine.  Hang sick room wash outside in the sun if you can, otherwise set your dryer on the hottest setting.

You will need to wash your hands probably a couple hundred times per day, wear a mask and keep yourself well rested and hydrated. 

So, there you have a basic quarantine room set up.  Now, what types of medications and first aid items should you stock up on?  My list tomorrow.