I Love You But, You Can Keep Your Germs...

Why do people knowingly go into public places or attend functions knowing that they are sick and germ carriers. This is definitely a pet peeve I have and it irritates the crap out of me! These are a few issues that I have and I’m trying not to hurt anyone’s feelings or have them feel as though I’m disrespecting them but, in the end I feel disrespected!


Point & Case #1: I have a girlfriend who I get along with very well, we have children that are around the same ages and they play well together, however every time we get together her toddler is sick. I’m not exaggerating! The baby is always battling a cold, on antibiotics for some type of viral infection and she will still pop up at my home or come to a gathering with a sick baby. Now, I have asked why the baby is frequently sick and said in so many words maybe you should have stayed home but, she is always exposing this child to other people. There are two separate occasions that my toddler and I got sick behind her daughter and I was pissed. If you know your child is sick, please stay home! The other day she popped up at my home and my hubby answered the door and, there she is again with a sick baby, nose running and just irritable. I try to get hubby’s attention so, he doesn’t invite her in because I know this is just going to expose our household to these germs and he doesn’t acknowledge me so here she is in my home. She stays for an hour or so long enough for her child to touch everything play with my kids and spew germs. Yes, I think like that! Here it is a few days later and guess who’s not feeling so hot? Now, I’ve tried to be nice and I’m at the point of total alienation. Stay away from me; I don’t want you in my house when you or your child is not healthy. Why would you expose us to this? Now, there is me, hubby and (4) children. When I am not feeling well, I will alienate everyone and try to get well. I tell the kids to stay away from me and go to their dad for anything. Why get them sick? I’m just going to end up taking care of them, and then we’re going to recycle germs. Yuck! I call in to work when I’m sick so I don’t spread my crud and then return when I am better. I think everyone should think like this.

Point & Case #2: I have my toddler in a home daycare facility. I chose it over a commercial center because I wanted him to have more attention and I knew if there weren’t a lot of children the less likely he’d be to get sick frequently. I hear so many stories from my girlfriends that have their children in large daycare centers and I don’t understand how or why a provider would let a sick child remain in daycare. I know things have gotten a little stricter with the H1N1 flu and if your child has a fever they are sent home immediately, this is in schools as well. Every virus has an incubation period before the symptoms start to show so I do know that there are times you won’t know if you or your child has been exposed to a viral bacteria but, when symptoms are clearly stated why drop them off at daycare to start a daycare pandemic. I mean really! The worse place to send a sick child is school. They are exposing their germs to other children constantly. They wipe their runny nose with their hands and don’t wash them then touch a toy that another child will put in their mouth. You see where I am going with this… Now everyone in the toddler room within days of each other is sick. I can’t stand it!

So, my personal experience was that a little girl at my son’s daycare was sick and it was taken lightly. She had a runny nose and had spit up once when mom dropped her off. Now, when I dropped my son off at daycare I didn’t know any of this. I picked him up later on that evening and I had actually seen the little girl and asked about her. She looked really miserable and lethargic and just sick, poor baby! Well at this point is when I find out she’s been sick and had actually not eaten much of anything all day, had some diarrhea and vomiting and had slept mostly. I was immediately alarmed that my son had been around her all day. Now the provider did say that they were in separate rooms mostly but, you can’t control air borne viruses. Within a twenty four hour time frame my son was vomiting with diarrhea to the point we ended up taking him to the children’s Hospital because he tore his esophagus from gagging so much and his vomit was streaked with blood. I almost lost it! Now within twenty four hours of the baby getting sick my second youngest got sick, then the oldest and then my middle son and last but not lease me and hubby. My whole family got sick because one person didn’t keep their child at home. Working parents are going to have to take time off sometimes because of ill children. I know times are hard and everyone needs to make money, and sick days and vacation days can be scarce but, damn! I was livid!

I am an overly protective mom and I have OCD tendencies. I walk with hand sanitizer in my purse, Lysol Spray and Clorox wipes are always within my reach and if I could happily live in a bubble I would! My children are taught to wash their hands frequently and have personal bottles of hand sanitizer in their backpacks. I teach my children to cover their mouth when they cough and turn away in the bend of their arm when they sneeze to help eliminate the spread of germs. I also tell them to stay away from children at school who may be sick and if their sniffling, sneezing, and coughing to tell them to cover their mouth and wash their hands or better yet move away from them. I have a health insurance with a co pay which saves me from paying a full price for a doctor’s visit. This may not be the case for some people and it can be costly. I have very strong feelings about this, what’s your take on this?