my whole family has the flu.......

**MOMMYDEAREST** · 12-10-2005, 07:07 PM

oh man....has today been a long day!!! my daughter had a sleepover last night for her birthday & she started puking this morning with the flu. last night, my hubby, my younger son & my brother started puking (he's staying with us for a little bit while he gets on his feet). i swear i'm so tired of seeing sick people. i've cleaned the house with lysol, bleach & pine-sol. i still feel like there are tons of germs learking around my house!!!! buy luckily this flu bu is only lasting about 12 hr

. if i get this nasty bug....everyone in my house is in big trouble.......lol

**MelAFwife** · 12-10-2005, 07:32 PM

We wnt through the same bug a few weeks ago, after I nursed everyone back to health, of course I got sick!!
I only have a hubby and on daughter.
Hang in there!!!!
Melanie

**MOMMYDEAREST** · 12-10-2005, 07:38 PM

thanks shovelski........its nice to know i'm not alone!!!!

**mommymath** · 12-10-2005, 08:33 PM

Nope you are not alone! It visited here last weekend; ds was barfing and we both still have it mildly (but don't feel bad). DH avoided it because of course ds would rather barf on mommy.

Hang in there!!

**MOMMYDEAREST** · 12-10-2005, 09:43 PM

just keep your fingers crossed that i don't catch it..........

**canadian gardener** · 12-10-2005, 11:07 PM

If it's the Norwalk (which usually causes the whole barf express and can also express itself with the other end too)

then handwashing, and disinfecting any surfaces that the sicko has touched, or thrown up near by. (any little microscopic spray pattern settles unseen all over the nearby area)

Things like toilets and the floor around them, flush handles, door knobs, light switches, taps, sinks need regular wiping down.

A bleach solution is cheap-- at the link below, but the Chlorox or Lysol wipes are wonderful, and so is a little Purell hand washing gel for quick clean ups.

Lysol spray works in a pinch too. All will kill the virus.

Using Hot water in your laundry washes with a little bleach will keep it from spreading thru towels and dishcloths. Assign each person their own handtowels or switch to disposable paper towels for the duration.

Toss any sponges, the inside of the sponge can be a safe haven away from dishwasher water and heat, so the virus can survive inside.

Norwalk can be a persistent little so and so, lasting on dry surfaces up to 6 weeks.

Here is the Clorox site instructions for the bleach solution: http://www.clorox.com/solutions_reg_bleach.html

that the CDC recommends and here is the blurb on the CDC site on how to avoid catching it (may not be possible in such close quarters) http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm and it talks about the related viruses.

**canadian gardener** · 12-10-2005, 11:13 PM

Oh and according to the CDC you need 140 degrees Fahrenheit which is 60 degreesCentigrade or above to successfully kill it.

So using your dishwasher is a good way to sanitize dishes etc especially if you have an extra heat option.

Making sure your laundry wash water is up there will mean you don't need the bleach in the laundry.

**canadian gardener** · 12-10-2005, 11:14 PM

the edit function won't let me back in but here is one more Clorox area talking about specific solutions http://www.clorox.com/solutions_reg_bleach_faq.html

**canadian gardener** · 12-10-2005, 11:17 PM

flush the toilet with the LID DOWN. Studies show that a fine aerosol mist of moisture containing fecal matter or whatever is in there, is shot up into the air as the toilet is flushed, settling on nearby surfaces (or being breathed in by nearby people).

It's another way mothers contract whatever illness their kiddiewinkles are sharing.

Teach the family to flush with the lid down. It really helps.

**canadian gardener** · 12-10-2005, 11:27 PM

still can't edit my own stuff. Here is the science behind what I just wrote in the above post about flushing: http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology...web2/stan.html

and Web MD's take on it: http://www.webmd.com/content/Article...000_2438_f1_04

and this site from Colorado state U has some useful info as to which sites around the home are the "hot zones" where a bit of disinfecting can do a lot of protecting of the healthy people (such as the mum) in the home http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/safefo...R/v9n4s04.html

**Mom23boys** · 12-11-2005, 02:01 PM

We went through the same bug at our home. I remember Chris being so sick he had to crawl to the toliet. It didn't last long. Thank goodness!

Hopefully your family will be rid of it soon too!!