As soon as flood water receded enough for Valerie Aguilera to step in and clean up homes in her community, she did.
“I have 4 hours; I need to help,” Aguilera said. “I have 2 hours; I need to help. There was no, ‘I'm going to go mask up. I'm going to go get ready.’”
After four days volunteering with no protection, the exposure caught up to her.
“Friday evening is when I started feeling sick,” she said.
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It started with a migraine that stretched over the weekend. By the next Monday, her migraine and body aches sent her the emergency room.
Doctors told her she had a viral infection.
“What I did was I was cleaning out the contaminated towels and wet stuff,” she said. “And then, we went, and we ate pizza. So, from putting that into my mouth, I basically contaminated myself.”
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She’s not the only one. Other volunteers are getting sick too.
“We've heard a lot of these stories in clinics. Folks who have gotten sick from the storm waters, and then also lending help,” said Dr. Vi Nguyen with Kaiser Permanente. “So, what I would say is please be careful. Please be mindful."
How to protect yourself
She said before you step into a home that’s been flooded, make sure you have the right gear.
“Wear waterproof clothing and whatever you have,” Dr. Nguyen said. “Good boots, and it sounds kind of cheesy, but closed toed shoes. And then if you're going to be helping for an extended amount of time, make sure your vaccines are up to date because there's lots of fecal kind of contamination in the water.”
She’s specifically talking about the TDAP, Tetanus and Hepatitis A vaccinations.
You should also mask up and keep a close watch for symptoms like nausea, trouble breathing and skin irritation.
“The storms are going to go through the weekend and usually the most loving people are the ones who get sick,” Dr. Nguyen said. “So, please take care of yourself.”
