Friday, May 28, 2010

Germ Bugs and Baby Rub

The last two weeks for us have been simply dreadful. The Sweet Pea brought home all kinds of germs from school, during her last week as an 8th grader. And wouldn't you know it?! We started dropping like dominoes one by one. The Sailor started to have his own cold develop around the time that the Monkey first started coming down with his cold. In a few short days, I was living in a house of germs, trying not to breathe much, surrounded by a bunch of sickos!

So of course, having each of my kiddos sick, as well of the hubby, under the weather meant I was hitting the ground running, first thing in the morning and nearly falling over from exhaustion at night. The worst part about the plague that surrounded our house, was the fact that the Monkey, seemed to come down the cold hardest. This having been his first cold ever, it was extremely difficult for me.

Not to mention the fact that having a sick 13 month old is difficult because there is nothing you can give them in the way of traditional OTC cough and cold remedies. I was reduced simply to doses of Tylenol and baby Motrin on a regular schedule, followed by rounds of saline mists for the nose and humidifying the little guy.

By about day 4 of his cold, it was beginning to sound as if his cough was settling into his chest, and due to the high fevers he was running, (particularly at night), the Sailor and I decided it was time for a trip to the doctor. Of course, this was on a Saturday, and the medical installation here that we are seen at is only open during the week.

So here we are, in a new place, without the first clue where we can go for treatment, since it was not technically an emergency. As luck would have it, I found some information on the clinic's website, and after a phone call, a skip and a jump later, we were given referral by the "On-Call" clinic doctor to drive 30 minutes out of our way, to an urgent care facility here, where we could see a doctor.

Turns out, the Monkey was doing well, despite being sick, and the doctor merely recommended that we keep doing what we were doing.

So there was a quick stop at the store to pick up some much needed supplies. Juices, popsicles, fruit cups, etc. Since the Monkey had a pretty raw throat, due to all of the coughing. My goal was to hydrate him and keep as much of the throat friendly items I could down him. That was no easy feat in itself.

In the morning, before our visit to the urgent care, I had been online doing some research of any kind of remedies out on the market, that might just be available and safe for the Monkey to take/use. The only item I could find that is marketed to infants with colds was Vicks BabyRub.

Strangely enough, I had not yet heard anything about the rub. But the online reviews were pretty impressive. I decided we'd give it a try for the Monkey. The Vicks BabyRub turned out to be quite the Godsend. Before we used the Rub on the Monkey, he was sleeping very restlessly. His mid day naps were lasting for no more than perhaps 10 minutes at best. Unless we were holding him upright for the duration. In the evenings, his sleep was fitful, and very uneasy. He was crying because the drainage and coughing he would do while sleeping would wake him up, and for the first 3 nights of the cold, I was up with him for the most of the night, while he tossed, turned and whimpered, because sleep was nearly impossible.

Within the first 10 minutes of applying the BabyRub to his chest and back of the neck, the Monkey was feeling extremely better. He stopped fussing, and actually started to play for a little while, before finally laying down and actually resting for more than 10 minutes. We had our first long nap in days.

I was able to tell when the Rub wore off. He became cranky, and restless again, but with each re-application of the rub, I saw immediate results in his comfort level. Overall, the Vicks BabyRub, was the only remedy I had to use for the Monkey while he was ill, that actually improved his physical state of being.

The scent of the BabyRub was not objectionable to the Monkey. He did not mind the feel, or the vapors. I noticed when I was holding him that the vapors were noticeable to me, but were not overwhelming, like some other types of menthol based rubs. After a few applications of the BabyRub on him, the Monkey actually started to become visibly less fussy when he spotted BabyRub container. It's seems as if, he actually understood that the rub would help.


Despite the petroleum jelly base to the rub, I did not seem to notice much of a problem in removing it from his skin, when I would wipe him down. I also did not seem to have any issues with it staining or remaining on any fabrics that the BabyRub came into contact with.

Eventually, once the kids and the Sailor were on the mend, I started coming down with the same cold bug. The last 4 days have been relatively miserable. I actually started taking to using some of the Monkey's BabyRub myself. The scent was not as overwhelming to me as the normal types of VaporRub, and I have to admit, I did find it was easier to breathe when I was inhaling the BabyRub, than it was when I did not have it on. Overall, I am convinced it is one single best products out on the market for infant cold care.

Of course once I got sick, things here at home were still just about as bad as when I dealing with the sick kiddos and the Sailor. Because everyone still was depending on me to feed them, pick up after them, keep up with the housework, and all of the other comforts on the "MOM" list, that I seem to be the only one that can administer them properly. By the end of this week, I was so ready to just have a vacation, to try and recover from recovering from this bug.

But as of yesterday, I have begun feeling more than sub-human, and thankfully, I think I am finally on the mend. So I am crossing my fingers that I did not re-infect everyone here in my house, and praying like mad that the vicious circle of cold bugs does not yet again repeat itself.

Let's hope not anyway!

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