My sister is got a last minute plane ticket and is visiting from out of state with her 2 year old. They are staying with my parents. They came in Tues eve, we all hung out Wed eve after I got off work, and then her DD got sick and threw up all night wed night (more than 10 times!), thurs morning and even once this morning after she ate a for the first time.
We were going to all hang out on my day off yesterday, but obviously we didn't since she was sick. now I was thinking of canceling my original-out-of-town plans for tomorrow to hang out with my sister and niece instead (with my kids). but after hearing that she threw up again this morning, I am hesitant to have my kids be exposed to the horrible vomiting flu that she has. espically since my 1 year old is so underweight that it would be horrible for her to get a stomach flu and lose MORE weight!
But they go home sunday morning and we wont even see them at christmas this year since my sister will be having a baby that month and we cant afford plane tix this year....
what would you do? take the chance and hang out? or not?
My girls were exposed wed eve, I am watching them closely and praying they dont get it!!
I am a little hypochondriac so I can't tell when I am being silly or reasonable, sometimes it helps to get other people's perspectives...
OMG this has been the worst week ever. My worst case scenario came true, my underweight 15 month old got the flu and it was awful. she threw up sunday night and tuesday we had to take her into the ER because she was dehydrated and had a blood sugar of 40! they admitted her and we stayed overnight at the hospital. getting the IV was horrible, it took 3 tries and was so painful. It is now saturday (6 days later!!!) and she is still having diahrea every two hours or so and is so weak. I can't even imagine how much weight she is losing, the weight we worked SO HARD to get her to gain. I got sick with it on wednesday night. My 5 year old is in desperate need of attention and is being naughty every chance she gets.
seriously I wish I could keep my family in a bubble and never go anywhere again.
SOB!
They are already exposed.
How do you know it's the 'flu'? Flu is actually a respirtory infection and does not include vomiting. When a person is vomiting it is not flu but a totally different virus. Many times what we think is the flu is actually a mild food poisoning.
It's not silly or unreasonable. It's a dilemma.
Call your Ped for their take. They know your daughters weight situation better than anyone here.
I had to cx a LOT of stuff this year, because another respiratory infection could have killed my son. Stuff other people would find no big deal, but with compromised lungs, 2 months total (week here, week there, 5 weeks In one shot), his lungs and immune system were too fragile to risk.
If your baby is underweight your Ped may well have you avoid intentional repeated exposure to someone with a nasty stomach bug. Exposure, btw, is not a 1 shot thing. Contagion also varies. They may not have been exposed at all previously, or had a mild exposure. Going into a house where there had been intense saturation of the illness responsible may be risk free (only contagious at the beginning), or may be risk heavy with the viral load at its most potent. With these types of things (unidentified), no one knows. Everyone may get it anyway, or not at all.
My .02 If your baby is underweight and looking at hospitalization for this kind of illness, running the risk that they MIGHT not be contagious, or MIGHT already have it seems... Dumb. There are so many things you CAN'T avoid (like possible exposure before you knew, daycare, grocery stores, whatever), that intentionally placing her at risk? That, to me, is like saying "There's always drunks on the road. So why not drive drunk?"
You were already exposed during what would probably be the most high risk time...Enjoy the day with family!
98% of the time stomach flu is caused by something that was eaten. so I say go for it and if it is that 2% of the time when it is a viruis you were already exposed so it dosent matter if you stay away you will still get it. good luck I hope your family stays healthy and niece is feeling better.
You and your children were already exposed. Most often with illnesses, the time period which said illness would be considered contageous is the time BEFORE symptoms present themselves. This is how viruses survive. Staying away now won't do any good. Enjoy this rare time with your family.
I think she's past the contagious stage, as it's over 2 days later. Hang out with your sister.
The Stomach Flu, is going around. And in my city.
Everyday, I have seen kids go home from school for this same thing.
I work at my kids' school.
Adults too, are getting it.
You need to do, what you can, so you/your kids don't get sick.
Or someone can transfer the sickness others.
And your 1 year old, is underweight.
For me, this would be my 1st priority.
My Mom, has a friend who works in an office. An office of 24 people. Out of those 24 people, 12 of them got this Stomach Flu.
These are adults. Who have daily contact with each other and clients. Can you imagine, how the illness is transferred to others?
For me personally, I would not hang out with them. Nor have my kids do so.
Do you have to decide right NOW? Often, with little kids, the vomiting thing can be just a 24 hour bug. If the child contracted rotavirus, it is very contagious, but I think that is due to typical daycare settings and such where there is a lot of shared things (toys!).
But if hands are washed and items are cleaned, then it should be fine. How old are your kids? Are they old enough to wash their hands before putting them in their mouths or handling food/drink items after playing? Will they mouth toys at your parents house?
If they are old enough to not do those things, then I don't really see a problem. But if they are small also, and will be toy sharing and putting things in their mouths, then I would probably keep them away.
