Dr. Mom's Advice

Dr. Mom's advice
....Keeping away the sickies…

We called ourselves the “Sicklies” every winter for ages… There were eight kids in our family – thank goodness there were only four at home at a time. We found these tips to be helpful to reduce the sicknesses.

First, Mom especially needs a good sense of humor along with stock in the Kleenex company. Vitamin C, and Desitin ointment were always in stock in the pantry. Desitin put on an ouchy sore nose at bedtime would help heal the soreness and redness by morning. This was a must for the girls who had to look their best for school.

The other biggies were the “no kissing zone” (forehead only, no lips. My husband was a “carrier”. He never got really ill just shared it with the rest of us.), bleach in the dishwasher or hand washed dishes every time, a “sick zone” (the couch), using bleach water on all door handles, keyboard, and any touchable surface. The kids were banned from the computer while sick but always managed to sneak. After a while I gave up and just wiped the keyboard off before turning on the computer.

We also did a lot more laundry during the winter, using bleach on everything. We finally realized one year that we all had allergies to the live Christmas tree. The next year we bought an artificial tree and we didn’t get sick over Christmas break. We’ve had a fake tree ever since.

Since those days – the baby is now 25, I’ve added three more things to my arsenal – Listerine mouthwash, Zicam and Vitamin D3. The hubby still remains a “carrier” and loves to share his sicklies...I’m now ready for him.