Norovirus, otherwise known as the ‘vomiting bug’ is rife at the moment and if your little ones catch it, it means time off nursery and away from family members who you rely on for childcare. And if you catch it at the same time, it makes life very difficult because you will struggle to nurse your babies while you are also ill. I am not a medical professional, but I am a mum who has just been through this with her three year old and nine month old baby, so here are a few things I learned from having the bug in our house to make it easier if you catch it too.
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Fluids: One of the most common symptoms is diarrhoea, so if your child is rushing to the toilet, or indeed soiling themselves, make sure they are getting plenty to drink to replenish the fluids they are losing. Stock up on their favourite juice and ice lollies to encourage them to up their fluid intake as much as possible.
Extra nappies: Make sure that you have plenty of nappies for babies as they will go through them quickly and pull ups for your older children as they may have an accident even if they are already potty trained. The need to go to the toilet can come over them quickly and they may not get there in time so this just gives you some peace of mind.
Side sleeping: If your child is being sick, try to get them to sleep and nap on their side so that if they are ill in the night, they won’t get it all over themselves and this also reduces the risk of them choking on their vomit. Pull a bowl or bin next to their bed too so if they are old enough, they can reach and vomit into that instead of on the bed or the floor.
Extra bedding: While you can put all of these things in place, they may be sick on their bedding so be sure to have some spare sheets lying around to change their bed or cot should you need to. You can easily order these online if you can’t leave the house to up your existing stocks.
Clean regularly: Norovirus is extremely contagious so pay close attention to the places in your home your little ones regularly touch. Wash any fabric toys on a hot cycle after use, disinfect doorknobs, handles on low cupboards, wipe down board books and change their clothes and pyjamas daily. Clean your toilet, the flusher and around it, as well as hand basin taps after every use too as this is the most infected area.
Ask for help: While you won’t want to encourage people to come into your home while there is a bug present, there is nothing wrong with asking your family and friends to drop off any shopping or supplies you might need. Send them a message if you are running short on anything and ask them to leave it on your doorstep. You can transfer them the money so there is no contact made between you but you will have everything you require for a few days of isolation.
Hand washing: Wipes and hand sanitiser are useless with this kind of bug as they do not kill the virus, so make sure your children are washing their hands after going to the toilet and before they eat anything for 20 seconds. Just like we were taught with covid, this will minimise the spread to others in your household.
While we hope you never have to contend with this bug, it’s important to be prepared for any eventuality when it comes to sickness in the home.
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