Everyone in the House Is Sick Except for Me...

My advice--do not sleep in bed with him unless you want to make a habit of it. when my son had his adenoids out and was miserable, I did that, and he expected it when he was feeling better too. It made the situation so much worse. You can sleep on the floor if you feel the need, but avoid the bed. Get them each a humidifier, I like the one that you can add the vicks solution to. Blowing is hard to teach to a kid. Have them drink lots of fluid as it will help thin the mucus. I hope they feel better soon. We have all been sick off and on since October. This season has been harsh.

There are OTC preperations-don't know which, if any , are suitable for your children-ages? They take away the symptoms-dry up the mucous, stop the cough-shrink the nasal passages, etc. A humidifier may help-and Puffs with lotion are wonderful-there is another tissue brand with eucalyptus(?) that is nice. Vicks vap-o-rub may help. What does the doctor say?

First, I would say -- do not sleep with your son. That is one of the surest ways of you getting sick as well and Mom being sick will not help your family at all. When my kids have colds, I always give them kids Motrin before bedtime. It helps to shrink the tissues in their nose and throat so they can breathe and helps the mucus to drain from their nose and ears, plus it knocks them out. Them sleeping well can help you keep your sanity and health and helps their body fight off the infection. Secondly, keep them warm during the day and night -- socks, long sleeve shirts and pants, etc., Third prop them up on pillows to sleep to help them breathe better. Humidifiers can help. Otherwise, you just have to wait it out.

LYSOL! QUARENTINE!! Ahhhh I'm in the saaame situation, I had JUST gotten over a head cold (probably a sinus infection) but now every other person in my house has it and I do NOT want to catch the cooties again. Keep the humidifier going, and put purell hand sanitizer in every room. If someone touches their mouth/face/nose, they need to wash their hands with antibacterial soap and warm water. Seriously, lysol everything (doorknobs, lightswitches, etc)... keep vaseline on their noses and lips, and piump everyone full of liquids. Pedialyte freezey pops are great for the kiddos. As far as your husband, stick him in front of the tv with a hot totty (tea and honey and whiskey). Keep waste paper baskets or old plastic bags on hand for the 'snot rags' (tissues) to control the spread of germs. I AM THE BIGGEST GERMOPHOBE!! I want my family to feel better, but snot is soooo much worse than puke and poo and blood and guts. EW. Hope everyone feels better soon!! Make sure you're taking care of yourself as well, get plenty of rest... don't want to lower YOUR immune system again!! BEST WISHES!

If you could at night get them all in the same room, yes even if that means daddy and the kiddos kick you out of bed and you sleep in a CLEAN twin bed, strip down lysol the room/mattress and put a vaporizor in the room with tincturbenzoine (spelling) this works wonders for me and my family, it's what my mommy did when I was a kid too. And if you have a cooler/ice chest that can keep water/juice in the room so if they wake up and need a drink they can get one. Pump up the vitamins too, not only to help them get over this but to help PREVENT it in YOU and comming back.

I'm not sure how old your son is and not even sure of the age limit but last year when I had the horrible cough that kept me awake I was told to take some mucinex and sprayed that cloroseptic spray for sore throats. Something about it's "numbing" effect. It doesn't last forever but I did notice it helped just a smidge so it might be helpful to him but please check the label accordingly to his age and weight if there are restrictions to that stuff because I am not quite sure. You might could call his doc and ask them as well which would most likely be best since they know him. I hope the family gets to feeling all better soon! ;())

Well, there's a limit to what you can do once they get sick. I would use this time to stress the importance of handwashing - sing the ABC song twice while lathering and rubbing, then rinse. A lot of kids put a dab of soap on their hands and immediately run them under the water - useless. And anti-bacterial soaps don't work on a cold virus, plus they create "super-bugs" that are antibiotic resistant.

For your son, try elevating his mattress so that his head is higher than his chest - sometimes than can help the nighttime coughing.

Mucus in the stomach can cause nausea but there's sometimes not a lot you can do if they have post-nasal drip - that doesn't get blown out into a tissue.

You could try some saline drops in the nose to keep things a little more open or to make it more tempting to blow out. You can also get a Neti pot at most pharmacies or places like Whole Foods - it's an ancient remedy that's coming back and has been endorsed by celebrity docs like Dr. Oz. It's harmless and might help. Depends on the age of the kids whether they can do it. You put in comfortably warm water and some salt. Then have the kids tilt their head over the sink or over a big pot or bowl, turned to one side. Gently pour the water from the pot into the upper nostril so it flows back and into the sinuses, then it drains out the lower nostril. With the water comes some of the mucus, and it helps cleanse the membranes. Feels weird and very "full" - when done, they'll have to blow out all the excess water. Do one side fully, then do the other. You might try it on yourself first to get the feeling and positioning right.

Otherwise, fluids fluids fluids - water, weak tea, etc. Ginger tea is helpful for stomach upset if they've got any of that with the mucus going into the stomach.

Then, their immune systems need to be strengthened. No one in our family has been sick for 3 years - not a cold, not an allergy, not a stomach flu, nothing. And my chronic bronchitis is a thing of the past. So it can be done if you learn the science and work with others who have had success! I just hang out with healthy people now and it's SO awesome! We're all exposed to the same things as everyone else, but these germs just don't take root and give us the hell you are going through!

My daughter's pediatrician recommended these to me 2 months ago when she started getting a nasty cough that has returned and all of us now have:

Take a teaspoon (or tablespoon) of honey right before bed. Apparently it coats the throat and stomach so that the mucus doesn't irritate them. It will also reduce the coughing so you can get to sleep. Nyquil has been the recipe for us before bed.

Yes, I have been sleeping in my kid's twin sized beds with them for the past 4 nights. Uncomfortable yes, but like you said, it makes them sleep better

Hot Tea with lemon juice and honey are great too during the day

Tell them it's Open Bar for all fluids, jello, popsicles and any other liquid-y thing they want. The more fluids the better.
Not sure how old your kids are but if I don't get Puffs with lotion...my son looks like Rudolph in about 2 hours of wiping & blowing.
(also--sneak in there & put Aquaphor on the red noses when they're sleeping--redness will be gone by morning!)
Make rest appealing by allowing a movie marathon!
Explain how they need to wash their hands after all nose-blowing, etc.
Again--not sure how old your son is but Vicks and a hanky on my kid's chest really seems to help him stop coughing & =breathe better at night--so does a cool mist humidifier.
Good luck!

Hang in there! My kids refuse to blow their nose too and just gag! Arrrg!! Probably just a couple more days and it will be over. We usually go in waves, my daughter is getting over it now, and now my son and I have it. He threw up on me yesterday. :(