Constant bugs caught from Grandchildren

The GP we had for 20 years called children germ factories. But germs are air bourne so we are breathing them in all the time it's just sometimes they effect us . Can't wear a mask 24/7 . First thing I do when been out is wash my hands .

We also use first defence as a preventative but only when we are due to fly anywhere. It comes on as hand luggage as is sniffed up before take off. A tip we given several years ago.

I really sympathise, I am nearly 70, retired a couple of years ago and now do looking after grandchildren. Last winter I had 4 chest infections and another during the summer! All coughs/colds caught from grandkids that evolved in me. The daughters just don’t seem to realise how vulnerable you are at this age. My mum was 57 when I had my first child. I have just had another grandchild. Adore them all but do not want to spend my retirement ill. My parents would not have dreamed of offering to look after kids. They just visited. None of their generation seemed to do this. I just do not know the solution. Move to Spain I suppose!

This rings a bell with us

I’m generally well but this year in the summer I had bugs from the GC nearly constantly over a period of 4 months with each bug getting worse

I became very unwell and exhausted and had to go away to rest and recuperate

They seem to have constant runny noses they recover from quickly but we don’t

It’s a big problem

First defence does seem to alleviate the effects but not with the stomach bugs we got !!

All pretty awful

We love the children but can’t enjoy our retirement being constantly unwell

Trying to use more sanitiser and reconsidering masks although not sure how the children would react !
Or the parents who seem oblivious to the toll this is taking on us

Of course we love the GC to bits or we wouldn’t have carried on and understand the difficulties for the parents wanting loving childcare

We don’t yet have an answer

DeeAitch56

I use a antivirus nasal spray before I babysit/go out in public, it says it will kill/prevent 99% of viruses, and touch wood it seems to be doing the trick (I am aware that it could be psychosomatic but I genuinely haven’t gone down with anything since I started using it) So at least worth a try?

I’ve got some Boots Dual Defence in my medicine cupboard which I started buying during the pandemic. Having said that I keep forgetting to use it usually but have been looking after the grandchildren this week and actually remembered to use it.

I try to avoid the gc if they are ill and my daughter prefers to keep them away from me,if I am,she hates them to miss school, and I don't like to miss work or infect my colleagues. I'm the oldest but we are all of an age when a cold makes us very poorly.

I'm 51, we were NEVER ill as kids, never got headlice either, never had central heating or double glazing, we were healthy!

When my nieces/nephews were growing up (now mid to late 20's) ALL had colds, coughs, nits, if there was a bug going round, they caught it.

My sister is a childminder, 55, catches colds off them all the time, always sniffling. She said it doesn't help that they don't get it at the same time!

Mum being old and decrepit, all know, if bad DON'T come here, you're not going to infect us!!

I also use Flu Defence as a preventative.
The only time I have caught colds is when I've forgotten to use it.

Dear Dedee,
I'm really sorry to hear this. When we get into our seventies we do seem to pick up things so easily.

My grand daughter our only grand daughter lives in Rotterdam and seeing her or hearing her voice on what's app is so uplifting

My younger son has disabilities and I'm his carer. I'm not taking out my violin but they do as the older generation say grow up fast.

Warmest wishes

I have soldiered on because I can’t bear not to see my granddaughter. Coughs and colds don’t bother me but I try to avoid the tummy bug type of virus. She gave me 2 doses of d and v over 3 months when she was about 2 years old. It was horrible.

30 years ago I told my GP I used Zinc tablets to protect my immunity. He laughed. Now today the chemists are full of products containing Zinc to protect for the same reason. So I take a Zinc tablet very day, I take Holland and Barrett Chelated Zinc with Copper and have been germ free ever since. Do take with a meal if you have a sensitive tummy. I have never had the Flu or Covid Vaccines and have avoided both illnesses. As has my husband. Good Luck. I should add I have 5 grandchildren and 1 great Grandchild.

My GSs 18 and 21 are at university. The students bring infections from all over the world, which the GSs catch and give to me. But I love the hugs I get from these wonderful young men.

When my “adopted” family of three children from next door were at infant school, they were continually bringing bugs home to share with my dh and me! Someone recommended taking liquid Tincture of Echinacea, 30 drops daily, and it certainly kept us germ free! Even now, if I am ever exposed to cold or flu germs, I take it and it still works for me, cannot remember the last time I had a cold!

We found this with our grandchildren and caught something nearly every time we visited for a while. As they’ve got older they catch less things and we appear to also have developed immunity to most things so not a problem anymore.

Hubby has had lung cancer so can do without cough/cold bugs and I've had bowel cancer resulting in a stoma so can do without tummy bugs. Therefore I've told ny daughter (single mum now she's got rid of her useless ex husband, thank goodness) that if either of these are present to count us out of granddaughter duties.

We live too far from our GCs to regularly babysit but one set of GCs had constant snotty noses whilst at nursery and whenever we saw them we came away with colds/sore throats. I worked in higher ed and could guarantee catching a cold by the second week of the autumn term until I started taking echinacea.

DeeAitch56 Would you mind telling us where you buy this from please ?

Be strict with parents that THEY must be there for their little ones when they are sick, and not bring them to you.

Little ones first year in nursery is immunity building while they make a cohort of like children and pass the bugs around - it gets better, but can dip again if they start school with different children. You will build the same immunity.

Good nutrition - organic veg and fruit in considerable quantities - plus high-quality, bio-available supplements, especially Vit C and D - look after your immune system, even more essential as we age

I’ve just retired from my career as a teacher during which I used to spend every autumn with the latest version of the cold virus picked up from the children at school, and have now added two young grandsons’ contribution to the germ soup inside me! Hey ho! Children have lots of very nice features aside from their infectious qualities, and luckily I’m not yet having to worry seriously about my own health, so I’m very much enjoying spending time with them. Commiserations to those of you who do have to think seriously about the consequences of colds and flu. Tricky to decide what to do…

I use a antivirus nasal spray before I babysit/go out in public, it says it will kill/prevent 99% of viruses, and touch wood it seems to be doing the trick (I am aware that it could be psychosomatic but I genuinely haven’t gone down with anything since I started using it) So at least worth a try?

They shouldn’t send your grandchild to you if there’s a likely hood of her having something, you need to be protected as much as possible… mine only visit once a year from Canada and nine times out of ten my husband and myself get something, making us very happy to video call the rest of the year,
Will say they did cancel the trip when one had suspected flu …

You do not say how old the children are. These constant colds, sore throats etc. seem to be a feature of crèche and nursery school life and children do become more resistant to the germs as they approach school age.

Why this has become such a problem is hard to say - I don't remember it as a feature of the 1970s, but the standard of cleaning was higher then in institutions than it is now and I was a school-teacher and like most school-teachers and GPs never caught more than one cold a winter.

But knowing this, does not help you, does it?

If your own health is suffering, you will need to draw a line and say you unfortunately only can have the children when they are well.

I do realise that this places their parents in a hard place, as neither crèche nor kindergarten, or later on school will accept a child who is ill, and parents have only very few days they can take off work in the course of a year.

But we have to be realistic about this. Your health matters to you, and should be equally important to your adult children, and no, I doubt your immune system will suddenly start coping with these germs.

Also, however much we love our grandchildren, they are not our responsibility but their parents'.

I’m not sure if it works or just coincidence but I use Vicks First Defence Spray (Boots do their own) after I get home from seeing the grandchildren/or on public transport and I haven’t had a cold for over a year now.
You’re supposed to use it at the first sign of a cold but I heard one of the TV doctors say you can use it as a preventative before you start one.
Bet I go down with one now!! 🤦

Colds and Grandkids,

I do not see our´s often enough to catch a cold and it is usually during the late spring / summer.

One twin daughter and her hubs live close to the city centre of Amsterdam and the other is in the city centre of Zürich.

Each have a son and a daughter.