It's Here. 'Sick Season'. How Do You Cope?!

Parentberries
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So, my mom was here visiting just for the weekend. It was so nice to have her around. I dropped her off yesterday at the airport at 4:30 am, for her flight at 6. She is only an hours flight to home. I spoke to her later that day, say around 4:30pm, and she said that she had started to feel really nauseous and achey and tired. I thought it was probably just from being up so early and traveling. But no. By 6pm she had already gotten sick once. And this morning texted me saying she had been up getting sick all night. The dreaded stomach bug.

So here I am, pregnant, and freaking out of course. I looked up about the norovirus. It says that people aren’t contagious until they start feeling sick, and symptoms can come on from 12-48 hours after contact with the virus. No one here was sick, although we did go out shopping sometimes. I just don’t know where she caught it from! And now I am totally freaking out. I shared Chapstick and a bite of food on [name_f]Sunday[/name_f]! But I’m thinking that I can’t have caught it the same time she did, and that I can’t catch it from her because she didnt start to feel sick until she got home! Ugh. It has been 31 hours since contact with her and still nothing. Though I read the virus can live for up to two weeks on surfaces. [name_m]Even[/name_m] carpet. [name_m]How[/name_m] am I suppose to disinfect my carpet?!

I am so paranoid about germs. Last year I had mono and it was the worse experience of my life. My immune system was shot, I felt nauseous 24/7 for over 6 months, and I caught absolutely anything and everything. I would get sick, start to get over it, have a few days of feeling ok, and then id get something new. [name_m]Even[/name_m] ended up in the ER a few times, and multiple times on IV liquids. It’s funny though because since I’ve been pregnant, it’s been like a cure! I’ve felt great, had more energy, haven’t been sick once. But am still so paranoid about picking something up. And now I don’t just have to worry about me feeling miserable. I have to worry about weather or not what I pick up could affect the baby! So scary! And on top of that I can’t take any medication to make myself feel better if I were to get sick. And, the sad part is, it is just the beginning of ‘sick season’ it won’t stop until the baby is here! Which is sort of good in a sense- at least my newborn won’t be exposed to all this illness until he is a bit older.

Anyways, that was my rant. Anyone else nervous about going into this flu and cold season? I hear being pregnant seems to give people extra immunity haha. Hoping this is the case. Now I’m off to disinfect the house! And try to find a nice big bubble to live in for the next 4 1/2 months!

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Anyone? :slight_smile:

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Well my doctor talked me into a flu shot this year, because she said that if I get pregnant it could be really bad to have the flu during that.

My general strategy wen I start to feel something coming on is to amp up my citrus intake, eat raw garlic (hard to do, but it is a natural antiseptic and I swear by it - I haven’t gotten really sick in years), tea to boost the immune system, and other high-antioxidant content stuff (leafy dark greens, blueberries, dark chocolate and carrots are my go-to)

And of course, get plenty of rest and keep hydrated! Watch your stress level, too - meditate and try not to overload yourself

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I had a stomach virus while pregnant with my daughter. I kept taking the Zofran I had from morning sickness (I was like 25 weeks) and only threw up once. I didn’t even go into the doctor or anything. My son had it a lot worse then me. It is worse to get sick while your pregnant but as long as you take care of yourself you should be fine. If you aren’t keeping anything down go to the ER for fluids to make sure you don’t get dehydrated and keep a close eye on your temperature taking Tylenol to keep a fever under control.
I hate the waiting with a stomach virus. Whenever we get one in our house it slowly works it’s way through the family coming on suddenly and forcing lots of plans to change. Last time my husband never got sick though so it can be avoided. I wouldn’t worry about disinfecting your carpets and just focus on washing your hands before eating and basic preventative measures that I’m sure you’re already doing.

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Flu shot, plenty of water, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds–basically try to eat healthy, handwashing and moisturizer. My husband has always freaked out when his kids touch their eyes as that is a great point of entry for infections. I don’t have children yet but can’t imagine going overboard with the anti-bacterial cleaners, as I suspect that too much of them may do more harm than good (the alcohol hand washes dry your hands out and you don’t want cracked hands, also they may just lead to selection for the nastiest bacteria) Good ol’ soap and water is my preference.

Pregnancy actually decreases immunity.

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[name_u]Read[/name_u] this blog post. I have it bookmarked on my laptop and am hoping it works to prevent the stomach bug: How to Prevent Stomach Flu Grape Juice Is The Trick!