The kids and I have been down and out for nearly 6 weeks now due to passing around the Swine Flu, otherwise known as the H1N1 Virus.

It started out innocently enough; I thought it was a cold!  I woke up on Wednesday morning feeling a little out of sorts, by that night I had a stuffy head.  That was it, until Friday.  In my household I don’t have time to be sick.  If I’m down and out, who will cook, do the laundry, and chase away dust bunnies?  No one, thats who.  My Immune System wasn’t cooperating.  By mid day Friday I felt like death warmed over.  It was bad.  I’ve never felt so sick in my life.  B (my 13 yr old) kept asking me if I felt ok and ordering me to bed.  In true Mom fashion, I refused and pushed through the rising fever and body aches until the room began to spin around 2 pm.  That was it, I was toast.  I went to bed and didn’t move again until Monday.  When I finally crawled out of my germ filled pit, I found the kids had done their best to take care of themselves, cooking and cleaning in true teen fashion… meaning that things were everywhere.  I didn’t have the energy to say anything.  I moved from my bed to the couch, where I stayed for the next 4 days, exceptions only being necessity.  All in all though, the kids did a great job.  They were wonderful caretakers; almost too wonderful.  By the time I was feeling half human again, E (my 12 yr old) was showing signs of the crud, B soon followed.

I had watched the tv blurbs, worded perfectly to scare the be-geebies out of folks.  I had read articles and talked to other mom’s about the impending doom of the H1N1 epidemic.  All the while, thinking very little of it.  Now, looking back, I’m glad that I didn’t buy into the hype.  The flu is horrid; I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but in the end, it’s just the flu.  It swept through our household like a steroid ravaged gremlin, but left no scars.

During our handful of doctors appointments the pediatrician and my own doctor added a few tid-bits that some of you may find useful:

• If you’re feeling under the weather, don’t go out amongst the public.  Keep your germies to yourself until you know for sure that you’re not carrying the funk.  (H1N1, like many other bugs, takes 3-4 days to fully bloom)
• If you have a cough, don’t bother with a medical mask (they don’t work; the virus’ particles are too small and pass right through).  Instead, cover your mouth with the inside of your elbow.  This will lessen the transfer of your germs to others by keeping most of your cooties on your shirt, which isn’t normally touched by yourself or others.  Also immediately throw away used tissues and follow with proper sanitary measures.
• H1N1 can live for several hours to days on surfaces.  The BEST cleaner is HYDROGEN PEROXIDE!  The virus isn’t resistant to it and it doesn’t leave a foul smell or residue.   It’s also safe for most surfaces and fabrics.
• Daily use of saline nasal rinses and gargling are highly suggested for their germ killing abilities.  Since the H1N1 virus takes a few days to settle in, rinses/gargling can assist in washing the virus away before it has a chance to take hold.  Drinking hot beverages also helps.
• Taking your daily multiple vitamin and some extra vitamin C can help to boost your immune system.  I also suggest a table-spoon or two of raw honey each day and/or ginger (in tea form or raw) for their antiviral abilities.
• Most importantly, WASH YOUR HANDS!  Not just after using the restroom or before eating, but often.  Hand sanitizer is nice and sometimes effective, but many studies have shown that many sanitizing gels/sprays aren’t as menacing against germs as they claim to be.

All in all, a little commonsense goes a long way.  Stay well!