Germ phobia

[LisaT]

I found out today that the high school in our area has approx 300 kids sick with norovirus (GI symptoms, fever, yuck…). I'm totally paranoid! Many of my kids' classmates have siblings there, a bunch of my daughter's friends have their dance rehearsal there this weekend (ours is there in two weeks), and our town/suburb is not a huge place. The summer farmer's market starts Sunday and although I was looking forward to it I think I'll wait a couple of weeks. I'm thinking of every door handle, sneeze, bank machine and interac machine… and feeling as though I shouldn't let anyone leave the house this weekend, which is of course impossible. I never really thought this much about being immune suppressed before, but the GI stuff worries me. Besides the obvious hand washing and trying not to touch door handles and strangers, any pointers on getting through this without letting the bug into our house? I will give my kids their vitamins and carry hand sanitizer.. but kids usually seem to pick up everything anyways. :crying:

[pberggren1]

Yup, just try not to touch anything and bring wipes and hand sanitizer. Wash your hands often.

[godgirl]

I know EXACTLY how you feel, Lisa! Before all this, I never really thought about who had what sickness, if I was going to catch it, etc. Now, I feel like a germ-a-phobe. I worry about anyone who coughs at the office. If a family member is sick. What am I touching that might have germs on it.

In this respect, I feel like I've changed. And not in a good way. I don't like to be fearful...

Jen

[LisaT]

Nor do I, Jen. I am just going to try to be proactive with hand washing, vitamins, probiotics and then assume I won't catch it. Getting kids to be equally proactive is a bit trickier but I DO know how to nag. :rolleyes1: We're also on the verge of a full blown teachers' strike here so maybe I just won't have to let them out of my sight for a couple of weeks.

[Alysia]

Hi Lisa
read this thread : http://www.wegeners-granulomatosis.com/forum/general-wg-chat/3577-you-germ-phobe.html
wash your hands before eating. dont touch your nose or eyes with your hands if they are not washed.
and worry a bit less :hug1:

[MikeG-2012]

Since I work at a college, I worry about getting sick a lot--especially during cold and flu season. My advise if to BE CAREFUL! Wash hands a lot, wipe down common surfaces, spray disinfectant when needed. Just do all the things that you think will help. Don't over stress about it, just be careful and diligent!

[marta]

I found out today that the high school in our area has approx 300 kids sick with norovirus (GI symptoms, fever, yuck…). I'm totally paranoid! Many of my kids' classmates have siblings there, a bunch of my daughter's friends have their dance rehearsal there this weekend (ours is there in two weeks), and our town/suburb is not a huge place. The summer farmer's market starts Sunday and although I was looking forward to it I think I'll wait a couple of weeks. I'm thinking of every door handle, sneeze, bank machine and interac machine… and feeling as though I shouldn't let anyone leave the house this weekend, which is of course impossible. I never really thought this much about being immune suppressed before, but the GI stuff worries me. Besides the obvious hand washing and trying not to touch door handles and strangers, any pointers on getting through this without letting the bug into our house? I will give my kids their vitamins and carry hand sanitizer.. but kids usually seem to pick up everything anyways. :crying:

Lisa, this has been top of mind since diagnosis 4 years ago. Hana is now in Grade 2. She has become hand washing obsessed over the years. It makes for dry hands, but we tend to get less bugs going through the house than ever before. I personally try to avoid touching any of the holes on my face. It's hard, but I think it's the ultimate prevention technique. I have a little antibacterial gel that comes with me wherever I go and I use it if I get that spidey sense happening, and I don't touch my face. They say that the average person touches their face 2,000-4,000 per day. That's 2000-4000 times that you might be introducing a foreign germ into your system. Yikes. It's a hard habit to break but a good one if you want to minimize infection.

Also Vitamin C and D are great for preventing flu, and I think that if you go with probiotics they might give your body a fighting chance in the face of a gut infection. (There is research looking into probiotics as a potential cure for autoimmune disease - but that's a whole different thread.) Oh and Oregano oil is awesome for any flu or bug at the onset. Get the pills (they're easier to put down than the straight liquid which burns) but it's the only thing that I've read about that is an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal on contact, so it doesn't mess with our immune system but works directly on the invader.

[LisaT]

Hi, Marta! Thanks for all of that. I've been mega-dosing vitamins C and D and took oregano oil a couple of days ago but forgot today, so thanks for the reminder! I have a six-year-old boy who sometimes washes his hands and sometimes just tells me he has. SO, I had a chat with them about norovirus and what it would be like and how important it is to wash hands right now, not touch public door handles (being a bit of a germophobe to begin with, I've already taught them to use a paper towel to open the door leaving a public washroom with just-cleaned hands). I was also reminded by my Bowen therapist about Thieves' Oil. A blend of essential oils that is supposed to ward off infection. I've been using that too, not because i believe it will necessarily help, but because I figure it can't hurt, and I've also heard it can help with headaches. We shall see...

I read Hana's poem on one of the other threads and loved it. :biggrin1:

[vdub]

Totally phobic! I wash my hands all the time; maybe just short OCD. :-) And my hands are always dry because of it, so I have hand lotion stashed everywhere.

I am convinced the absolute dirtiest, most germ-ridden environment is a resturant chair. Whenever you sit down at a resturant, the first thing you do is grab the chair under your seat to scoot the chair up to the table -- and then you eat. The seat rails under the chair are grabbed by everyone that sat there and is never cleaned.

[pberggren1]

I also try to wash my hands often. When I go to a public washroom I also use paper towel to open the doors or any other doors to get out of the building. Most buildings today have push doors to get in and out or automatic ones so one does not have to worry about touching those surfaces. But I am not phobic about germs. I can't be in my state as I am constantly coughing and sneezing up crap all the time and rubbing my eyes and face all the time as well to get the puss out of my eyes, etc. I know when I worked in restaurants we had to wash the the chairs down often, even the undersides of the chairs. But even we might be surprised about our own cleaning techniques in areas of our homes. If we were to use a black light in areas all of would be surprised at how poorly we clean our own homes and how many germs are left behind.

[mishb]

I am convinced the absolute dirtiest, most germ-ridden environment is a resturant chair. Whenever you sit down at a resturant, the first thing you do is grab the chair under your seat to scoot the chair up to the table -- and then you eat. The seat rails under the chair are grabbed by everyone that sat there and is never cleaned.

Arrrrgh - thanks Mate :sad: just something else for me to obsess about :razz:

[marta]

Hi, Marta! Thanks for all of that. I've been mega-dosing vitamins C and D and took oregano oil a couple of days ago but forgot today, so thanks for the reminder! I have a six-year-old boy who sometimes washes his hands and sometimes just tells me he has. SO, I had a chat with them about norovirus and what it would be like and how important it is to wash hands right now, not touch public door handles (being a bit of a germophobe to begin with, I've already taught them to use a paper towel to open the door leaving a public washroom with just-cleaned hands). I was also reminded by my Bowen therapist about Thieves' Oil. A blend of essential oils that is supposed to ward off infection. I've been using that too, not because i believe it will necessarily help, but because I figure it can't hurt, and I've also heard it can help with headaches. We shall see...

I read Hana's poem on one of the other threads and loved it. :biggrin1:

Thanks Lisa, she is something else. So shy about her talents and she plays up the 'poop disturber' elements of her personality. One day she'll embrace the talents and the good stuff. I hope. :rolleyes1:

One thing to be careful about is not using something that boosts your immune system.... I remember being warned not to use Ecanacia (sp?) or ginger or other immune boosters because it's counterproductive to our treatment protocol.

Another thing to be careful about is giving our fears associated with this whole gig too much power. I use Al, may he rest in peace, to remind me of this. He was so on top of everything. He was so smart, and educated himself and the rest of us about this disease, a pure treasure. His one fear that he mentioned often was 'infection'. It was infection that ultimately took him from us - very quickly. Since that happened, I promised myself not to give my fears too much power. Take the precautions, do what you know is common sense but live life. I hope that doesn't sound to calloused. It's not meant to. I am taking gross stuff and using it for betterment in my life... I think Al would be happy to know that.

Hi Al, I feel you're watching me type, LOVE YOU BUDDY.

[Alysia]

restaurants..... mmmmm.... and germs.... :rolleyes1: I can do "restaurants review" because if the food is not clean enough, my stomach will announce it soon :crying: in fact, I am not taking much risks, and if I have to go to a cafe or restuarant with friends or family, I eat well at home before, and I only take a cup of tea, in a paper cup (for single use) because that I also noticed that I can get wounds in my mouth if I am eating or drinking outside from dishes which are prob not clean enough.
sorry if my description is too gross :blushing: