Saturday, October 31, 2009

H1N1?

Last week Leah from La Vida Cheapo had a sound off on how people were feeling about the media hype on the H1N1 issue.

My response was this.

I think it's to early to say. The actual Flu season has not even begun. I am taking every precaution to make sure my family or I do not get it. I know of three different families that have had the H1N1 and it has taken them quite a while to get over it. I believe the media is extremly one sided but if this illness is killing people we should all be taking a few more precautions. I'm sure everyone knows someone with underlying health concerns and would not want them to contract an illness that could kill them.

Well as you can see it's the middle of the night and I'm up as a worried mother because my nine year old woke up with a fever, sore throat and says that she feels like she can hardly breathe.  These are things that you don't want to hear this time of year.

My first reaction was to give her pain reliever, a Triaminic thin strip, rub her down with vicks, start her on extra liquids, add an extra blanket to her bed.  And of course wash my hands. 

I tried to lay down after I had gotten her settled but then you start thinking of  how you are going to keep the rest of the family from coming down with it.  Where did she pick this up?  I noticed at the Fall Harvest party in her class today that the boy who sits next to her was absent.  Of course noone wants to miss a party unless they are ill. 

While you are feeling terrible for your sick child you imagine placing plastic over her door and taping it off so noone else becomes ill.  I then of course think about wisking my youngest off to my Mom's house until the illness is out of the house.  But what if she has already been exposed? The girls were rolling around laughing and playing last night.  I wouldn't want my Mom and sister to get it too.  I don't have to worry about my oldest getting it, as he's a teenager and never home.  My husband will hide until it's all over so more then likely it's just me and my youngest I need to worry about. 

We have taken many precautions to not get sick in our household.  I have wiped down everything with the clorox wipes that I got for almost free.  I have sprayed the house with Lysol.  The kids wash their hands after we go anywhere.  My kids carry the anti bacterial gel with them wherever they go.

So how do I feel about H1N1? It scares me!  Noone ever wants to hear your child crying from their bedroom that they feel like they can hardly breathe.  Not everyone is going to get it the same. It might be a mild flu for some it might be worse. 

What I do know is if your sick or feeling like you are sick you need to stay home and be responsible.  While I was at work yesterday there was a lady in my store coughing all over the place she looked like she was on her death bed. She stopped in to pick up something her son needed. But, what she forgot to think about was that she had something that none of my associates needed HER GERMS!

3 comments:

Leah said...

Oh Michele :( I feel so bad for your girl and you too. Like you said, the flu season hasn't even officially begun and here we all are, scared out of our wits because it seems like everyone around us is coming down with it, and we have so few options for avoiding it, especially when sick people are being careless and spreading their germs all over the place and sending their sick kids to school too. I think I can speak for all of us who read this that we will pray that she doesn't have either one of the flu's and is feeling better soon.

Unknown said...

My little girl woke with a 103 temp this morning I called my doctors office and they told be the only flu that is out right now is the H1N1. I have 7 kids and the youngest stays home with me so I wonder how she was exposed. My husband is immune compromised so his doctor put him on the antiviral starting today. Holy moly I just pray that the rest of us don't get this.

Michele said...

JoDee,

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. It's scary when you think about it going through the entire household. My Mom watches my two youngest when my husband and I are both working. I'm so afraid to get her sick that both times the girls have gotten sick this year I stayed home from work. Luckily for us it wasn't H1N1 but the symptoms came on so fast I was afraid that it was. We will add your family to our prayers tonight.