Why do I catch every bug from my children

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Just that really! I have two DDs aged 2 & 3, and I know they will pick up everything from preschool - but I always seem to catch the D&V from them which wipes me out for days and I don't know what I can do differently. When cleaning up the sickness/changing the explosive nappies, I wash and sanitise my hands to within an inch of their life, my hands actually get sore with the amount of hand washing. I bleach and antibacterial spray the house multiple times a day. I boil wash any used towels or soiled clothing on a separate wash and drum clean the machine. Yet without fail I will get the bug every single time!!!

I see so many others who have sick kids that manage to stop it spreading through the house and just want to know HOW?! My girls actually caught it from their cousins who are 1 & 4 and my SIL hasn't caught it and nor has her husband. This is the case for them every single time.

When I was 38 weeks pregnant with my youngest, my SIL took my eldest who was 1 at the time for the day so I could have a rest. Unbeknownst to her, her kids fell ill with norovirus that night and of course my DD came down with it a couple of days later. I was then violently ill which put me in labour. My SIL never caught it then either.

Is my immune system just really shitty? Or am I missing a trick on how not to get these sickness bugs from them?!! I never seem to catch their colds which I would much rather tbh

I'm currently laid up with a cold like virus caught from the infernal DGS, and feel like poo.
He, of course, was barely affected by it, apart from the snotty sneezes.

Much sympathy and also interested in any advice.

Okay I have a phobia of vomiting and germphobia so when my kids come down with d&v I go overboard. 90% of the time I manage to not let it spread to any other house members.

If they're being sick in the bathroom - vomit particles can spray (invisibly) up to 8 foot forwards and 6ft sideways, are airborne for up to an hour before settling on surfaces. So that means usually unless you have a 9ft bathroom that it's infected your toothbrushes and your bath tub taps and your light switch etc - usually people only bleach the toilet and the floors, maybe the sink as it's closer to the toilet than the bath tub is in a lot of bathrooms. You need to get rid of the toothbrushes and replace them and genuinely bleach every surface of your bathroom, the cup that holds the toothbrushes, the shampoo bottle if it's within 8ft and so on (or dump and buy more whichever).
This then needs to be done on top of everything else you're doing the boil washes and the hand washing, the hand washing specifically needs doing before any food prep or eating. This is definitely overkill but I try and not eat anything with my fingers for a day or two when there's a bug in my house (so like crisps, biscuits) just use utensils to eat. When you're with the vomiting child comforting them etc turn your head away from the direction they're vomiting because it can be caught whilst airborne just sitting near them too.

Another emetophobe here and I have masks and gloves to wear when DC are sick. And bleach. Everything. 9 times out of 10 I escape it.

Oh yes forgot to say definitely be wearing gloves when bleaching the infected area!

Do you get good sleep OP? Perhaps that’s a stupid question but the amount of bugs I get when sleep deprived vs the amount I get when I’m well rested is notably different.

Are you over-sanitising? Your immune system benefits from low level exposure to germs.

Why do we always get it worse off than they do 😂😩!!

Maybe I need to up my game and buy some masks to keep the germs at bay! I just find it so frustrating the amount I clean to prevent it from spreading is a complete waste of my time

In honesty they're both so young so when being sick it's always into a bowl, or over a duvet if it's a shock attack normally I'll just bin their duvet and buy a new one so I don't have to risk spreading it all through my machine!

I don't sleep that great in honesty and my immune system has always been lousy. I don't mind the odd cold but fed up with catching the sickness and diarrhoea! For this bout I can't even keep water down and have been sick 8 times since 4am. I would say I get sickness from them at least 3 times a year whereas pre kids it was once in a blue moon. Nothing I hate more!!

I got 3 bouts of d&v in 6 months all in glorious technicolour when DC were little. It was awful and work were sceptical at the time. I have an autoimmune condition so my immune system isn’t the best, however it was good enough to beat covid pre jabs, it just takes a lot longer for my body to fight bugs off than most people.

If it’s any consolation you do work your way through the stomach bugs until you don’t get them anymore.

Perhaps take some vitamins to try to give your immune system a boost? It won’t stop them but may reduce how sick you are.

I wash my hands to within an inch of their life. They get sore

Dry skin increases the likelihood of picking up germs.
Use a good barrier cream and avoid hand sanitizer, and don’t scrub your hands sore!

Oh that's hideous!! I feel for you with that. That's another thing isn't it, taking time off work because the kids are sick and not allowed in for 48 hours, but by the time they've recovered from it I've come down with it and it doesn't look great

You catch everything from your children because they love you so much that they want to share everything with you! 😉

On a more serious note, it is because young children are more likely to be in close physical contact with you, especially when unwell as they need the cuddles and unfortunately their hygiene isn't always the best when sneezing/coughing/washing hands so...

It will get better as they get older, but it is so tough when they are unwell and so are you.

Don't touch your face when there's a bug in the house, no 1 tip, also watch who & where you are socialising - we had a couple of bugs from friends who's toddlers had 'D' because they were 'teething' or had 'milk allergies' Also parties and softplay were always danger zones. Glad mine are teens now.