IF one gets sick, how do you keep other one away?

We're starting to see the H1N1 in our school which got me thinking. . .

If one twin gets sick, how do you "quarantine" them? I can see my 5 and 7 year olds understanding "stay away," but not the 3 year olds who are used to sharing everything.

I've never even attempted to keep sick kids isolated before--just figured it's inevitable that it will pass through the whole house.

BUT if this Swine thing comes to my house, I might try. Any tips?

 

I think the best thing is good handwashing! Also, no sharing drinks (cups), forks, etc.... I think it would be really hard to keep them away from each other....at that age especially. Just try to keep them out of each others face. AND...Handwash, handwash, handwash. Keep Hand Sanitizer through out the house and Lysol door knobs, telephones, remotes, etc...anything that gets touched ALOT.

 

I agree with Laura, that's all I can do. I can not keep my girls away from each other if I tried. They tend to mother each other...bring blankets, sippies, etc, to each other when they are sick, so I think it's almost impossible for me to keep them away. I try to tell them not to get in each other's faces, etc. But I think sticking with the handwashing and trying to keep clothes and toys as clean as possible is about all I can do.

 

I would NEVER in a million trillion gazillion years think that I could have one twin with h1n1 and not the other?? There is just no way it's going to happen. They are both going to get it. I always WANT them to have it at the same time so I'm not dealing with it twice as long. I'd say there's a 5% chance the other twin will escape it, and then he/she will just pick it up at Target anyway.

It's not someting you're going to avoid. I'd get it over w/ as fast as possible so you don't have to sweat it.

Use common sense but don't kill yourself trying to keep him/her from catching it. It's going to be a huge waste of energy and time.

My twins share EVERYTHING, including illness. That's just the way it is

 

That Target line made me :rotflmbo: . Too funny! And too true.

H1N1 is VERY contagious. If someone in the house has it, somebody else is going to get it too. We've been dealing with it for a month now and we're on the last of seven to have it. Like she said, use common sense but don't kid yourself that you can actually prevent it. If somebody doesn't catch it after it's already in the house, consider yourself blessed!

 

I wouldn't even try. If one twin gets it, we're ALL going down!.
After saying that my 9 year old had the H1N1 flu 2 weeks ago, and no one else got it! (Knock on wood) :headbang:

 

I don't usually try -- the best I can do is try to prevent food and utensil sharing, and keep them from putting toys in their mouths. I also don't let them get in each other's beds when someone is sick.

I was thinking the same thing this morning, though -- if one of them does get H1N1, we might try extraordinary measures to keep them apart.

It's not necessarily inevitable that the whole family will get it (though I agree it's likely) -- and anyway, practicing some containment measures might also make it less likely that DH and/or I will get it.

That's a great idea about Lysol on the doorknobs, etc. I tend to assume that there's not much I can do about the germs that are already in the house, but that's not really true.

 

I agree - I would probably try to reduce sharing of utensils and cups and do some extra sanitizing, but mostly, I would just try to rest and take care of myself (along with the kids, of course!!) to try and prevent myself from getting sick so that I had the ability to be the best mommy/caretaker to my sick little ones. When one gets sick, the other is almost sure to.

Another thing we are doing to try and prevent illness this season is giving Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C/Zinc/Echinacea (one gummy contains all 3). I'm hoping this helps to strengthen their immune systems.