As mentioned earlier, staying vigilant to avoid infection your first thirty days post transplant is crucial, as this is the time period where you have virtually no immune system and are building it back. This is serious, and should not be taken lightly. Your life is on the line. 

• Avoid anyone who is sick or has been in contact with a sick person.
• Teach and enforce good hand hygiene to all family members.
• Reinforce strict hand hygiene with children and avoid face-to-face contact. Wear a mask when in direct face-to-face contact with children.
• No direct care of pets. No cleaning up excrement or sleeping in the same bed as animals.
• Wash hands after petting animals.
• No direct care of plants. Keep indoor plants segregated into separate rooms that the patient doesn’t enter.
• Stay away from large crowds. Your caregiver is critical in this regard as they will be able to run errands, such as grocery shopping, which keeps you out of public settings for these first several weeks.
• Wear an N-95 mask outdoors and in public places.
• Balance getting rest with keeping active.
• Drink lots of fluids.
• Maintain a safe and healthy diet.
• Avoid places like dirt basements and crawl spaces, due to their high risk for mold/spores.
• Discuss with your physician and discharge nurse when it will be safe to resume sexual relations.
• Clinic visits several times a week, as directed by the clinic staff. Frequency of visits and treatment will be based on your lab results. Remember, you will be treated each day based on your lab results. For example, if your platelet count is low, you will be sent to infusion for a platelet transfusion.

Concerning Symptoms to Report Immediately 

The following signs and symptoms should be reported to the transplant team immediately, especially during the first thirty days. 

• Fever of 100.4 or higher shaking chills
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea that lasts more than 24 hours
• Bleeding
• Symptoms of a cold
• Changes in the level of consciousness
• Pain or cramping
• Problems with the catheter
• Skin rashes
• Changes in vision
• Indigestion
• Pain with urination or difficulty urinating