Colds/covid/flu/illness in general with little ones

[Cuppatea88]

Hi just looking for some advice and no judgements please. I have a 16 month old that I still breast feed am&pm and once in the day and so far when we have caught things we’ve caught them together (not many) thought I’d just like to know what you all do if you catch something first? When my partners caught things. He’s worn a mask or shut in another room if it’s been flu or Covid. But as the mum what do you all do? Do you wear a mask or go on as normal? Obviously extra hand washing etc. Just worry and don’t want to make them poorly but what can you do?
thanks ☺️

It's hard to avoid passing on a virus to a baby if you're the mum or if everyone in the household has it, but there are things worth doing. It's worth ventilating rooms really well and getting an air purifier (Philips are good or Levoit). Some people use these for allergies all year round but lots also filter viruses out of the air, which means everyone breathes in less so has less virus to fight.

On the plus side the baby should get some antibodies through breastmilk, but you can still try not to expose them more than absolutely necessary, if that makes sense. I'd get some FFP2 (at least) masks for wearing round the house or try isolating when not breastfeeding for the worst days.

For covid, for the adults who are ill, you can also try Dentyl mouthwash, and also someone here has recommended a probiotic called YourGutPlus. I know they did tests with this and it did seem to make people recover from covid faster. That's good for the adults, at least.

Basically there are definitely things you can do to reduce how heavily a baby is exposed even if you can't prevent it completely. Also, things like better ventilation are actually really good for the ill person too.

@ifitsallthesametoyouilltakethesoup thank you for your advice. It’s so difficult as I don’t have anyone else to help take care of them. So can’t really isolate. Would you be more inclined to wear a mask for like Covid & flus rather than colds? I’ll have a look at an air purifier. Thanks again

Yes I think if I thought it was covid or flu I would, although it is really hard to tell as you can actually have both of those viruses with only cold symptoms as well as with a proper fever and so on. But I should say I've never been in this position as my babies are all teens now, so that's really easy for me to say, and I know it must be really hard to actually do.

Another thing that might make a difference is whether I thought that we'd both been exposed at the same time, or if I'd caught whatever it is at work so there might be just a slight chance of avoiding the my baby being exposed at all. That might make me try to do more with masking. I'd do the ventilation regardless.

You absolutely do NOT need to wear a mask or isolate from your baby. The baby needs to see your face - your smiles, your expressions, etc. Your baby will suffer more from missing out on seeing your face than it will from catching COVID. To your baby, your face is the most wonderful sight in the world.

Luckily babies are not very badly affected by COVID.

Obviously no one would want to give their baby flu, but your breast milk will be offering protection.

The main thing is having someone to support you so that you can continue to feed and care for the baby as much as you can when you're ill, and to give you breaks and rest and time to recover.

Sorry reading this again I can see your child is 16 months so not a little baby. Still, I think it might be upsetting for them if you wore a mask, but if it really would make you feel better, then you could be light hearted about it and make it a sort of a game

But I really don't think it is necessary. Very few mothers will wear a mask at home with their children, so don't feel like you have to.

Yes, 16 months old, and during naps or late at night a parent might want to go into another room, or wear a mask in family rooms, just to reduce the sheer amount of covid/flu/virus they're breathing out into the house, without the baby even seeing the mask. It's not like it has to be all or nothing. Good idea to make a game of it.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/epidemiology-of-covid-19-in-england/epidemiology-of-covid-19-in-england-january-to-june-2025 says this about covid earlier this year (and rates have been much higher recently):

"Infants under 6 months old had the highest average weekly rates of A&E attendance (111.51 per 1,000,000) and hospital admission (228.90 per 1,000,000). This trend was also seen in severe hospital admissions, with infants experiencing an overall rate of 20.12 per 1,000,000. The next highest weekly rates were observed among those aged 80 and over, with 29.08 A&E attendances and 67.48 hospital admissions per 1,000,000, respectively."

So thankfully babies are definitely less likely to die than old people from covid, but it turns out they can still have a really miserable time with it, with a surprisingly high chance (even higher than people over 80) of ending up in hospital.

Thankyou both of you for your replies! We do still co sleep so guess I’d just have to sleep in another room or something. It’s so stressful as I know I’d just full on panic!
Thankyou for the advice really appreciate it. 😊

I know it must feel very stressful but you can only do what you can do! Stopping any baby getting a virus from their mum is going to be almost impossible, so don't panic - just do what you can and feel reassured that on top of that there'll also be antibodies in breastmilk as an extra bit of protection.

With the co-sleeping, if you can't sleep separately for the whole time you're ill, then one thing you can try is putting your air purifier somewhere secure nearby at the height of your head, so its air intake is at similar height as the height you're breathing out at. With the air constantly being quietly cleaned through the night, you'll definitely reduce the baby and anyone else in the room's exposure a bit.

@ifitsallthesametoyouilltakethesoup sorry I only just saw your reply. Thankyou. I need to get an air purifier. I have a dehumidifier but don’t think it has that setting on it. My partner has the start of cold at the moment and I’m freaking out as he’s looking after our little one when I’m at work so feels like I’m putting them at risk. I’m praying he doesn’t spread it. I’m considering calling work to not go in. Just hope I’m not doing the wrong thing letting him have her.