Bugs

I find that being particular about regular handwashing & seeing the grandchildren often, also volunteering with a Year 1 class (hearing Reading at their school) works well. That combined with a good diet has built up my immune system. I still get colds but they don’t seem to affect my asthma as badly as I’m exposed to all the latest germs & viruses. Good luck with finding the balance between keepin well and seeing your grandchildren.

See bugs and diseases as little gifts to build up your immunity! I have had every bug over the last 10 years... surely the defence is quite high now.

Handwashing is most important.
As I'm snivelling and coughing at the moment I could have passed this on to the DGC, although perhaps they gave it to me in the first place.

Oh yes, pens too Jalima I fail to think where some of the pens lying around our factory have been . As I said earlier .... they’re scruffs !

The sickness bug you mention does sound like the Norovirus to me. It's more common during really cold weather. A lot of people are unaware that this virus is still live in your system for a full 48 hours after the vomiting and diarrhea has completely stopped and you are still contagious for that 48 hour period. It is really important that you stay away from others during this time, otherwise it just continues to be passed on. Frequent handwashing is necessary and you need to be scrupulous about this....self protection.

My twin grandchildren were very premature and pre-school childcare was us and nursery. They caught every bug going and excelled at going down with vomiting bugs on the days we had them. Girl twin even had Meningitis B, which boy twin didn’t catch. My husband and I mopped up, nursed children with high temperatures and never caught a thing. Remember your immune system has built up immunity to thousands of bugs over the years and the likelihood of you catching bugs from your gc is small.

Ethel, you've been having a torrid time! A lot of these nasties will pass as the weather improves. If you feel you are becoming pre-occupied by thoughts of infection, perhaps you need to talk over your anxieties with your GP.

Pens as well gillybob - they lie around and everyone picks up the nearest one to use or someone hands you one to sign a form etc.

Some of the worst places for picking up germs /bugs are escalator rails, hand rails and door handles . People sneeze into their hands or dont wash their hands after using the toilet etc. then touch everything in site.

I keep a bottle of anti bacterial gel on my desk as I know some of the scruffs at work don’t wash their hands after using the toilet.

I'm a first-time gran of an 8-month old baby boy. He goes to daycare, but if and when he has a temperature or diarrhea etc. they call for him to be picked up. My son and daughter IL both work, so I do the picking-up of course, and also the sick-bay care whenever the little one needs it. And o.k., I do get his bugs. In that case I take some meds, go the bed early. It passes. Usually I'm the one catching it since I'm full-time caring for the baby, and my husband doesn't catch it so he can do some shopping if needed.
If my grandson had something life-threatening, he would be in hospital, not in my arms on the couch. I guess that if I catch it, I'll survive too ?

I agree with SpanielNanny, as this really sounds like it is having a severe impact on your life.

BTW, I live with 70+ illnesses/conditions, many chronic and progressive (several autoimmune), but I take my chances on germ risks and the like, so I can live a full and happy life as long as I am here.

Having been through chemo, my thinking was that I was immosupressed whilst having the treatment but once finished I returned to normal. Maybe this is not so for you.

Often sickness is nothing to do with a tummy bug but because your body is coping with another illness and can't cope with normal digestion.

I had some routine blood tests in a country where they give you the results to take to your doctor. One item was listed as above normal and when I looked it up, it is a chemical produced as a result of stress and yes I had just been through a stressful time. It was a warning to manage my stress better,

The treatment for worms is very simple, 2 doses of medicine and if your gd got them there is no need for her to know as they look like tiny bits of thread in "pooh". Head lice an eternal problem and you are right to keep checking as they prefer clean heads.

Please take note of the expert Farmor15 Ethel and be reassured by it. Hope you get through this period and everyone ends up with good immunity.

I was a teacher for many years and hardly ever caught bugs. I have never had mumps, measles or chickenpox, so assume I have a fairly good immune system. Having said that, I dread getting a sickness bug. I look afterDGC's as well, and haven't caught their bugs, but assume I will at some point. Having had the most stressful two years of my life, due to house moves and DH having PD and dementia with delusion and paranoia, now I worry that I have laid myself wide open to serious illnesses, as one reads that stress is a major factor in their cause. I must say though, I'm not one to go overboard with the cleaning etc, just the necessary hand washing , and general cleaning.

I spent seven years working in a Nursery. For the first year I caught every bug going. I had a permanent sniffle. Then for the next six years i was really healthy. I had built up immunity to the germs. That's how we stay well.

I taught for 40yrs and can never remember bugs like this winter's.

I do understand where you are coming from, when my mum was very elderly and the DGC were very small it was one round of them being ill and me helping out and trying not to take anything to mum. I just adopt the scrubbing up well after being in contact and the rest is down to luck. I know the last thing I caught was almost certainly in the Post Office queue - just my bad luck.

You’re not alone. I’m a Complementary therapist and see lots of people who feel this way(often it’s not why they’re consulting me). If you’re coping with the fear, I would leave it be, but if it seriously affects your life, you may want to look at the possibilities of talking about it to someone.

I think getting worried more than is necessary is catching - it looks as if you have all 'infected' each other with this fear of illness, and your shared fear may be much worse than actually being ill. As others have said, we get ill! Our children get ill! And in the vast majority of cases we all get well again. So you could 'feel the fear and do it anyway' - whatever the "it" is that you want to do, maybe seeing a sick grandchild. The child will love that you came, and if you get ill, you will recover.

Too much cleaning is bad for us especially with the products we use. Plenty of hot soapy water and some bleach down the toilet is enough. The bugs are a worry when we are not well ourselves but really if they are doing the rounds there isn't much you can do to avoid them.

If we don't get them via our kids they are out there at the bus stop or in the shops, hand washing helps and no shoes in the house.

Some of the illnesses we get are airbourne so no amount of cleaning can stop us getting these.
Just after Xmas everyone seemed to be going down with a horrible virus, the cough was awful. In shops you would hear people coughing so I carried with me a hand gel that I rubbed in after touching baskets or money. I still got the bug but it was an airbourne virus!! Don't want it again.

One of my sister in laws is obsessive about cleaning and was still sterilizing the kids' plates when they were over a year old - they got big everything going! The other, has pets galore, rarely cleans, has the grottiest bathroom ever and her kids were never ill! If you are going to take I'll you will - my granny used to always say that there is clean dirt and dirty dirt and I thoroughly agree! PS I hope you all feel better soon.

I remember how ill you were and what a hard time it was for you Ethel so can understand your concern about catching something. It is a balance between seeing your loved ones and asking them to keep away if they are unwell. Surely they know to be careful?

You have done so well and I hope that continues for you. Keep positive and look after yourself.

I get paranoid about getting a cold Ethel as it goes straight to my lungs and I'm really quite ill for about three weeks.
Generally though I read somewhere that the older we get the more germs we're resistant to because our immune system has encountered them before.

Wash your hands when you get home after being out, only go mad with the disinfectant if child is vomiting. My DD had a horrible bug when she started reception, I cleaned up religiously after every session of d&v and no-one else in the family got it.

It's only natural to worry but being too 'clean' can be a disadvantage

When my gs first started a nursery he caught everything under the sun.He would recover from one virus only to start with a new virus almost immediately . I took him to see his gp with son and dils 's permission of course and gp told me this could go on until he is 5 years old and he has built up his immune system.
It's a horrid time but the most of it is airborne virus's and there for a nothing you can do about it . In my opinion a bit of dirt never hurt anyone so don't go blaming people for being dirty the problem is the ones who are too clean.