It seemed inevitable to me that one of the 7 of us would eventually come down with the much talked about swine flu. Despite lots of handwashing, purell using, vitamin taking, and extra school and house cleanings; my husband and I now have 5 children with the "dreaded" swine flu.
This diagnosis seems to spark an element of panic in most of the people I have spoken to about it. Though, I must say it really hasn't been nearly as horrific as the media coverage seems to relay. Hopefully I won't regret saying this later, but our experience with the swine flu thus far hasn't been that bad. To be honest, we have had much worse "bugs" go through the house in years past.
I think the keys to our surviving the swine flu with relatively low drama is the fact we caught things early on. Knowing that we have 4 out of 5 kids in a higher risk category with twin 16 month olds, an 8 year old daughter and a 15 year old son with asthma; we were really keeping an eye out for the classic symptoms. It was my two children with asthma that were first effected. Both of them began presenting with headaches, sore throats, fever, and coughing. Symptoms I knew to be possibly related to swine flu but could of course be something else entirely.
I personally think it is most likely that our oldest, a 15 year old boy in high school, brought it home. He'd been in close contact with classmates / teammates that came down with swine flu. He was lifting weights with them, playing contact sports with them, and sitting by them in class.
Knowing he had been around people who recently tested positive for it, I made an appointment with our pediatrician for the next day. In the meantime, it was the norm of extra fluids and some fever reducing drugs. We also began some breathing treatments to aid with the asthma complications.
The doctor later confirmed my concerns with a positive test for H1N1 and prescribed Tamiflu for them due to the asthma issues. She also advised us on what to watch for with the twins. One of the twins is now on Tamiflu and one isn't. Our 11 year old son didn't need Tamiflu either. Since a side effect can be nausea, our doctor prefers to only start it when truly needed.
That covers the medical side of this ...
So now for the quarantined aspect of being home sick with something like this. In other words, how do you keep 5 grumpy sick kids from driving each other CRAZY when locked in the house for several days together?
Our survival tactics have included: Redbox Movies, Popsicles made with Gatorade G2, Sonic Real Fruit Slushes, Books, Video Games, Board Games, and new old toys.
The older boys kept busy with a movie marathon that included Transformers, G.I. Joe, and more. They also have kept their Playstation 3 quite busy with several sports games.
My daughter has done a good amount of reading, watched a movie or two, played with dolls in bed, and she helped make Popsicles.
The twins have been the hardest to care for during this time. They need extra holding and have an even lesser attention span and patience level. To help their mood, we pulled out some old toys from the basement that we hadn't given them yet. Additionally, they love watching big sister's beloved zhu zhu pets scurry about, though it's a toy for 4+ that we must supervise the entire time, so we borrowed those for a while.
Unfortunately, the swine flu has put a wrench in my blog posts and reviews. It has also put hubby a tad behind at work as he lends an extra hand. Don't worry! I haven't forgotten about the many awesome reviews and giveaway announcements I have promised.
Coming soon, you will see my reviews of the Bumbleride Indie Twin Stroller, the great twin and singleton baby product by Hugga-bebe, the Safety 1st Complete Air Car Seat, the Carry You Stroller Accessory, Giveaway Winner Announcements, and much more. But for the moment, it is back to playing doctor mommy for me.
Thanks for visiting and wash your hands on the way out!