Anyone else’s children basically been ill for a year?

[Merryoldgoat]

I’m on the night shift.

I have two with vomiting (no diarrhoea yet).

PCRs last weekend (negative).

Probably had 10-12 PCRs between them we’ve had so many bugs.

My husband and I are utterly exhausted.

I’ve shoved Disney songs on repeat on YouTube in the TV, nested and we’re on the sofa and sleeping down here and the carpets are wet upstairs from where we’ve scrubbed vomit up.

I have the biggest meeting of the year tomorrow morning (virtually thank fuck) and I just want to tell everyone to leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to anyone at all.

I am so brittle right now I think I’ll start crying if anyone asks me how I am.

AIBU to just run away? Obviously I won’t but bloody hell I’m over all this shit.

I’m drinking cans of tonic water for something to do and every time one coughs I’m on high alert for more vomit.

At least it’s laminate down here.

Yep ☹️ Sleeping on my toddler’s floor and listening to him breathe after dosing him up with yet more Calpol. It’s just relentless and it’s frying my nerves. Juggling childcare with partner and MIL and feeling terrible for trying to hold onto a job in this chaos. He’s had so many PCRs I’ve lost count and seems to be on a two week cycle of getting ill! I feel your pain, it’s absolutely awful isn’t it.

This sounds exhausting, you poor thing. I read that zinc and vitamin d help immunity, in case not on a multi vitamin in case might help. I do hope they have a long healthy spell and that you get some rest soon

I’ve been where you are and in a foreign country at the time. I just wanted to scream. And yes prior to that a years of constant illness thanks to preschool and primary years. Worst time of my life. You have my sympathies. Advice from me. Always have generic stuff like buckets toilet rolls medication (for any eventuality) fresh sheets bottled water ginger ale/lucozade and be on top of laundry. The D&V is the pits and much worse when u r all Ill together.

Well. I managed to fall asleep but woke to my poor boy being sick again.

Thank you for the advice PP - bucket and Regina Blitz on hand was absolutely essential.

I really am sorry for those of you going through the same.

I totally see why people (women) stop working - I have an excellent employer but I feel like I’m at the limit of what can be acceptable.

Oh well. I’ll try to get a bit of sleep and look forward to mainlining coffee tomorrow morning.

I absolutely feel for you. It’s scary and exhausting. The sleepless nights, the endless cleaning and laundry.

My toddler son had over a year of infections (including hospitalisations for sepsis). He was on antibiotics more than he was off them. He was really very unwell and it affected his development significantly. In the end he was referred to a specialist immunology clinic and put on antibiotic prophylaxis. That helped a lot. He couldn’t go to nursery and we had to employ a nanny.

My DH was in London 16 hours a day, I was working part time too.

You’ll look back and be amazed ( and bemused) at how you got through those months. But you will, and I really hope it gets better soon.

Yup. There's been a few threads on it. I keep getting ill too and have been shattered - I can't catch up at work because my child is ill so much (and that's with a supportive DP who does half the care when he can).

I have started taking a ton of vitamins and am feeling a bit better - seem to have quickly fought off two colds since I started them and have more energy. I'm taking high dose vitamin D, B-vitamin complex (am veggie), Actimel, and then echinacea and vit C plus zinc when any of us seen coldy. Unfortunately something seems to be giving me spots, but I will take them if I can stay well this winter!

You dont say how young your kids are, but I'm guessing pretty young as you mentioned Disney.

Nursery & primary school years are just bug central, but we've also had our kids locked down and minimal public contact for months and months meaning any natural immunity is through the floor. I'm expecting an epidemic of bugs and viruses over the next couple of years.

I feel for you - up with a vomiting toddler as well, who is now very lethargic and sleepy so I’m hoping to get some urgent work done whilst he naps or sits watching tv today. It’s so stressful.

It’s so hard because toddlers can go down so quickly when they’re poorly. If they’re being sick a lot try and get some rehydration fluid in them. I had one awful year when my 2yo had two bad sickness bugs within a month. On one occasion she was sick nearly 30 times in 2 days and narrowly missed being hospitalised because I was syringing in 5ml of dirolyte as regularly as I could. I was v pregnant at the time and the poor child didn’t have the energy to walk or sit and I had to carry her into the GP while I looked like I was about to pop. That was a low point. Since then she’s rarely been Ill other than covid so there is hope it’ll be better for you next year and beyond. Good luck for your big meeting. I feel for you as the juggle is so hard.

Try multivitamins for them, you can get chewable ones. I swear by them. Along with orange juice.
Kids are more prone to illnesses due to being locked up in the house for nearly two years, however my DC have barely had any bugs.
We missed three D+V bugs and loads of colds.

The bugs seem to be really bad this year (or immunity is pretty low). My little DS normally shakes colds after a few days (but gives them to me and I have to struggle through for the next couple of weeks ). But he's had an on and off cold since September and it's really hit him hard and still lingering. We have done so many tests (all negative) and have debated over and over again whether it is a 'new' cough or just the old one continuing.

Well. Meeting was at 8.30

8.05 finally able to get out of bed
8.15 out of shower and dressed
8.17 brush teeth and get our clean bed linen for the cleaner to change beds (obviously all vomit has been cleaned)
8.18 older son has diarrhoea unexpectedly during breakfast which requires assistance and a shower
8.20 fashion hair into a strange bun that looks reasonable on camera
8.23 log in to pc and join meeting
8.25 spend two mins slapping on very basic makeup in waiting room with camera off
8.28 down soluble co codamol and smile maniacally as meeting starts as if I was actually prepared.

The rest of the day is done and I’m going to sit on the sofa with the boys and watch shit TV.