Are you ill much more frequently as a parent than before?

[Doesntfeellike25degrees]

I feel like so much of my life is spent fighting off things caught from school. Packed trains, busy bars, long meetings, playgroups etc - nothing prepared me for the frequency of so many viruses from school though. It’s eased off a bit the last couple of months, but even at pick up time, it’s weird to see so many parents and children (and teachers) just looking ill. So many seemingly unable to shake things off? All ages. Is this it now or have I just picked virus academy?!!

I have a 3 and 1 yo.
Before children across 15 yrs of work I took off maybe 3 weeks total sick leave.
That includes proper flu twice which took10 of the days.

I am sick over 1 x per month now. Currently have a horrendous chest infection and had laryngitis last month its fucking summer
I try and work through it but honestly its hard

When my eldest dd went to school we all got constant colds, I had assumed previously we were pretty immune as never really got anything but I think it’s probably because she went to grandparents for childcare not nursery. I became a childminder myself the following year we literally had 11 years of constant colds/stomach bugs, my immune system never toughened up. Then I had another child who went to nursery at one. We got a reprieve during 2020/21 but after lockdown the bugs came back with a vengeance. He’s ten now and I’d say it been 2 years since it all settled down. Winter before last we all got a couple colds and last winter only dh got one. Twenty years of constant illness and we are finally past it.

No, but pre kids I uaed to work in a school so my exposure has decreased.

Wish you better @Lafufufu

@NoweverytimeIgoforthemailbox that’s one way to reduce illness as a parent! Were you ill much when working at a school - did it ease off?

When mine were little (they're 21/19 now) I had a few years of recurring ulcerative tonsillitis, two or three times a year, until they were at school, then it seemed to taper off to once a year. I haven't had it for years and years, I can only put it down to having young DCs who picked up every bug going, which hit me hard in the tonsil area.
I don't tend to get many colds these days, and I didn't get COVID, no idea how I avoided that, DCs both had it a couple of times.

Glad things have improved.

If you know for sure you haven’t had covid, there’s probably some demand for your services in studies! The control group of ‘no infection’ must be pretty small.

No this wasn't the case for me.

@Doesntfeellike25degrees yeah I do wonder about those kinds of studies. Im as sure as I can be that I didn't have COVID, and if I did, I was completely symptom free. I took part in one of those Future Health studies recently and I wonder if I'll get a call, as one of the questions asked participants if they'd had COVID.

Yes. Especially in the pre-school years. I used to accumulate so many Boots points buying paracetamol, cough syrup etc.

It was frankly awful for about 6yrs. I still keep a well stocked cupboard and endless ice cream tubs for sickness. They've both left school now.....

Yes definitely -from child care to end of primary. Now we've reached secondary it seems much better !

I was constantly ill the first two years my son was at nursery. I got really run down and it was horrible - looking back at photos from that time I look dreadful, even though he slept pretty well by then. We had Covid every year for three years in a row.

He's now six and gets ill far less, and I rarely catch it myself. I think he had three days off school in the past year. Don't think I've had any off work. Such a relief (touch wood).

When my kids were at nursery and school, I seemed to be forever fighting colds, coughs, sickness, and nits. But once they had grown up, I started building my immunity again, only for it to get worse again with looking after grandkids.

Oh god yes, this!

I could just about handle the constant colds, throat infections and coughs, but it’s the sickness bugs I can’t deal with.

When DS1 first went to nursery I had 5 sickness bugs in 6 months! I don’t think I’d had one before that since I was a child myself. He’s nearly 4 now and they still seem to come along every few months but the frequency of colds seems to have slowed a lot. My second child is starting nursery in a couple of months, though, and I’m absolutely dreading the onslaught of illness coming our way.

I think it’s also the type of illnesses, so when I was at school kids would have colds and a bout of chickenpox, some would have tonsillitis and a few got glandular fever as teens. I don’t remember things like scarlet fever being common, noro/v and d being in such high circulation, hfm, so many coughs lasting for months and months. Maybe they were though.

Yes, it was one of the things that pushed me towards chronic fatigue for a few years and I developed asthma after one particularly nasty virus. 10 years of constantly feeling unwell. Every time I caught Covid it would leave me extremely unwell for a few months. Then I’d feel better and promptly catch it again.

started a lifestyle overhaul two years ago after breast cancer and strangely I don’t seem to catch colds or coughs any more.

I always used to have a couple of bad ones a year prior to children due to teaching.

I’ve wondered what it is; I’m weight lifting and doing sprint interval training, plus eating no processed foods and a gut friendly diet. I started it all for the cancer (exercise helps) and to manage hormones as I’m in the throes of peri. I walk the dog first thing too so get a 15 min speed walk early doors. Better immune system seems to be a side affect. Asthma is better too.

I can still feel very tired and get a sore throat for a day or so but it doesn’t develop further. And I still go through a couple of weeks of feeling extremely exhausted / brain fogged every now and then which I’m blaming on anti cancer meds and menopause.

the kids and husband had a really bad year the year last year with illnesses; I didn’t catch any of them!