My goodness. Getting at blogging is harder and harder for me these days. Shucks, I just sent out our 2014 Christmas letter just last week. Pretty much anything other than daily survival is hard to get to at this point in life.
I feel like a college student, talking about how busy I am all the time. Blah blah blah. But seriously. I am enmeshed. Hopefully it doesn't sound like all I do is complain about how I can't keep up with life. Eegads.
We were at my parents for three weeks this March/April. It started off with a bang, with five hours at the airport resulting in a cancelled flight, subsequently rescheduled for two days later, and a 4 year old who woke up throwing up the morning we were supposed to leave. We bit the bullet and decided to go for it, but realized a day later, that, oh dear, we had probably spread the stomach flu all along the way. Crap.
All five of us slept on the bathroom floor the second night we were at my parents' house, sometimes crowding around the bathroom two-and-three at a time to puke our guts out, until there was nothing left but black bile. Truen had it the worst, then Eliah, then Diego and me, then Jamie. If Jamie had had it like Truen or Eliah, we would have never have decided to travel.
But travel we did.
The entire first week was spent recovering from the Norovirus (we all barely ate for days and everyone was weak and thin), broiled in hyper-vigilance over cleanliness and sanitation so as to not spread the virus to my parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law and their new baby. I wiped everyone's butts wearing disposable gloves, used a spray bottle with bleach solution like a vigilante, and didn't allow anyone touch that sweet little babe until the second-to-last day of their week-long visit. Eegads again.
It was hard not to be able to cuddle that plump little lass, but the very thought of a 3 month old with the stomach flu prevented any temptation whatsoever.
Also: for the record. I can remember my midwife saying at one point that "activated charcoal does wonders for the stomach flu". We had given Jamie charcoal the morning we left, but didn't have the experience or insight to administer it to anyone else as a preventative measure.
However, as I was laying on the bathroom floor the morning after a night of puking my guts out, I realized that that is what she was talking about. Taking it after the puking starts doesn't make sense, because you won't be able to hold anything down. But taking it after exposure to inhibit or damper the side effects, that makes sense.
I immediately told my mom, who started taking it along with everyone else in the household. My mom did get sick (usually a 1-2 day incubation period, spread by fecal or vomit contamination), but she never actually threw up. She had the body aches and a tender stomach, but barfing was not in the picture.
So the actual experience and recovery time will be much, much better with activated charcoal.
FYI for future reference.
2 comments:
Yowzers. Glad peeps are on the mend.
No, you don't sound like you're complaining about life. I love reading your blog to see how you're doing life:) So fascinating and fun to keep up.
Where do we get activated charcoal? Grill? Home depot? Heehee. Just kidding, but seriously I have no clue:)
Oh good. Sometimes I feel like all I do is complain. But then I remember, I need to work it through my system. It's hard!
Activated charcoal: it's a supplement. You could get it online, at a natural health store, or in the supplement section of your local co-op. It's a purified charcoal which absorbed toxins in the system. Hospitals use it for detox. Very handy to have on hand.
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