Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

appalachiablue

(42,869 posts)
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 07:46 PM Dec 2022

'We're Living in Virus Hell.' Adults, Parents, Kids

Last edited Sat Dec 10, 2022, 08:26 PM - Edit history (1)

- 'We’re living in virus hell. The kids are sick. The parents are not well. Wasn’t this year supposed to be easier?'Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2022.

The first positive coronavirus test in our household occurred Oct. 26, and in the beginning, we were fools who believed it might be over fast — my husband was quarantined in the basement; perhaps the rest of us would be spared. Five days later, I tested positive. Then our preschool-aged daughter did. Then our toddler was diagnosed with RSV, which devolved into a terrible cough, which turned out to be pneumonia.

After 20 days trapped at home together, during which time my children started referring to their Pedialyte ice pops as “ice lollies” because they’d watched 4,000 episodes of “Peppa Pig,” my son at last returned to day care. He lasted two entire days before contracting a new virus, this one accompanied by the sudden appearance of hideous red welts all over his body, which sent him to urgent care just before midnight. Over three weeks, we’d gone from bad to worse to biblical.

Wasn’t this year supposed to be better? (Or was that just something we told ourselves as we limped toward the fading mirage of normalcy?) Instead, the onslaught of viruses this fall has been so monstrous and relentless that it seems like every parent I know — friends, colleagues, neighbors, everyone — has a story to tell. These are not nice stories. These are stories narrated in a distinctly fatigued-yet-frantic tone, and they always feature specific, memorized numbers: The precise degree of a fever, the tally of missed days of school and work, the frequency of visits to the pediatrician or urgent care or the emergency room.

I have a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old who started kindergarten and third grade, respectively, the first week of September,” says Alexis McGrath of Parsippany, N.J., who described her family’s experience by email. “Since then, there literally hasn’t been a single week when at least two of us haven’t been home sick.” So far, the siege has spanned three upper-respiratory infections, numerous high fevers, relentless congestion and two confirmed cases of pinkeye, she says. “I. AM. SO. TIRED.”..

- Read More, https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2022/12/09/parents-children-virus-sick/

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
'We're Living in Virus Hell.' Adults, Parents, Kids (Original Post) appalachiablue Dec 2022 OP
it COULD have been better Skittles Dec 2022 #1
+1 LuckyCharms Dec 2022 #2
Yes. Mister Ed Dec 2022 #3
Indeed. OAITW r.2.0 Dec 2022 #4
This XanaDUer2 Dec 2022 #5
their prevailing sentiment seems to be I'LL TAKE MY CHANCES Skittles Dec 2022 #6
why is that SO hard to hammer home? stopdiggin Dec 2022 #7
Another issue is overuse of antivirals IbogaProject Dec 2022 #8
I think Rebl2 Dec 2022 #9

Skittles

(158,695 posts)
1. it COULD have been better
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 07:53 PM
Dec 2022

but stupid, selfish assholes just could not handle doing the simplest thing to help prevent the spread - KEEP MASKING

Mister Ed

(6,351 posts)
3. Yes.
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 08:10 PM
Dec 2022

Wearing the damn mask in public is a hell of a lot less uncomfortable and inconvenient than what so many families are now going through.

XanaDUer2

(13,752 posts)
5. This
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 08:32 PM
Dec 2022

If almost everyone was vaccinated and wore masks inside, we'd be in a much better position now.

stopdiggin

(12,763 posts)
7. why is that SO hard to hammer home?
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 09:45 PM
Dec 2022

Last edited Sat Dec 10, 2022, 10:28 PM - Edit history (1)

That person you work next to might well have an elderly person or a compromised child within their household ...
(in fact that is exactly the case in my workplace)

But, I'll answer my own question. It's not that they don't comprehend this ...

IbogaProject

(3,619 posts)
8. Another issue is overuse of antivirals
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 10:46 PM
Dec 2022

I worry that antivirals accelerate viral mutations. This is like antibiotic resistance with high risk due to viral replication being so fast. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100113172306.htm

Rebl2

(14,628 posts)
9. I think
Sat Dec 10, 2022, 10:54 PM
Dec 2022

people have been apart so much and we were wearing masks (I still do because of medication I take) our bodies have forgotten-know there must be a better word—how to fight off viruses and bugs. Many people haven’t gotten the newest Covid vaccine or flu shot, so they spread that around. Then there is RSV which there is no vaccine for. Years ago in the late 1970’s I worked in a daycare for a couple of years. I would catch everything that came along. Don’t really remember the big push for flu shots back then.

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Health»'We're Living in Virus He...