Does anyone with small children NOT routinely catch the dreaded bug?

[WellErrr]

I’m terrified of being sick. It’s awful this time of year, and worse since having DC - the bug is in their school at the moment and I am just privately living in terror of any of us catching it.

I just wondered how many have/have had DC going through school, and how often they/you catch it. Is it inevitable!?? I think social media can skew it as it sometimes makes it seem like the plague.

Thanks all.

Kids are now teens and we've never had a sickness bug in our house. DS did get norovirus along with most of his secondary school a few years back, but thankfully he failed to pass it on to any of the rest of us.

Dettol door handles and taps? What on earth? Keep hands away from mouth? We never do any of that and none of us are ever ill.

That’s really interesting about blood type. I’m AB.

What is everyone else?

How do you know your blood type? I’ve got no idea what mine is or that of my DC or DH.

I have Addison’s disease which is an extremely rare disorder of the adrenal glands (1 in 100,000) which means that I don’t make cortisol - if I get a stomach bug or infection I end up in hospital as I can’t absorb the steroids I need to take every day and it can be fatal - I need to be hooked up to IV hydrocortisone. So- I live in absolute TERROR of stomach bugs. Or any infection at all.

Thankfully- and I almost hate saying this because I feel like I’m jinxing myself- I’ve managed to avoid them all. I have no idea whether this is just luck or whether it’s to do with the things I do -

Use dettol spray on surfaces and door knobs / handles / around toilets
Bleach and clean toilets daily
Hands washed whenever we come in from anywhere
All bedding and towels washed at 60 degrees
All of us take multivitamins and drink one or two Yakult drinks daily

This week ds aged 7 was the only one in his class one day (he attends specialist school so only 8 children in his class) as everyone else was off sick!

I have worked with small children for 30 years and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve caught something from them
Handwashing is very effective at stopping bugs
I also never hold their hands, just their wrist, I know exactly where those hands have been!
I also make sure our nursery rooms have windows open all day every day and the children are outside as much as possible

I found out my blood type when I was pregnant. If you ask your doctor they will have it on their records.

Poor DD has had quite a few over the years. I never catch them and in 30 years working as a nurse haven’t ever caught one. Even when she threw up over my face and hair! DH was a bit more prone when DD was very young.

I’m good at hand washing and always insist DH and DD wash hands when come in, before eating and I taught DD at a young age how to wash her hands properly. When she gets a bug I bleach sink, loo, taps, door handles after each episode.

These bugs do seem a lot more prevalent than when I was young. I think it’s because here in SE we have overcrowded towns, buses, tubes, schools, indoor lifestyles and live in constant close proximity to people.

I observe that a lot of people don’t wash their hands properly after the loo, or wash their hands when they come home and lots of children (and adults) have long nails.

I used to get the Hibiscrub out from under the sink when any lurgy struck this household. Everyone used to use that for hand washing.

I’m sure you can get it online.

I am a teacher and DS year 5. He's never been sick and has had less than a week off throughout his whole of school career. (Including nursery but excluding chickenpox). I have had 2 days off in about 5 years and last time I was sick was morning sickness 10 years ago. I think some people get ill and some don't. We eat very healthily and exercise daily which I also think helps.

I don't think I ever caught anything from either of my children other than a cold. They are now in their 20s.