Worst gastro ever !!!!! Just when I thought I was immune !

This of course is just life, there is no use complaining - no one would listen anyway :)

Well one Thing I mentioned before was if you get really sick out in the bush then you have to hope RFDS gets to you in time !!

Well I wasn't that sick but there were a couple of moments when it felt like it !
Two days with no food
Two trips to the hospital for a drip
7 days of non stop diarrhoea !!
And 9 days without leaving the house ( except two trips to hospital )

Still not feeling the best,
I've got a few more days off before returning to work

The poor kids, after not seeing me for a couple of days, the both caught a mild dose ( thankfully mild) of what I had

A nasty bacterial gastro and viral infection all rolled into one !
after living in remote Australia I thought I was immune to most things by now.
The health of a rather large part of the population out here is very poor and the sanitation conditions are not the best, deasese and illness are rife through the communities .  So I was rather shocked when I got so sick
Having nursed in outback QLD, WA and the NT, including living and working on some remote communities, I've come in contact with all manner illness and infections. I've had coughs and colds, gastro, and other viral illnesses, but I've also built up an immunity to most of them.

Unfortunately the Australian indigenous population has a significantly poorer health than the non indigenous population

Overall, Indigenous Australians experience lower levels of access to health services than the general population, attributed to factors such as proximity, availability and cultural appropriateness of health services, transport availability, health insurance and health services affordability proficiency in English. 

The social determinants of health include if a person:

• is working
• feels safe in their community (no discrimination).   
• has a good education
• has enough money
• feels connected to friends and family.

Social determinants that are particularly important to many Indigenous people are:

• their connection to land
• a historical past that took people from their traditional lands and away from their families.

If a person feels safe, has a job that earns enough money, and feels connected to their family and friends, they will generally be healthier. Indigenous people are generally worse off than non-Indigenous people when it comes to the social determinants of health.

Infants	High rates of low birth weight, high rates of growth faltering (or failure-to-thrive), high rates of infections (particularly respiratory and gastrointestinal)
Young children (3-8 yrs)	Repeated and/or chronic infections (particularly of the skin, ears/nose/throat, eye, respiratory system, gastrointestinal and genitourinary), under nutrition, anaemia, intestinal parasites
Older children 9-14 (yrs)	Repeated infections, growth retardation, accidents, alcohol and drug abuse
Youth (15-20 yrs)	Communicable disease, incarceration, suicide, self harm, injury, poisonings, alcohol and drug abuse
Adults (21-40 yrs)	Respiratory diseases, digestive system disorders, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes (type 2), complications of pregnancy; chronic renal diseases and renal failure, alcohol-related disorders, psychosocial stress and mental disorders, accidents and violence
Elderly (>40 yrs)	Disabilities, immobility, chronic diseases requiring regular clinical care and supervision, provision of adequate and culturally appropriate services and facilities

(West Australian Department of Health, 2013) 

In my experience - and of course this is just my observations over the years, the poor health of the indiginous population is determined in part by the history - at least since Captin Cook landed, and by the social determinants of health - its complicated thats for sure.

The poor immunity, poor sanitation, lack of housing, fresh foods ect leads to increase spread of infection through the communities. which of course in turn leads to poorer health and an increase in mortality and morbidity.

Then there is me ----- The nurse/person that constantly comes into contact with "bugs" that would proably send most city doctors running for their text books !!

And of course occassionally i manage to pick up a really nasty gastro and viral illness!!