Ma's Health Hints

I was planning on doing a post on this topic sometime and when I learned in an email that the college daughter is sick the week before her finals I decided the time was now.

First of all, I'd appreciate your prayers for Kendra as she finishes up a challenging first semester of her biology major. For the final she gets to look at and identify her own germs under a microscope.

Just kidding.

OK. That's all then.

GOTCHA! Just kidding, again.

I do hope she gets over this quickly so she can manage her last week of projects and finals. If she shows improvement we may let her come home for Christmas, heh, heh.
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Living with the immunosuppressed I've had drilled into me--before and after Loren's heart transplant--a few do's and don'ts which I can now share for free :-)

DO:

-wash your hands frequently, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom. You'd think this last wouldn't have to be said but apparently many people--particularly guys--do not. (I don't have any hard data on this last one, just mother's intuition)

-use hand sanitizer which the transplant nurses up at Mayo say studies have shown to be even MORE effective than simple soap and water at killing off germs. We keep a normal size in our van and have the kids use it after church and I keep a miniature-sized one in my purse which I often run down the church row between Sunday School and church. This might sound excessive but if there are carpet ball, ping-pong and foosball facilities in your church basement, TRUST ME...your kids are going to be exposed.

-sneeze or cough into your ELBOW. When you greet people or open a door do you use your elbow? NO sir. You use your hand. Keep that potential-germ-spreading-appendage all that much cleaner and bypass it with the cough or sneeze, going straight to the elbow.

-wipe off the shopping cart handle. Preferably with a germ-killing wipe of some kind, but any ol' diaper wipe will do better than nothing. I still forget this on occasion and am reminded if one of the kids gets sick after going shopping with me.

-get enough sleep. Losing sleep will lower your immune system's ability to deal with the germs we come in contact with every single day.

-take supplements. Like vitamin C and garlic. Of course, doctors will often say there is no scientific study to support these, and that it is only anecdotal evidence if someone uses them and seem to prevent or get over sickness more quickly. That's fine. Let them live in their dream world. I would say that while it may not always help, it certainly doesn't hurt. Vitamin C is water soluble and so will not cause harm like too much Vit. A or D could. And as an added bonus, taking garlic will pretty much assure minimal to nil contact with werewolves and who can complain about that?

In the end, supplements are up to you, but there have been several times when the kids have gotten sick and I haven't. This could be attributed to their having a virus I'd already dealt with in childhood, or it just might be that Vitamin C and garlic have strengthened my immune system all the more. (garlic is also supposed to be good for cholesterol :-) And then of course, we cannot rule out the intervention of space aliens.

herbs are tricky... so I'd be careful. Echinacea is often touted as a cold preventative but it can also cause heart arrhythmias. Herbs do different things in different people and frankly I would not go there except in rare and careful instances. For instance, St. John's Wort will interact with Coumadin so you have to be very, very careful and not start popping the oblong green pills just because, "Aunt Flossie said this cured her arthritis!" If you are on a prescription medication you MUST consult your doctor when even thinking about using herbal supplements.

-try the zinc lozenges and Zicam. They may shorten a cold once you get it. Occasionally they've even prevented one coming on, I think. But sometimes you'll just get sick no matter what...

-drink fluids. Everyone says this, even the doctors. If nothing else, you'll have more opportunities to read since you'll be in the bathroom more often.

Don't:

--come to church sick (or any other place, if you can help it) PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE. If I may site an example: last Christmas there was sickness in our church. Around Christmas time, people hate to miss church. And little kids need to practice for the Christmas program, fer cryin' out loud :-) But that's where we picked up a virus last year and brought it home to Loren. It was particularly bad, with a fever and never-ending cough. This was the first fever Loren experienced post transplant and it was just enough to ramp up his immune system so that when he went in for his scheduled heart biopsy, there was a little bit of rejection. Not a lot, but the docs increased one of his meds to compensate.

And that change in medication caused stomach and intestinal upsets for the rest of this year. So, little things can make a big difference. I don't mean to come across as a grumpy ol' lady, but someone feeling "they just couldn't miss, it's Christmas, after all.." caused my husband (and therefore our family) significant headaches (and stomachaches).

Here is MY list of how to decide when to come back to church after illness:

--FEVER? NO!!! Don't come or bring a child who has any fever WHATSOEVER.
--VOMITING? NO WAY!! And don't consider yourself "safe" to come back until you've had NO SYMPTOMS FOR 48 HOURS. "I threw up this morning but I feel a lot better, now..." is an actual quote I heard one Sunday night. That business about "24 hour flu" is a total misnomer. Sure it doesn't last as long as the achy/fever stuff, but AIN't NO WAY you are not contagious after just 24 hours. Plus, not all of us have kids who can run to the bathroom in time to throw up....
--NASAL DISCHARGE? Stay away unless you only have to blow your nose twice during a service. And wash your hands or use sanitizer after each blow.
--COUGHING? Again, regular coughing isn't fun for you, or fun for people to listen to. C'mon...have a heart.

I read an interesting article on THE FLU this morning in The New York Times. And for those that don't wish to bother reading or having to sign up for the free articles, here's the gist:

Flu transmits through the air, unlike colds which are spread by touching germy hands, doornobs, etc.

And it seems to be cooler dry air that is the most effective in spreading the flu.

Humid air may hold the flu for a bit, but will attract water droplets which will send the bad ol' virii to the floor. You may save a buck or two by turning down the thermostat over winter, but will you instead endanger your health?

The cool air also makes those with the flu virus able to transmit the disease for longer periods.

Humidifiers can be tricky in their own right, as they can transmit their own gunk if not cleaned out properly and often.

It's just something to think about.

The most important thing the NYT article states--and with which Ma heartily concurs--is to get your flu shot. Remember, 36,000 people die each year from the flu, though "influenza" is rarely listed on the death certificate. But the flu leads to secondary conditions like pneumonia which can take someone's grandma or grandpa out of the picture for good, even though little Susie got over it in 10 days.

So yeah, think of us old people :-)
 

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