Sending healthy thoughts to all of you. I actually got a robo call from my health insurance company reminding me of everywhere I can get a free flu shot given the spike in flu contagion in our area. Y’all are pretty much on-trend.
@CTMom21 lots of Clorox! Where are y’all headed for college visits?? If you’re flying, wear a mask!!!
Just read a devastating excerpt from Breathless, the memoir written by the Brown University professor whose college student daughter died of the flu a few years ago. Please monitor your kids closely even if they are far away!
I was never such a germaphobe before BS. I think having a single this year has been a huge help; last year DS was so sick all winter term. I think they are being very diligent at schools. Last year they closed school for a few days around this time because of all the illness. This year seems a little better on campus but flu and corona virus is all we’re hearing about, and people around here are getting sick for long stretches.
@buuzn03, we’re headed to OH. Packing all my woollies. They offered an overnight visit, but the last thing I want is my kid in someone else’s germy dorm room! DS2 is doing his best to recover — he’s going to Bruins/Rangers on Sunday.
None of the icons at the bottom are right for a Bruins/Rangers game!
I use Force of Nature (HOCl) cleaner at home and in my classroom and none of my teachers or staff have been sick while every other classroom is down multiple kids with flu. I’m thinking of sending a unit to my son at
school, but he just makes fun of it, calling it my “magic spray”.
@vwlizard I think my son is ready to try anything at this point!
@vwlizard Magic spray sounds good!
I am trying to get my kid to use Clorox wipes on the door knob and light switch now that he is finally healthy!
I’ve ordered everything everyone has suggested so far and had it shipped to DS. I will try anything to get him healthy at this point!!
I also followed advice shared here – hadn’t even heard of EZC before! Just flew to and from NYC this week, and wore a mask. Wow. They are quite hot and uncomfortable. This is a rough cold/flu season for sure! All 4 kiddos have been hit, and both parents. (Tested negative for flu, though, thankfully.) Luckily the one DD who got well the other day is the one having open heart surgery on Monday. We are all doing our best to stay away and keep her well because if she has as much a sniffle, they can’t do the surgery. Rough times all around. Hope your kids are on the mend too.
This year is awful, and I was at a meeting last night with a friend who works at Loomis and he said all the schools around here are having a TERRIBLE year illness-wise. It’s so depressing. DH was told by his doctor that the cold he has is “the cold that lasts for a month.” Great. DS made it till now but texted last night that he is now sick too. I am Thinking about stowing away on the spring training trip to FL, but that is over a month away.
Oh @CTMom21 the cold that “lasts a month” both depresses me (a month??? ugh!), but also assures me that it’s nothing worse, as we are all 8-10 days into it, and I was starting to wonder if it was something else. (Doctor says just a tough cold virus, but still – 10 days is a long time to feel knocked over by a cold!)
I thought DS would completely reject it, but he was happy to bring elderberry syrup back to school with him.
Thanks to stories like these, schools are much more careful and vigilant
https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2020/02/13/flu-breathless-severe-college
That’s a horrific story, @CaliMex, but it’s easy to see how easily an illness can get out of hand in college, particularly, where there’s so much less oversight and kids are expected to be more independent. I think I find illness and injuries the hardest things to deal with not seeing my kid in-person.
I heard that interview on the radio the other day. Awful. And one more reason that I will be going to college with my daughter in two years.
If your child, actually adult college student has any real health challenges, you need to advice them to forgo student health center and go to urgent care or ER, and find a doctor locally. The health center are totally overwhelmed this time of the year and not set up for much besides the basics. To be fair though, our BS health center is not much better, and parents are called upon to deal with any real illness or injury.
One of our sons middle school lacrosse teammates passed away a few years ago form complications from the flu as a freshman at Johns Hopkins. Truly awful. I agree it is important to have your kids become familiar/ comfortable with the local medical options while at college as well as listen to their bodies. Scary stuff for sure.
https://news3lv.com/archive/lacrosse-star-from-las-vegas-died-of-pneumonia-flu-while-at-college
I thought the health center at SPS was excellent. Very caring and thorough with qualified nurses and a doctor on staff as well as well-trained mental health professionals , too. At college, it was definitely a big step down.
Local doctor or urgent care, yes. ER, no except for a true emergency. ER is way too costly for most with health insurance what it is, plus ERs aren’t really designed to deal with anything but emergency care in an efficient and cost effective manner.
Unfortunately, over the last year we’ve become overly familiar with St Mark’s HC and Southborough’s medical facilities. Being in the medical field, I’ve been extremely impressed. If things don’t change for DS, college will definitely add some worry in this realm.