The Flu

[PatiSue]

What do y'all think?.....

 

The flu is the topic of discussion all over the news. It seems to be worse this year and there have been several deaths in kids.

 

I was thinking "At what point in a situation like this do you try to limit your exposure to others?". Now, there are thousands of people getting sick from this and only a few have died (though those are a few too many, of course). I am not panicking, but the thought did cross my mind. Especially since the CDC has just posted that my state now has "widespread" flu (as opposed to sporadic and regional like it was just a week ago).

 

I also think, what if this was not the flu, but SARS or some bioterror weapon. NO! I am not saying that THIS outbreak is SARS or bioterror. What I mean is "How would we react if we knew that a disease was not "just the flu" but something more"?. It is something to note how QUICKLY this is spreading and to file that information in case one day something pops up that is more threatening.

 

I digress. Back to the orginal question, it is not hard for us--we homeschool and live a very quiet life. I am not talking about self imposed quarantine. Rather I am referring to curtailing "extra" trips to town. At what point is tha good, or is it pretty much no use? For example, Girl Scouts--yes or no? Trip to the grocery store for some extras--yes or no? "Girls night out" yes or no? Swim lessons--yes or no? (We do not ave all these things, I am just using them as examples.)

 

May I rant here just one second? It really bothers me when people take their sick kids out in public OR go out in public themselves when they are sick. I am not talking about REQUIRED trips out--like to work that you cannot miss, etc. I am talking about "extras". I have known of mothers who took their kids with the STOMACH flu to an Easter brunch because they did not want to miss it. I have also heard moms say "well I am just tired of being indoors...I am going to go crazy if we do not get out of the house". xsighx. Now if you know your child is not contagious, that is one thing, but still, a child who feels poorly needs to be resting, IMO.

 

I apologise for that rant. I am sure that I too have mistakenly taken my children out, it just bothers me when the baby is OBVIOUSLY feverish and feels horrible or is coughing up a spleen or is trying not to throw up and yet they are still taken out.

 

Anyway, any input you have I would love to read!

 

A.

[Guest Guest]

For me, it depends on how sick my child is....I don't like to keep her indoors if she isn't very sick, and yet if she is contageous then I just stay put....even if it means that I'm climbing the walls...which is not very often, I like being home....

Last year I went to Mexico to visit my family. While there, my then almost two year old got sick. Really sick. She had diorreah (sp?) and had a fever....nothing contagious. I took her out. Not shopping or to a parade, but to my sister's house. I knew she'd be better off resting at Grandma's house, but I also didn't know when we'd get to spend time at my sister's place...so she rested there. She got lots of attention and backrubs...and felt real loved. But I'm with you...if my child has something contagious (and she has), then we just stay put....no need to put others in that path too...besides, for her own sake I think it's better.....anyway, just some of my thoughts!

[Becca_Anne]

Ya know, this same topic has crossed my mind. My younger son and I are home a lot since we homeschool. My older son is a senior at our county high school so he has to go and be with all those kids. (There has been some seriously sick -with- flu- kids in our county.) My husband is a county deputy full time and is security at the county hospital part time. He's exposed big time.

 

I know that we've have discussed this at length at my house. We wash our hands frequently and don't go out any more than necessary. I have even thought about germs while pushing the shopping cart at the grocery store the other day. You know how everybody has to touch the handle on the cart? Anyway, I also think that we need to have some kind of immune build up too. I personally don't think it's very healthy to kill all the germs around you because you need to build up your immune system. I'm not making any sense am I?

 

Lisa

[Becca_Anne]

Oh yeah......if my kids get sick we will stay home as we always have in the past during sickness.

 

I have prepared a bit in case we get sick. I have canned chicken noodle soup and medicines if needed.

 

I hope to be caught up with laundry, shopping, and paying bills by this weekend. I plan on staying ahead for the rest of the winter.

 

 

[Guest Guest]

If you got your flu shot, and are not high risk, then you should be fine to go out and about. My Mom is elderly, and high risk, so I have asked her to stay home, and let us know what she needs from the store. I'm high risk too, and don't go out much. CM is borderline high risk, but he works in a large building with multitudes of people with kids, so we are likely to get anything that goes around his building. I'm scared to get sick since what should have been a minor cold nearly cost me my life last spring.

 

I too have a thing with people who come to work sick. My brother has that attitude, that he'll go to work no matter how sick he is. Well, duh............thats what sick leave is for! Stay home and get better, and don't infect everyone around you. Same for kids in school. The schools are now sending sick kids home. This state is out of vaccine now, with no more coming.

 

Most of the west and northwest have widespread flu, and the other day, a 15 year old girl in town who thought she had the flu, died of bacterial spinal meningitis. No one knows where that came from! We;ve also had an outbreak of Whooping Cough that is unusual.........

[Linda]

As far as I am concern if you have a sick child that can expose to others they need to stay home and if the child is sick, he/she should resting so they may heal faster.

 

I don't believe in keeping a germ free home, like some i agree you need to build up your immure system. But we do have to be careful with DH health a cold can do him a lot of harm So I have to be careful no to bring anything home and if i do we sleep in seperate rooms and try to stay away form DH.

 

Even though this flu sounds fairly bad. I think the worst I had ever seen was the swine flu.

 

and it can not be said enough Wash, Wash, Wash.

 

stay healthy

[PatiSue]

Yep, you have to build immunity but there are also things that you cannot really build an immunity too--it is a hard balance. I remember reading that there is a study that an overly clean house actually leads to asthma in children AND that country kids have less asthma because...get this...they tend to have more parasites and apparently that trains their immune system from overreacting and causing asthma symptoms.

 

And to think of all the times my mom warned me not to walk around barefoot .

 

Thank you for your input everyone!

 

A.

[Guest Guest]

No flue here,knocking on wood. I never get a flu shot too afraid of needles and side effects. I'd rather take my chance

being exposed. Since I've been home sick I dont get much exposure to the public. Now I have to worry about George bringing something home to me. Oh well. Also we are not around small children either. Should fare well this winter. If not I've got lots of canned soups to help out.Also lots of canned soups and hand santizer to help out. Here's to a flu free winter. Karen

[gardnmom]

I take my immune booster, echinasea, when ever I feel like I'm coming down with somthing. I eat as healthy as I can and if I am sick I get some sleep, as much as My body needs. I also make a point to get out on the porch and get some fresh air. I don't like to be cooped up with my germs. It makes sence to have enough supplies to not have to go to the store unless we are well enough.

When sick, the best thing is plenty of rest and fluids.

[Guest Guest]

I agree with you Lois, as soon as a sniffle comes on, out come the echinasea and golden seal. But I also agree with others, there is a real problem right now with parents being rather dense about their child's health. I was talking to a frined who works at a church daycare facility and she was telling me how many people drop their little ones off with (what seems to the workers) Siberean Death Flu. The thought process (if there is one) is that the parents need a break and surely the caregivers are qualified to handle a sick child. Right? WRONG! This is a great way to cause a massive system overload in the little ones, not to mention how ill the caretakers get. Okay, I admit it. I'm not a mom. I can't tell a parent what to do. But it does seem kind of harsh for parents to leave their littles since they need "some space". An old boyfriend used that excuse on me when he dumped me. Didn't care for it then. How does a child feel when a parent is basically saying, "sorry junior. You know I love you, but if I have to spend a whole afternoon with a sick two year old I'm gonna loose it. I'll be a mommy when you stop throwing up. Feel better!"

 

Sorry to rant. I just get a little ouchy on the subject of children with nit-wit parents. Going out for needed items is one thing, exposing your kids to little colds is understadable, but after a little girl just died in my state (in that case it was hospital density, but still) I get grouchy. Kids are always a hard topic for me. I hope I didn't get anyone too irritated with me.

[gardnmom]

When interviewed for my job, when my youngest was 6, I was asked if there was anything that might interfere with my work schedule. The answer was yes, my family. That should be a given, after all why do (married) Mom's work, if not to give their families more. The "more" becomes very unimportant if the family is too sick to enjoy it.

I didn't trust anyone else with their care. I was very selfish in that respect, because no one knew them like I did.

 

[Guest Guest]

Good for you Lois! Kids who have stay at home Mom's are so fortunate, and it's good to see women who can, returning to the home. No one can care for their child like their own Mother.

[Guest Guest]

we are limiting going out now...we have 5 sick kids and one adult recuping.....last child i hope does not get it ,,,i do not want it either....when my adult kids were younger and teen kids and if 3 of them out of 7 got something we quarintined ourselves.....i would take one or two to the doctor and explain that we had more at home who were sick/or who might get sick with the same thing(but those kids did not have insurance) they were kids off the streets......we are at home and doing a lot of laundry ,giving warm baths and alot of liquids and medicine....hope my parents do not get it.....or me.....but have always been a cautious one and have never taken sick kids to any thing or anywhere...take care and keep the faith

[logcabinmama]

We have gotten our flu shots, and we have been getting them for the past many years.

 

(((((HUGS)))))

 

 

[Guest Guest]

We couldn't take the flu shot because of recent immunization shots we received for traveling overseas.

 

DH came down with the flu last week. I personally think it's a big story for the media and they're milking it for it's worth. I remember getting strep every winter while growing up. The flu is NOTHING compared to strep throat.

 

Now that Saddam is headline news maybe we can get back to living and getting sick, just like we do every year.