It’s cold and FLU season. So what’a s mom to do?
Plan A
Go all Little House on the Prairie and escape in my covered wagon with the kids, hubs, and good dog (Beagle can hold down the fort). I’ll be like Ree Drummond and live off the land, never see anyone, and we’ll stay well. BUT…. I don’t think the Prairie has a Starbucks, I’ve got a business to run, I like my friends and family in Fort Worth, and Ree Drummond’s life is probably at least 1/3 made up anyway, so…
Plan B (otherwise known as Avoidance 101)
I’ve been in cahoots with some medical folks in my life and here are some tid bits I’ve gathered along the way…
1. Wash your dang hands. Good old soap and water, folks. How many times do you eat without washing your hands? How many times do sneeze and then touch something without washing your hands? How many times do you think you’ve touched something that someone else did that to and then ate something? Get the picture. Wash your hands with soap and water. Alcohol wipes/hand sanitizers don’t kill bacterial spores (i.e. germ eggs).
*Handy tid bit-the stomach bug is spread hand to mouth. It’s not airborne, so the next time one of your kids starts puking, wash your hands! Wash your other kids’ hands, wash your husband’s hands. Pour yourself a glass of wine (it’s Biblical) and enjoy NOT getting sick.
*Glare at people who leave the bathrooms without washing.
*Fist bump people during “howdy do” time at church or moms at play dates.
2. Don’t share food or drinks. Want to finish off your kid’s Chick Fil A nuggets? Nope. Don’t do it.
4. Don’t let people breathe within 4 feet of your face. My husband holds his breath if he’s in close proximity to someone. Now you know if he’s talking to you from across the room or within 3 feet of you and slowly turning blue–he doesn’t want your spitlets floating into his mouth.
5. Keep you hands away from your mouth, nose, eyes. This is especially important after you’ve been somewhere where people may have touched what you are touching–gas stations, Target, the GAP, what-evs.
6. Don’t put anything non-food in your mouth. This includes but is not limited to: pens, fingernails, money, and parmesan cheese shakers (don’t use parmesan cheese shakers in the winter, my kid licks them, and if she’s licking them, that means other kids and deviants are licking them,too).
7. Stay home if you are sick. Listen. People. Let’s help each other out. When you or your child is sick and fever is present, you are contagious for at least 24 hours AFTER you stopped running a fever. Stay home. PLEASE….for the love. My kids get sick every other week from our church nursery. I’m sure that sometimes they caught something from a kid who had not yet developed symptoms. Other times, somebody’s mama thought it wasn’t a big deal to take their sick kid to church and we ended up suffering for two weeks while both kids got it. Ain’t no body got time for that!
8. Get a flu vaccine…Maybe. “We got the flu shot, so we’re good,” is a myth.The flu vaccine is comprised of 2 or 3 strains that researchers think will be prevalent for that year. Some years, like last year, the flu vaccine is deemed moderately effective. I’m certainly not your hippie-est, essential oiliest friend, BUT we’ll leave the flu vaccine and opt for washing our hands and holding our breath. Moderately effective is not good enough for this mama.
IF you do get sick:
1. Drink LOTS of fluids (coffee and alcohol excluded, sorry ladies).
2. Call your Dr. within 48 hours of FLU symptoms. The flu is sort of like labor, before you have it, you think “Is this it? I don’t know? AHHHH!” But then you get it and you’re like, “Oh right, I feel like death. This IS it.” Tamiflu shortens the life of the flu super fast but only works within the first 48 hrs.
Here’s to not looking like this, this Flu season….
