Ivy says:
Oh, Home Eccers. Heather’s on the road for the next couple of weeks, and today I’m so sick that Mr. Ivy actually stayed home to take care of me. But the posting must go on, so here’s a little guide to keeping illness from making the rounds in your house. I wish I had been better about this, myself, as first my youngest got sick, then my middle daughter got sick, and now I’m sick. Oy.
The first thing to do is make sure the sick person is not doing things that can spread illness. No kisses, no sharing drinks, no eating after the sick person. Make sure everyone is washing their hands appropriately. Hand washing is the greatest key to keeping illness from spreading, so make sure that’s being done.
Also, while there are sick folks in the house, make sure to use the heated dry on your dishwasher, if you have one. If you’re washing dishes by hand, a tiny amount of bleach in the dishwater can help.
Clean, clean, clean. Be sure to use Lysol or Clorox cleaner on everything people touch- door handles, toilet flushers, light switches, etc. Once the person’s better, strip the sheets and mattress protector off the bed and wash them. Put pillows that are unable to be washed out in the sun to freshen them up.
That’s all my sick little brain can come up with. Home Eccers, anything I’m forgetting?
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Norwegian Grandma’s Rx: My Nanna would tell me to take a hot bath, scrub good! Fresh linens, dusted, clean room. All the windows wide open, fresh air and sunlight in. One big glass of OJ, several of cold water and tea before bed (with milk- helps you sleep). Works wonders, even today.
Chinese Grandma’s Rx: As a kid, my husband, on the other hand, was kept in a warm, dark room with plenty of blankets for his colds. No bathing! (for fear of drastic body temp. changes shocking the system). Hot ginger tea and chicken mc nuggets were the cure (although I’m sure the nuggets where his idea since his folks would never let him eat fast food). He still digs mc nuggets when he’s home sick. Crazy boy.
When illness makes the rounds here, we go into “hyper hand-washing” mode. Especially if it’s stomach crud, because I’m a total wimp about that! Non-sickies aren’t allowed to use the same bathroom as sickies and parents who clean up after sickies. When we wash hands, we switch to paper towels for the duration, using them to first dry our hands, then turn off the taps. Then, we follow with hand sanitizer. Once the sickie is well, I blast the bathroom with disinfectant before I let anyone else use it.
If stomach flu’s in the house, I’m also extremely picky about hand-washing in the kitchen, and tend to serve only cooked foods, as opposed to fresh things that would have my potentially germy hands on them. (Since I’m always the one who’s on clean-up patrol.)
I don’t know if it’s this routine, or just the fact that my kids are a little older, but the last few stomach bugs have at least managed not to spread to the ENTIRE family. If it misses even one or two of us, that’s still an improvement, right?
For respiratory crud, we’ve found that Airborne does seem to help us not get it as badly. It’s been over a year since I’ve had a cold — there’ve been a couple of times when I thought I was coming down with one, and started with Airborne; I don’t know if it was the Airborne, but I didn’t get sick.
Personally I find it is best IF the sick person goes to bed, stays in bed, and doesn’t come out of bed to touch computer keyboard with germy hands.
So Go To Bed. Let hubby tend to the kids and the house. Despite popular belief, kids will not die from eating junk food for two days, moms can be sick, and most husbands do cope really well for the short term.
Now if I am fine and the kids are sick, I am a clean fanatic. But I prefer to do most of the things on your lists daily anyway, so I guess that’s why we haven’t been sick in at least 5 years. If you puke at my house, you are going in the tub with lots of soap and a big bowl. LOL Then to bed, do not pass go, do not collect (or touch my $200). You may not use a get out of bed free card and you may not use a computer because keyboards do not lend themselves well to disinfection.
Personally I find it is best IF the sick person goes to bed, stays in bed, and doesn’t come out of bed to touch computer keyboard with germy hands.
I haven’t left my bed. I’m typing on my laptop. That nobody else uses. That has a washable keyboard cover. I’ve been trying to sleep, but can’t due to my throat hurting.
So Go To Bed. Let hubby tend to the kids and the house. Despite popular belief, kids will not die from eating junk food for two days, moms can be sick, and most husbands do cope really well for the short term.
My husband *is* taking care of the house and kids. And he’s a restaurant manager/chef- he usually cooks, so no worries on junk food. I completely trust him to do a good job with the kids.
a little oregano essential oil in a lightbulb diffuser does wonders for battling airborne yucks.
So sorry to hear you are sick!
Your suggestions are all good; usually what I try to do.
The problem is when the mother is sick and can’t do all those things to stop the others from getting sick.
Hope you feel better soon.
Don’t forget to get a new toothbrush once you feel better!
Poor you. Hope you feel better.
Very timely post for us as my daughter has come down with something over the weekend. We’re all feeling like the “crud” is catching up with us, so we’ll put these tips into practice around the house and see if we can keep the germs from spreading!
Ivy, my pal, thank goodness Jim could be home! I’ll be back as soon as I can to give you a break. Thanks for all you do.
The kids all have their separate towels in the bathroom- so even when their not sick they only dry their hands on their own towel. It does keep the germs at bay.
Also, when one person gets something everyone else gets echinacea.
Just a quick reminder echinacea may not be at all helpful if you are allergic to ragweed. It’s one of those things to experiment with when you are in optimal health.