June 28th, 2009
H1N1 and school reopening
I seriously considered keeping the kids home when school reopens. And giving it a few days just to let it settle and see what happens. Ours is a big brood in 4 different schools. All it takes is one and we all fall ill like dominoes.
Actually I’m not worried about us catching the flu. It’s the lehcheh-ness of what happens if you do find yourself in the thick of it. So everyone is going to school tomorrow. Anyway they’re all excited to start.
Despite our best efforts, Megan caught the snifflies from when she went back to school to help out their auditions for Talent Academy the past few days. So she’s gonna have to stay home tomorrow even though she’s been waiting like buaya to go back.
We have a very strict protocol in our house whenever anyone is sick. I hope you take this on in your household too. H1N1 is inevitably gonna hit hard and we can only try our darnest to act responsibly and contain the spread.
My rules for my family members when they fall sick:
1. No shaking or touching hands with anyone. No touching other people’s stuff.
2. Cover up when you cough or sneeze. If you find your hands busy, use the crook of your arm. Or keep it in. I don’t care how but just do it.
3. No sharing of belongings especially phone and computer mouse. I learnt how effective this is in spreading germs. The last time we had an iPhone grand playoff among our friends, both Joe & I were sniffly with sick kids at home. The day after the party, several friends mentioned that they were feeling a bit fluey. Boy what a guilt trip!
4. Wash hands with soap whenever you can and when you come home. Leave whatever you picked up outside, outside. We also have hand sanitizers at the door for guests.
5. Stick to your own towel for everything – showers and wiping hands and face. Keep it out of reach so everyone else doesn’t use it too. Or use paper towel and throw away.
6. Use tissues for drippy noses as opposed to fingers, back of hand or sleeves. Flush away your used tissues. Or dispose of them properly. Don’t let anyone else handle them.
7. The rest of us have to diligently wash hands after handling “sniffly’s” stuff.
Tough love man, lemme tell you. But you just have to with a big family like ours. Fortunately our kids aren’t too touchy-feely so they don’t miss that too much.
These rules kept me relatively healthy the last bout of flu my whole family went through. They all took turns to get week-long fevers, starting with Megan. The last to get sick was Lauren. And with all the cuddling she needed from me, I finally succumbed. Let’s see how we all can hold off getting sick this time.
