This Little Piggy Came to To Our House
Call it H1N1, call it the swine flu, call it whatever you want to. IT STINKS! We have been sequestered in our house since Friday when Enu woke up with a raging fever. A fever of 103* actually. I tried to tell myself it was just a little virus, but when she showed the rest of the symptoms of the flu (dry cough, chills, dizziness, nausea and vomiting) I could no longer ignore what she had.
After doing some research online about the flu, I discovered that the seasonal flu isn’t going around yet, just the H1N1. So if you have the flu right now it’s the dreaded piggy flu that the media has been going on about forever. Of course we won’t know for sure, as they are only testing people who are admitted to the hospital. I didn’t panic as Enu is a healthy kid and everyone in the family is healthy. Elle is quite small though, so we did worry about her a bit.
So almost five days after Enu got sick we are all home and want to get out. The website Flu.gov suggested that anyone exposed to the virus shouldn’t go out and about for five days after exposure. Enu’s fever broke on Sunday morning and she is just a bit tired and the other three are fever-free and healthy. Hubby worked from home yesterday, so to not spread the piggy around at work. Tomorrow they will all be off to school and work where they will be exposed to more fun illnesses to challenge me with!
I, on the other hand, have no fever but a ferocious cough that hurts and a voice that makes me sound like a 3 pack a day smoker.
Tips if your family has the flu:
1)Wash your hands a lot.
2) Open up your windows during the warmest part of the day to get fresh air inside. If your child isn’t feverish and walking around okay, let him outside in the fresh air.
3)Change your child’s bedsheets daily and make them bath and change clothes even if they want to lay around in the same pajamas for a few days. Clean and fresh equals healthy!
4)Gargle with warm salt water a few times a day. This kills and sloughs off the virus in your throat which helps reduce the spreading of the germs. Saline sprays or drops for the nose also helps a lot.
5)Call your doctor is you or your child has a chronic illness that may be exacerbated by the flu.
6) Keep your heat down low if it is on and make sure you have changed the filter recently.
Things I should have done:
1) I should have let Elle sleep with her healthier sisters. Enu was on the top bunk coughing down on Elle (bottom bunk) that first night.
2) I would have had more cough drops, ibuprofen, Tylenol, saline drops and salt int he house! Six people = 12 nares, 6 throats and a lot of whining and you run out of supplies quickly.
I hope all of you stay healthy in the coming weeks. I am rather glad to get this over with so early though. We should be healthy for the rest of the school year, I’m sure. If I say it, it will happen. If I say it, it will happen.
* A funny story about Enu’s temperature. I took it and the thermometer read 104. I about had a heart attack and ran her to the ER. Then I saw that she was laying on a heating pad. She had found the heating pad I had used for my back a few weeks ago and feel asleep on it! I let that wear off before taking her temperature again. These kiddos are going to drive me insane before I am forty!
Glad Enu is feeling better and everyone else has remained healthy. I hope your throat gets better soon (lay off those cigarettes!) thanks for the tips – I’m sure we will be dealing with it soon enough.