Spread the love, not the germs

As we find ourselves back at school after Thanksgiving break, I feel it my duty to pass along a PSA. It always seems the two weeks after a break bring with it a slew of sick kids at school. Please, oh please, keep your sick children home. If you are sick, stay home. You’re not doing anyone any good if you spread around your germs. We don’t want them.

I get it. It’s a pain to have to take the time off work, either for yourself or to watch your kids. It’s a financial hardship for most, and bosses get annoyed. But let me tell you something that’s a REAL pain: being sick when you’ve got an autoimmune disease. It can also be life threatening.

That’s right. My family could die from something as simple as a bad cold, the stomach bug, the flu, pneumonia, chicken pox, you name it. We do everything we can to stay healthy. I make elderberry syrup and we take probiotics, we eat healthy well balanced meals, we rarely eat junk food (save the necessary blood sugar boosters), and bed time is 7:30. We make informed decisions around vaccinations and prophylactics. We don’t have our eyes closed when it comes to the reality of what’s flying around out there.

But if you KNOW your kid is sick, keep them out of school. If they have a fever, and you give them Tylenol and the fever comes down, this does not mean they’re better. It just means the Tylenol is doing its job. If your kid was vomiting last night, but has managed to keep water down for a few hours, do not send them to school in the morning. They’re still sick. If your 3 year old can’t manage to get the hang of covering their mouth when they cough and instead coughs over everyone and everything around, keep them home. And teach your kids to wash their hands. It’s the most basic of preventative measures. The general rule is: not to return to work or school until you’re 24 hours symptom free without medication.

Why am I such a nut case around this? Because, like I said, my family’s life is at stake. Lots of immunocompromised people are at risk. The elderly, the pregnant, the Type 1s, those with Lyme disease, the kids with Celiac, and young babies, just to name a few. An inconvenience to you could be a hospital visit, or worse, for us.

Here’s what happens with a person with Type 1 gets sick:

The body goes into attack mode on the virus or bacteria. This stressor on the system leads to an increase in ketones. These ketones need to be cleared from the body, otherwise the person will go into Diabetic Ketoacidosis. This can kill you. The only way to clear ketones is with insulin. If the kid (or adult) is unable to eat or drink, this becomes problematic. In the case of a GI illness it’s quite scary. Blood sugars drop, and insulin is needed to bring down ketones, only further dropping blood sugar. If blood sugars are high, which is often the case with a respiratory illness, ketone levels continue to go high. Being sick with Type 1 is stressful, scary, and not something to take lightly.

I understand that we can’t live in a bubble. I get that every day people are unknowingly shedding viruses. All I’m asking is that you recognize that YOU don’t live in a bubble either. That maybe the inconvenient cold you have could be something more to someone else. Or that bringing your kid who “only has a couple pox” to the library isn’t doing anyone else a favor by early exposure to the virus.

Thank you.