URRRGGG enough with these darn colds/flus!!!

OMG!! Ok so I have had my daycare for a little over a year now and have NEVER had such a bad year with these darn illnesses!! It seems like my family and I and of course all the kids in my care are ALWAYS sick now. We get sick almost once every week or two and its starting to wear me down :( We eat properly and make sure to take our vitamins daily. I disinfect my daycare every day to try and prevent it from spreading. I have tried everything, I even closed for 10 days in between Christmas and New Years hoping everyone would get better at home and start fresh in the new year! But no matter what I try we are still constantly sick. I have always thought I had a very good immune system as I usually only get sick maybe once or twice a year and its always bearable but not this year!! Is anyone else feeling that the colds/flus are really bad this year??

Wow it's like I wrote this manue. Exactly the same thing here - year in business, everyone always sick, I have had a cold since November!!! One of my dcf's is getting really mad - they kept dcg off on Friday with no phone call or contact:-(. The only thing I can put it down to is I have quite a lot of children on a part time basis (lots of coming and going here) 10 in total and most of them have never been in dc before. Other than that I too am at a loss as to how to improve this situation. :-((

It's not just you! This has been the worst year ever for bad bugs...and worse, bad bugs that last and last and last!

The first couple years in daycare are always the worst too in that there is a different kind of immunity you need to build up since it is a constant exposure to the germs compared to at the office where only a few people and only some surfaces are contaminated at any one time.

I know it is hard to do but be careful that you aren't sanitizing too much and over extending your energy. Take it slower yourself to help heal and get back into it. Sometimes we do need constant exposure to the germs to build up our immunity so don't take them all away or you lose the chance.

But yes as Lou said, I have never seen so many people sick for so long and so often as this year and no one seems to know how to stop the pattern.

I hear ya! This past year has been awful! Crazy colds, Hand Foot Mouth disease, stomach bugs, diarrhea illnesses. I'm done with illnesses around here. It DOES seem like someone is always sick. I was closed for 11 days over the holiday too hoping everyone would be healthy upon their return...ya...last week 1 dcb was here with a lovely green snotty nose...guess who now is getting the cold...yup ME! So I get to work next week sneezing, snotty and stuffy and probably feeling like sh!t! :rolleyes:

Here I thought I just have a filthy house...seems I'm in good company with being constantly sick. My DS, 20 months, ended up with pneumonia and was hospitalized for 3 days he got so sick from all the germs flying around. Yuck! Sending good vibes to fight off the germs!

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Originally Posted by Calgarymom

One of my dcf's is getting really mad - they kept dcg off on Friday with no phone call or contact:-(. :-((

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I have a dcm who is also getting really mad as she has 2 boys who I watch full time and on thursday I had to call her to pick up one of them because he was throwing up everywhere and was so so pale, he couldnt even stand I thought he was going to faint. He wouldnt even let me put him to bed he just wanted to lay on the floor in the middle of the room :( She now wants to hire a nanny and keep them home.

EXACTLY!!! Most of my kids are only here part time as well so I guess that doesn help either! I wish we could just take the time off we need to recover fully but in this field unfortunatly we
cant :( Otherwise I would be closed indefenitly lol
Im glad I am not the only one! Plus it doesnt help that this is my daughters first year in kindergarden and of course brings things from there too. So its all comming from the kids in my care AND my daughter from school!
How many more months until summer??? lol Lets hope this stage goes by fast, I need to start feeling normal again and have energy for all these little monkeys :)

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Originally Posted by Doodledaycare

Here I thought I just have a filthy house...seems I'm in good company with being constantly sick. My DS, 20 months, ended up with pneumonia and was hospitalized for 3 days he got so sick from all the germs flying around. Yuck! Sending good vibes to fight off the germs!

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Awwe poor baby :( I can only imagine how much tougher that must of been for you... Hope everyone feels better soon!!

Oh, I'm so sorry to read all this, but I could have written these posts for the last 5 years I welcomed daycare children into my home too. I'm hoping this year I'm immune to everything. Feel better everyone.

I always get really sick in January so I'm taking my vitamins and eating my spinach and hoping it doesn't get me so bad this year. Last Jan. I ended up on a puffer my lungs were so bad trying to fight off virus after virus after virus.

This year I started using the children's wipes on really awfully runny noses and I wipe up their hands first, then their face and nose. It keeps the germs off me a little better. Then of course I wash my hands 1000 times a day!

By the way, I agree with playfelt about oversanitizing. Relax and just remove the things you see are put into mouths or slimed on for cleaning. Also, don't let those parents get mad at you and blame you or the children in your care for a virus or flu bug. I swear, shopping carts are petire dishes on wheels and if parents would only carry wipes in their purses or cars and have their children clean their hands before getting in the car it would help so much when they are out in public places. When we get home from the bus or the park or anywhere the first thing I do is wash the children's hands, especially before eating.

Yes, this has been a bad year for bugs. I have noticed that the parents seems to be getting the illnesses first then their kids. Of course, the parents don't tell me they spent the weekend with one end or the other in the toilet, it is only when their child gets sick that they fess up that "yeah we had it on the weekend" REALLY, GOOD TO KNOW!
Even myself, who has had a good immunity build up after 7 years in the business came down with bronchitus over the latter half of the holidays.
One of my clients is a chiropractor and is ever vigilant with his naturopathic way of life and he has been sick twice in a month. The experts say there could be another wave of the flu to come this winter.
For the parents who read this forum, please be honest as to what illness is running through your home and let your provider know so we are not caught off guard and so we can also be more vigilant in detecting the beginning of illness symptoms in our dck's and our families. Also a sick provider is no good to you.