Avoiding Illness
Posted by Danielle Bean in Health on Thursday, September 18, 2008 8:11 AM
An unpleasant virus that has been making the rounds in my house this week serves as a reminder: Cold and flu season is fast approaching.
I’ll admit to being a bit of a “germophobe.” Having 8 kids means that once a cold or other virus makes its way into our home, it sticks around for the long haul. Sometimes, as a special bonus, it seems to mutate as it makes its way from one body to the next and we have a second go-around before we’re rid of it.
Being sick is not just unpleasant and inconvenient, it’s expensive. Co-pays for doctor appointments and prescriptions add up quickly. Missing work and school is also costly.
Here are a few ways we improve the odds in our house:
1. Frequent hand washing. Dial foaming hand wash
2. Flu shots. People have varying opinions about the value of getting flu shots, but I will just say this: I didn’t get a flu shot the year I was pregnant with Daniel and I did get the flu. I was so sick I thought I might die. And I was so sick that dying sounded like not so bad an idea after all. Then, just as I was beginning to get better, one of my children wound up in the hospital with complications from the virus. Give me my shot. Give my kids their shots. I’m a believer.
3. Sanitize toothbrushes. This is the one that makes people think we’re a little weird, but did you know that staph, strep, influenza, and other creepy crawlies can live (and multiply) on your toothbrush? You can sanitize toothbrushes with a fancy storage system, by rinsing them with antibacterial mouthwash, or by doing what we do: running them through the dishwasher on “sanitize.” Our kids are trained to put their toothbrushes in the dishwasher after brushing each evening. I run the dishwasher every night anyway, so in the morning they are clean and ready to go.
How about you? What steps do you take to keep your family healthy through the winter?
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