Ughh.... sick cycle carousel

[jeromedawg]

Yea, not the Lifehouse song but it seems like my family keeps passing whatever we have around to each other. It has been this way at least every other week since the end of November. Pretty awful...

Currently both my kids have the kind of cough where you can hear the phlegm and see them tasting it and swallowing it back down. Our older one doesn't quite understand the concept of spitting out the phlegm but tries. Anyway, how long are these coughs *supposed* to last? It feels like it has been more than a week with the younger one.

[Sibley]

My sympathies. Kids are germ factories, and do not comprehend/remember to wash hands, cough into their elbow, etc. Coughs can last for weeks, just depends. You know the drill.

Mucus hitting the stomach may cause some upset stomach issues, but otherwise won't hurt them.

[mm1970]

Yea, not the Lifehouse song but it seems like my family keeps passing whatever we have around to each other. It has been this way at least every other week since the end of November. Pretty awful...

Currently both my kids have the kind of cough where you can hear the phlegm and see them tasting it and swallowing it back down. Our older one doesn't quite understand the concept of spitting out the phlegm but tries. Anyway, how long are these coughs *supposed* to last? It feels like it has been more than a week with the younger one.

Weeks, and I wish I was kidding.

A typical cough like this can easily last 2 weeks.  Sometimes even longer - 4-8 is not unheard of.  Kind of blows.

When my big kid got sick, we'd wait a few weeks and go see the doc and he'd say "takes a long time", and it would clear up days later.

[kei te pai]

Yep, 3 weeks is not unusual. But, importtant to distinguish between a child who is otherwise well, ie eating, sleeping, and playing despite having a cough and/or runny nose, and one who is feverish, listless, miserable etc. The former is no concern, the latter needs to see the Dr.

[chemistk]

I offer my deepest sympathies, and I completely feel you - we're right there.

In August 3 out of 4 of us got Hand, Foot, and Mouth <- I would never wish that upon my worst enemy. We were basically quarantined for a month and needed to sanitize EVERYTHING since you can totally get it again, from stuff you touch with open blisters that you didn't wash.

In November, we traded a few colds.

In December we had a delightful stomach bug right around Christmas.

And right now, all 4 of us are just getting over colds. Older kid is on antibiotics for a horrible ear infection as a result of the cold, and Younger kid has been on antibiotics for 5 days now for a double ear infection as a result of a cold that turned into RSV.

Last winter was bad even worse. Younger kid was still an infant and had Croup 3 times, resulting in 2 ER/Urgent care visits + steroid injections. Older kid had 5 (!!) separate ear infection occasions within 6 months and was one ear infection away from getting tubes in his ears.

It's really always fun to play the Russian Roulette - style "Whose turn is it to get sick this week?".

[FLBiker]

We're doing pretty well this year (so far!) but last year was brutal.  In March, I don't think a day went by where one of us (me, wife, daughter) wasn't medicating a fever.  Flu, flu, flu, pneumonia, pneumonia.  Good times. :)

[sjc0816]

DH is just getting over it - after 3 weeks. Now my 7th grader has it...missed one day of school (would have been 3 days but we had two snow days)....and the crummy feeling is now gone but the phlemy cough is awful. I expect to be dealing with it for a couple more weeks.

Youngest son has two skin infections (wrestler)...so my germ-phobia is at an all-time high. ick.