Daughter been sick

[trixie]

My daughter was off school on Thurs 10th & Fri 11th Nov as she felt sick. Do you remember me posting here....?I really felt strong and i told you all how i was sure my ownexposure therapy had kicked in and i would cope with this. She went back to school on Monday 14th Nov and all that week i heard the v* story's. On Thursday 17th when i took them to school,my daughter Alice's teacher was running out of the classroom to be sick and i wanted to take Alice and get Emily and go home right there and then. However after thinking about it i let them stay. When i picked them up Thursday night, there were hardly any kids at school and most classes of 24 were down to 8 and less.


Then it happened - this morning she woke me at 5.15am and said she felt sick. I gave her the bowl and didn't think much of it as the week before last she felt sick and wasn't. Then IT happened. It has happened now 6 times since this morning and i just know it is Mr Norwalk (thats what i call the sv). I can tell. It was 2 years last that it went through our family and iam so scared its going to go through us all again. PLEASE can any of you tell me if somebody has gotten ill in your family recently and others haven't caught it...?


I have kept her in her room. I am the only one allowed to empty the bowl andAlice is not allowed near her. My son comes home tonight, but he is 14 soi don't worry so much about him. I have washed my hands each time i empty bowl and i have used dettol wipes around toilet, toilet handle, taps etc., but i am so scared.


I know this time next week i'll be partyingbecause after all the waiting, after all those kids being off, it has happened and we can get on with life once its over. I just can't bear to think of the rest of us getting it though. I am so scared its unbelievable. Ihave pain killers that i take which get me a bit high (co-codamol) i really feel like taking more than i should and be done with it. I won't because i know i'll be alright, but its the apprehension.


Please tell me it will be ok. Please tell me if you have been through what i'm going through recently and only one or two members of your family have been ill.


Please stay with me - i need you all right now. I look forward to hearing from you .... Trixie x

[sillygirl]

There is only my husband and I in my household right now, but he did get it last January and I didn't. At first we thought it was his H. pylori kicking back in, so I probably wasn't as careful as I should have been. We went to urgent care (since we though it was H. Pylori) and after tons of testing guess what it was?! I of course freaked out then, but I never did get it. He tried to keep it contained to one bathroom, but sometimes he just couldn't make it to the other one. So, before I ever used the bathroom, I wiped it down with a bleach based cleanser. I washed my hands before I touched my face and expecially before I ate anything. I even slept in the same bed and never caught it.


I think you are doing the right things by keeping the kids seperated, and cleaning everything. As long as you are careful, I think you can keep it contained. THe trick is when she starts feeling better - don't let your guard down because she may still be contagious for a few days.


Are you keeping her hydrated?6 times is a lot for a little one. Make sure she keeps in some fluids! Keep up the good hygene and everyone should be fine.Edited by: sillygirl

[reese]

An ex-boyfriend of mine had a terrible sv* a few years ago (before I turned
into a crazy lady with this emet) and I took care of him and slept in the same
bed as him... and no problem.

[liriodendron]

I only heard about a severe school outbreak like that once on the news
and they thought it was a terrorist attack. Keep in mind that in
institutional settings, especially with young children who do not wash
after using the restroom, share things and stick everything in their
mouths, it is the prime setting for an outbreak such as this.



Since you know to wash up before eating, touching your face, etc and it
sounds like you know how to clean a bathroom (the germs are
supposedly killed very easily although I've never watched it happen
under a microscope) then you're doing everything you can do to protect
yourself.



It might be the perfect time to teach your kids how to wash their hands
properly and instruct them when to do it at school. If they can't use
soap and water, give them a mini sized tube of hand sanitizer and teach
them how to use it.

[gubba]

My son and husband both had it and I took care of both of them and I did not get it. It was 2 weeks ago here and so far I am fine, so if I get it now, it's not from them. It is possible to avoid it even taking care of them.


Keep up the good work and try to stay calm. i did wash my hands till they were bleeding and I used that GERMX stuff constantly. I heard on a medical show that that studd can keep SV's away if used regularly and properly in a household with it going around.

[shiva]

I have never been in a situation where it was passed around the family. NEVER. (knock on wood.. big time)

[trixie]

Thanks to all of you for getting back to me and keeping me sane. She was sick another 2 times before going to sleep last night. She slept well and actually woke up asking for food! She was kept out of the way of the others, who are now at school and she is back to her normal self running around and getting on my nerves and eating for England!! When the other 2 get home from school i'll let them play together again. I do hope though that no body else gets this bug. It really was quite nasty!

[swiftette]

Try to not let them play together just yet. For the next two weeks, her stool will still be infected(from what I've read) so lysol and bleach it after each time she go's. Also, after she washes her hands, have her wipe with paper towels instead of sharing a hand towel. Last year when my little one got it, it was Easter weekend so I made the mistake of letting them play together too soon and she razzberried into my 8 yr old's face. Sure enough, she got"IT".

[nicki]

That sounds horrible, it seems odd for a bug to spread so quickly around a school. Where roughly are you in England. Im a teacher - hope we dont get anything like that!

[trixie]

Hello Nicki, I am in Ipswich in Suffolk. It seems every year this sort of bug goes around our schools. Personally i blame it on the parents who let children come to school who are not yet over the bug, or who have been sick but can't be bothered to look after them. I must admit it seems to be the worst case this year and i am hoping it will all be cleared through soon. The Headteacher sent a message around 2 weeks ago to all the staff to make sure they sterilise the water bottles - now this is another thing i think doesn't help - water bottles. The children have these bottles (each has there own which is labelled) whenever a bug is rife the school panics about sterilisation, although they are sterilised every day anyway!! Its almost as if they believe these bottles may harbour germs but they don't want to admit it. I once asked if my girls could bring their own drink in to school and the head teacher said no as it would lead to others doing it to and they are a 'healthy school' (yeah right!).


Anyway i have let the children play together tonight. I know i am worrying now about the others getting the sv, but i can't keep them seperated like caged animals. I don't want them to grow up with a fear of v* or a fear of being left alone if they are ill. I'll have to deal with it if/when it happens.


Apparantly the Norwalk virus is spread the minute a person begins to feel ill to 3 days after they have the symptoms.Symtoms startbetween 12 - 48 hours after being infected. Thats a lot of time for a little 5 year old girl to spend in her bedroom! I kept her out of the way when she was v* and there is no diorrhea (?!). I went into her room at 5.15am yesterday morning when she felt ill and if i am going to get it it will be anytime now until 5.15am tommorow morning. The others will probably be sometime tommorow as they weren't with her as early as i was and i did all the clearing up.


God i hate this. Every year, no everytime a bug goes around school. If they can find a cure for nearly everything in this world, why can't they find a cure for the sv* ?????

[nicki]

I am in Kent, Im so glad you didnt say it was there lol. I teach in secondary and I dont think things go around quite as much. I guess the kids dont suck each others toys and have their own drinks etc. I visited a primary school a while ago and thought the idea of the bottles was horrendous - what a quick way to spread stuff around. At another primary school I saw, the children brought their own drinks in to school, but could only have them in the classroom if they were water and nothing else, that seems a much more sensible idea to me.


I think another problem in schools is the state of the toilets. There is very rarely soap, some schools only have cold water and nothing to dry your hands with, so you can't blame the kids for not washing their hands cos going outside with cold wet hands is horrible. Classrooms are kept so warm as well - the germs just breed.


Im probably wrong but with bugs that are as violent as this one spread through quickly but i think they probably clear through quite quick and everyone can get back to normal, where i think some can linger for months.


I panic whenever i have a kid absent. but mostly its cos of trivial stuff like headaches or a blocked nose.

[hollyjean]

hiya i can answer your question about why this cant be cured. Most stomach bugs (other than food poisoning) are viruses which are not actually "alive". They are not alive because they have no metabolism of thier own, they must take over a host cell then use it to infect the organism and create many many more viruses. The virus is hard to kill because it invades our own cells, it cant be killed without killing our cells also. Viruses are pure evil :P


i did some work experience a few years back in a primary school in a class with 5-7 year olds. Once a week the kids had a music lesson which involvedlearning to play the recorder and the kids were not allowed to bring thier own one, they had to use a school one. I asked about this and was told it was to stop other kids getting jealous! wtf?! anyway, the recorders were kept in a bucket of water when not being used and there was no sanitiser used at all. I know this because i was given the job of retrieving and putting away the recorders. They were left to stew in the bucket of water (not hot because the tap was only warm) for a week. Its no wonder that so many kids get sick when many schools have no idea about hygiene. IT really should be the schools responsibilty to prevent epidemics like this from occuring.

[nicki]

I am a PE teacher, we have recently invested in squistles for the kids to use - they are whistles connected to a hand pump, so instead of blowing them u squeeze the hand pump! I think its a great idea - anything that helps stop the spread of germs is great.


Also, i refuse to buy anything in the canteen as you just help yourself - even the cakes are not wrapped! Yuk

[crimgoddess]

Well-


I also did a placement in an elementary school music room a few years ago, and can tell you that even though we made sure the mouthpieces of all the instruments were sterilized before use (dettol), and no one switched instruments throughout the class, we still had our fair share of flu epidemics. At the school I did my placement at (and where I went myself for middle school), the kids all brought their own lunches, and there wasnt a cafeteria or anything. The bathrooms always had soap in them (huge liquid dispenser), and some classrooms (like the music room) had a sink and soap right in the room.


I think that you can take measures to prevent and cut down the likelihood of your children becoming ill, but unless you pack them in a hasmat suit, you can't prevent everything. The school really did the best it could in terms of cutting down the spread of illness (everything was cleaned every night, kids who felt sick were sent to the nurse or sent home, etc.), but kids play and are in close contact with each other...and not every child washes their hands after they wipe their nose of coughs.


I think part of the problem as well is that for awhile, doctors were treating everything with antibiotics in an attempt to 'cure' colds and various other illnesses. What happened is that instead of curing them, they mutated and became more resistant. Whereas before if you or your child had a cold or flu they may have prescribed something, now they are more inclined to tell you to wait it out, and make sure to keep hydrated.


*amber*

[harmonygirl72]

Just to let you know, I am a music teacher, I teach recorder and every student buys THEIR OWN recorder! No sharing!! If they forget to bring it, they don't play. End of story. Ewww!


Mary

[hollyjean]

yup when i was in secondary school i played saxophone in the big band etc and i then started to learn soprano saxophone which none of the other students had seen before so everyone wanted to have a go and i was mean and didnt let anyone touch any of my instruments!

[samara's on tv]

Wow I can't believe that people would SHARE recorders. I remember I had my own, we bought them for school. That sounds VERY unsanitary.


~Monica

[suze]

Hi Trixie, I'm new to this forum and am finding it so helpful and supportive. I had to reply because I seem to have gone through exactly the same thing as you at the same time. My daughter was sick last Thursday morning, but she was at her dad's (we live apart) so i got out of the trauma of that one. Then at 1am on Sunday morning, my son came in my room and *v*. He had another 3 lots between then and 8am. As an emetophobe and living alone, this really was my worst nightmare, but I dealt with it, even cleaned it off the carpet!! Anyway, as you know, the fear now is that I will get the 'germ'. I'm feeling nauseous all the time and only manage to eat very small amounts of anything. Nights are the worst as I'm scared of waking suddenly and being sick - which i haven't done for 22 years now, so in my mind, I'm due one!! It's an awful waiting game isn't it? Obviously my kids have had these things before, and thankfully I've had nothing from them, except mild diarrhea once, whichi don't mind. Still, you can't help thinking...their dad used to clean the *v* up before but i have to do it myself now, which to me means I'll get it!


Anyway, from what I've read, these things spread thru kids quickly, but adults are immune to some extent, from previous sv as children and better hygeine. I'm sure you'll be fine but I just wanted you to know I'm full empathy. I know exactly how you feel. Please keep me informed. I'm a Brit to by the way, from Cardiff! Take care xxxx

[trixie]

Isn't it awful what goes on in schools .. i mean we send our kids to school and don't expect the unhygienic habits that the school have. I am going to write a long letter to the school where my girls go about those water bottles and i am going to see what they say. I;m not sure about the toilets. Emily tells me they are clean, but i heard a couple of cleaners talking the other night and they reckon the toilets are a disgrace. Emily is going back to school today. I got through the night and am now past the 48 hours of exposure. I am free (i hope). However, i won't rest until at least Thursday when i know that nobody else has been ill. God i hate this waiting game. Anyway thanks to all of you for getting back to me, you have kept my mind busy and that really helped me. Trixie x x x


How are you Suze...? did you make it through the night..? i got you message when i came down in the night and i must admit i felt a bit better knowing somebody else was going through the same as me. I hope you made it .. let me know. x x x

[suze]

Yes, I made it through the night!! I reckon if I make it through one more then I'll be OK. Fingers crossed. My kids are back at school today, I've heard this bug is going round, but now I'm worrying that my kids had a different one and will now get the one going round school...if you know what I mean. Why do our minds play such cruel tricks on us? I'm an educated woman for goodness sake but just can't rationalise anything to do with *v*!!


Trixie, glad you're OK...hope the kids are too. Thanks for getting back, it's really comforting to know that there are people out there who understand FULLY how it feels to live with this fear xx

[trixie]

Oh Suze you do make me laugh. On my way to school today i was thinking the very same thing about whether or not Emily had had the same bug that is going around. Then i thought as Alice hadn't caught it, could she catch it herself and bring it back in the family, and the same for my 14 year old. It seems we get one lot of v* out of the way and then we start worrying about the next doesn't it? Like you, i'm also thinking 'one more night'. I'm so glad you made it through the night. I'll think of you tonight and hope that we both make this one last night. Lots of love Trixie x x x

[trixie]

Well i'm now of to bed. I hope and i pray that i don't wake up ill, or anyone else come to think of it!!! I HATE THIS SO MUCH. Love Trixie x x x

[suze]

Absolutely certain you'll be fine Trixie, but will be thinking of you. Tonight's meant to be my night to *v* if it's going to happen, so I'll be staying up late until my stomach's empty!! Sleep well x[img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[nicki]

hi to all those awake playing the waiting game, im terrified tonight will be the tonight for me, am not coping at all

[suze]

Stay strong Nicki, the odds of anything happening to you tonight are remote, but I understand fully how you feel. Try anything to distract yourself. Try and sense even the slightest improvement in how you feel...if anything was going to happen, you'd feel worse not better...even if you distract yourself for a few seconds so that the fear goes momentarily, then you can make it go away enough to allow you to settle for the night. My cure for the anxiety/panic/nausea is to take a small sip of brandy (i sound like an alcoholic, but hey, if it takes the fear away...!). There is a twofold reason for this: if i really was about to *v* then i couldn't contemplate moving never mind having a sip of brandy, also brandy is quite strong so even the smallest amount can have an immediate relaxing effect. It works for me. I'm wondering now if I do have a drink problem...I guess I depend on it at times to relax me...but I never overdo it...how could I, it might make me *v*!!!


Nicki, remember there are people here who care and understand, and I'll be thinking of you tonight. Let us know how the night goes for you...I KNOW you'll be ok.

[trixie]

I MADE IT .....


I got through the night. Nobody else got ill and it has now been over 72 hours since Emily was sick. I am so very happy i could party .... Even at school nobody seems to be talking about it anymore, so i guess it must have done the rounds, although Emily did come home last night and tell me a little boy had to sit in the library with a bowl as he felt sick!!!!! I asked her how she felt about that and she said it didn't bother her. If it had been me, at her age, i would have screamed the place down just to get sent home. I would have loathed being in that position. I'm hoping none of my kids take after me in the emet department!!!


Hope you made it through the night Suze and Nicki. This emet monster always seems to be worst at night doesn't it...? I woke a few times but i felt fine. Emily came in with me because she kept coughing and i put some vick on her chest and back.

[suze]

I made it too! And it has now been over 72 hours since my son v*d - am I safe?!! Got annoyed this morning at school though; my neighbour's dughter had v*d yesterday but she was sending her in this morning. Why can't some parents just leave them home an extra day, just to make sure? I'm sure these things wouldn't spread like they do if people just showed a little common sense. Or am I going over the top here?!!

[trixie]

Glad you made it too Suze. I get annoyed too when people send their kids to school too soon. The reason we get these things so rife through schools is parents ignorance. Why can't they just let their child have a day off? what is so wrong with that..? i reckon its because people are selfish and they don't want the children under their feet, so they send them to school. I got cross last year when i saw this girl in my daughters class sitting beside her mum. I did the usual emet 20 questions and found out she had been sick in the night but mum had to take another child to school so she took her too. I asked her mum what she would do if the child was sick, and she replied she would find somewhere out of the way and that she had a bucket in the car ... ewwwwwww! I was soooooo cross. I told Emily to stay by my side that day and NOT MOVE! My sisters son was sick in October and as my sister was ill with it and had another child at home, my dad had to go and get the boy from school. As they approached the taxi rank the child v* i asked dad what he did and i couldn't believe his reply 'nothing .... people gob on the pavement all the time .. what's the difference..? i just said 'go on boy let it go'. OH MY GOD i was so cross with my dad. I look up to him for the intelligent being he is, but right then i hated him. It took me 2 weeks before i could phone him again. I do his washing and i told my sister i wouldn't do the recent lot incase some of her boys sick had splashed on my dads clothes. I DID NOT WANT THAT IN MY HOUSE!!!!

[willow2]

Hi Trixie,


What did you expect your dad to do if the boy was sick in the street? Sorry if this is adaft question, i'm just curious.

[trixie]

Hi Willow2, where the boy was sick, there are some trees nearby and i mean very nearby, there is also public toilets. Ok the toilets might have been a bit out of the way, but he could have moved the boy to the trees. It was his attitude though which made me cross so matter-of-fact, it would have been one of my worst situations to have been in and i just know i would have dealt with it differently. It was a busy place where they were and there would have been lots of people walking past, dad said nobody took any notice, but i would have hated it. To be honest if it was me instead of dad i would have probably drawn attention to myself rather than the boy being sick, by having my hands over my ears and singing VERY loudly!