If you don't worry about germs with your baby, what if he's sick all the time?

[myfairbabies]

I was never one to make people wash their hands before holding my dd, or sanitize a pacifier that fell on the floor in public, or use a shopping cart cover, etc. Germs and dirt are good for kids and I don't believe in sheltering my baby. BUT she currently has her 6th cold and she's only 8 months. She also has a horrible case of molloscum that's been around for 4 months. It's all over her body and spread super fast. Should I start being more careful about germs and do all those things that I usually don't worry about? She's also got food allergies, eczema and very sensitive skin. I give her sa, vit d drops, clo, and probiotics. She's never had formula, didn't start solids until 6 1/2 months and even then it was just tastes. She's not vaccinated. One weird thing I've noticed, is that she has also never had a fever. Not even a low grade one. Does that mean her body isn't fighting well enough? We don't medicate her with tylenol generally (a few times for painful medical procedures) so it wouldn't be that medicine is keeping it away. What do you do in this case?

[JordanKX]

no help here. Except to hijack and say, I'm somewhat with you. Somewhat, in the washing of everything. I do wash my hands (but I do that myself, not just for him), but I don't sanitize the pacifiers or worry about used toys. I, too, believe that germs are good and necessary. I don't use antibacterial soap just for that reason. He's never had a fever either (I've never worried about this...), but has had three terrible colds. For virtually no reason - we go to the grocery store and the mall and your basic, shopping, but no exposure to other kids, etc. I find it odd that he's been so sickly snotty.

Everyone tells me sickness as a wee one increases their immune system so they'll be stronger later. And my dad who's a homeopath keeps me strong in the OKness with germs and dirt and not washing everything 24/7 like we live in a museum. Don't let him eat poo! but yeah, put that paci back in his mouth.

I think you're on the right track momma. Do what you can to help cure the sicknesses, don't let him in the really icky stuff, BF, etc. But don't get too worked up about every germ. I'm with you on that.

[jillmamma]

Let's see...so far my newborn has been exposed to
~ stomach virus with throwing up/diarrhea/fever that most everyone here had right as we brought her home from the hospital
~ bad colds that mommy and daddy had when I went into labor
~ weird fever that lasted a day or so that mommy and big sister had
~ another set of colds that different ones of us have had
and she is 3.5 weeks old, and so far, all she has had is a little bit of stuff in her nose.

I figure when you have a 7 year old brother in first grade and a 4.5 year old sister in preschool who love to hug and kiss you all the time and are not always the best at remembering to cover their mouths when coughing/sneezing, big sister still sucks her thumb, and you have to go with mom to drive them to preschool, gymnastics, therapy, and church, well, you are bound to be exposed to a few germs. I figure the best I can do is breastfeed her, wear her in the sling a lot, and encourage the older two to wash their hands fairly often, as some of it is inevitable with older siblings. So, I don't plan on becoming a germaphobe any time soon.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I think there needs to be a balance. I don't worry about germs nearly as much as most moms I know do, but we do take reasonable precautions. I have yet to sanitize anything she owns (other than pump parts), will not use sanitizer or antibacterial soap, etc. But when H1N1 was at it's peak we stayed home more than usual. DD has only be sick once, and it sucked a lot.

Some kids just get sick more than others. It's not fair, but that's what it is. I grew up with chain smokers who never cleaned, and was rarely sick. My husband was breastfed for 3.5 years and his family did the average amount of cleaning (I gather they weren't too concerned about germs either), but he was sick all. the. time. and in fact still is. We're really hoping DD gets my immune system. By all rights I should have been sicker than DH, but I wasn't. It's just how it goes sometimes.

[JayJay]

Well I'm kind of in between. I don't make my other kids (A and D, stepkids officially) wash their hands UNLESS they've been walking about with dirty hands for an afternoon or they've been to the bathroom and not washed, etc etc - ya know. I'll wash my hands quite frequently during the day, but only half the time use soap. I too know that immune systems build with exposure to germs - but then again I wouldn't give myself an enema and then let my baby suck my finger as a paci (since she doesn't have a paci)...

Now with other people I DO have some boundaries. Adults - most adults that is - I won't enforce a hand washing rule. BUT kids? I definitely do! Kids are very good at exploring all sorts of things and I have no idea where someone else's kids have been...usually.

Case in point, I had a girl around the house a couple of days ago who comes from a quite neglectful and very dirty environment. Nice girl, no idea about hygiene. She walked across the living room rooting very deeply into her nose and eating the snot with one finger, finally arriving at the bassinet my daughter lay in underneath her activity gym... She then proceeded to touch in turn, every single bit of the activity gym right in front of me, bit by bit, and then reach for Bella...

Well I tell you, I found my voice and asked her clearly if she'd washed her hands before touching the baby! And you'd better believe I wiped the activity gym down with a disinfectant wipe...lol!

But as far as disinfecting my bath (which my mother insists I ought to be doing) before getting in with Bella, or sanitizing everything in the whole house or hoovering three times a day or whatever - I'm not that scrupulous.

[Abraisme]

Here's a quick thing that I've noticed..

Of my son's friends and other families that I know.. The people who are germ-aphobic get sick just as often as my kids do. They all got H1N1, they all get the same colds that go around.. The only difference it makes is that they clean and worry about it more! Like someone else said, some kids just get sick more than others. Can you imagine just how sick your baby would have been if you formula fed?? Think about it!

[sapphire_chan]

I don't think you can really control it, so the best thing is to assume your kids'll be fine and start taking action if you see problems.

So, in your case, I'd probably step up the preventative measures a bit.

[myfairbabies]

Originally Posted by Abraisme

Here's a quick thing that I've noticed..

Of my son's friends and other families that I know.. The people who are germ-aphobic get sick just as often as my kids do. They all got H1N1, they all get the same colds that go around.. The only difference it makes is that they clean and worry about it more! Like someone else said, some kids just get sick more than others. Can you imagine just how sick your baby would have been if you formula fed?? Think about it!

Oh yeah, I've totally thought about what her little life would be like if she'd been born into a mainstream fam! She's allergic to dairy and soy so that would have been even worse!

I am a nut about handwashing after going to the bathroom and changing poopy diapers, and I've started preventing all the kids at church from grabbing her hands (where I think she caught the molloscum), but I don't see myself going germaphobe.

[Sweetiemommy]

Germs are going to be around, whether you sanitize or not. We are pretty disgusting in terms of not sanitizing anything and touching everything we can get our hands on in public. My kids are almost never sick and when they do get sick, they kick it right away. I think her immune system will just take some time to build and you are doing the right thing. Handwashing with a gentle soap is good practice, but I wouldn't sanitize anything. Maybe supplementing some fish oil would help and think about going outside to get a little vitamin D from the sun, even if it cold (esp if it is cold!) I think kids who have food allergies in general might be more likely to have a comprimised immune system. Maybe when some of the allergies are resolved you will see improvement, and you also might want to think about a grain allergy or eggs, nuts, etc, in case those are contributing. Also be sure her nutrition is top notch, considering that you have to avoid dairy and soy. Make sure there are other nutritious replacements (I know that sounds obvious, but I seriously know people whose children exist on a severely limited and nutrient deficient diet because they are avoiding so many things, you really have to be creative sometimes, not that you aren't

[~Sarah~]

The only thing I really worry about is herpes. Man, herpes is everywhere! It's even in dirt, naturally. It's like one of the oldest viruses around. I got a raging case of oral herpes when I was teething as a baby, from chewing on the handlebars of shopping carts. My mom tried and tried to keep them covered and to keep my mouth off of them, but I always found a way to get to it. I've suffered my whole life with semi-frequent outbreaks (almost all the time as a kid, which was horribly embarrassing---nearly every picture of me after age 1 features me with a big ugly sore or two on my lip), and I have to be honest----I've thought to myself more than once that I wish my mom had found a way to keep me from doing it. Thank goodness for Floppy seat covers!

I'm pretty lax around the house as far as hand-washing and cleaning (certainly no anti-bacterial), but when we're out and about I'm hyper-conscious about my hands and what they touch and what DD touches. Thinking about the sheer number of people who touch some surfaces every day, without the surface being washed in any way, and where those peoples' hands have been.....ick.

Colds are one thing, herpes is another. Just my two cents.

[matey]

You know, I understnd the whole germs are part of life and we need to experience them thinking, but to me there is a time and place. I can take ds to play with friends, and yeah, there's germs, I'll deal with it. But shopping carts are gross. It isnt just a cold germ, it's hands that have been in places that I dont want to touch.