When Your Kids Make You Sick, Literally (And How to Stop It)

One of the worse feelings in the world is watching my kids suffer. It doesn’t matter if they fell and bumped their tiny chins on the playground or they have the flu accompanied by fever, stuffy nose and loss of appetite. Kids have weak immune systems and getting sick is inevitable.

While we think our immune systems are strong and we can’t be scathed, it’s far from the truth. You see, I have fallen into that trap many times. My kid gets sick, we sanitize, keep our distance and hope the contagious illness wont spread.

WRONG!

The Wrong Way to Clean up Bodily Fluids

This past week my oldest son got hit by the NoroVirus which is the medical term for stomach bug.

I passed out on the recliner and at 2am in the morning on a Thursday, my son walked in to the living room and said he didn’t feel good. So naturally I started asking him questions to try to get a diagnosis. 30 seconds later he covers his mouth and we try to run to the restroom but he doesn’t make it and proceeded to blow chunks on the floor. Luckily, I am able to find a towel and he catches the majority of the vomit in the towel on the way to the restroom sink.

Once we made sure he was okay, we got him cleaned up and back in bed. I than begin to clean up the vomit at 2:30 in the morning eyes half open. I grabbed a towel dampened it and could find any carpet cleaner so I just scrubbed the vomit soaked carpet as best I could until the stain almost disappeared.

You may think there is nothing wrong with this story but one thing I didn’t point out is I didn’t wear gloves and I probably should have.

So wear gloves tough guy. Don’t clean up bodily fluids bare handed or you might regret it later.

When Your Kids Literally Make You Sick

Two days pass by and my little guy is almost back to normal, getting his appetite back and energetic as dog chasing its tail.

By this time it’s Saturday morning, I successfully hosted his birthday party and I am feeling great and think I am untouchable. Than at 2pm I have to head to the restroom out comes watery diarrhea, this happens another 8 times and by 10pm I am puking out pizza from the party I hosted earlier.

You guessed it, I got the Stomach bug.

Kids, will literally make you sick and there is a no nonsense way to stop it.

Be a Germophobe  

Gents, I grew up playing outside and getting dirty.

I would catch bugs, play basketball, run around with my neighborhood friends and sometimes wash my hands before eating a meal. Admittedly, I am not much of a germophobe. My wife had to consistently remind me to wash my hands and make sure things are sanitized especially when it comes to the kids.

There are times where I still catch myself slipping because I don’t think it’s a big deal. But when your kids get sick and you end up catching the bug, reality sets in. It’s time to stop being a tough guy and wash those hands.

After getting sick time and time again, I have come to realize that taking preventive measures is better for everyone in the household. So I have almost put my tough guy days behind me and now wash my hands 90% of the time and my kids 100%.

Bottom Line

As a parent you will find there are some things about your kid that gross you out. For me it’s boogers and there is this thing called the Nose Frida which is basically a wand with a filter that lets you suck your kid’s boogers out so they don’t get congested. It works wonders but I tried it once and gagged. Ughhh. Never again.

Anyway my wife can handle boogers and I can handle barf and poop all day.

But do yourself a favor and take some precautions the next time your kiddo gets sick or you too could be hugging the toilet in the near future.