Cold & Flu Prevention - Tis the Season!

Have a child that you don't keep home locked up in a bubble? Yes? Then get used to cold after cold after cold running amok in your family. Or at least that's what everyone's been telling me. We made it 9 months before baby's first cold (followed without a break by baby's second cold - both of which he passed on to me. Before that it had been over 2 years since my last cold!).I've heard that colds will strengthen baby's immune system, so I should be happy each time he gets sick, or that I should even seek out sick friends for him to play with and catch their illnesses! This is B.S. if you ask me. Something they tell moms so there is a shimmer of a silver lining to the anxiety and annoyingness that a cold brings.

We often have play dates and there have been a couple of times that someone will bring along a baby with a runny or crusty nose and a cough and I casually ask "Ummm is he sick" to which I am either ignored or nonchalantly answered with, "ohhhhh no he's just teething". Meanwhile, their baby is drooling away on my baby and they're excitedly putting each other's toys in their mouths and I'm trying my best not to flip the F out!!

So, I took to Google today, as we do, for some help in understanding how the spread of cold and flu works. Here are the basics of what I found...

Contagious Period

*  Flu: children are contagious about 1 day before symptoms start (great!) until about 2 weeks after symptoms started (even if they’re feeling better, fever is gone, etc). Adults are contagious about 1 day prior and 7 days after symptoms started.

*  Cold: often before symptoms start to about 4 days into the illness (this one surprised and relieved me!)

Survival time of Cold and Flu Viruses:

*  Hard Surfaces (books, toys, etc):   8 hours (can be longer if temperature and humidity are ideal)

*  Skin:  3 hours

Prevention

*  Wash your hands:  you should scrub hands with soap for the length of the “Happy Birthday” song (20 seconds) - this makes me question whether quickly washing toys in soap and water will do the trick...

*  Disinfect:

• 5% solution of vinegar (will kill 99% of bacteria and only 80% of virus (cold/flu)

• ¼ cup bleach per gallon of water will kill just about everything, but is obviously not great for baby
• This recipe sounds great (have yet to try it):

                  1/4 cup white vinegar
                  3/4 cup warm tap water
                  1 tablespoon baking soda
                  10 drops of tea tree oil (antibacterial, antifungal, etc.)
                  2 drops oil of lavender essential oil (optional) (antiseptic and smells nice)

Do you have any tips of preventing the spread of germs? I'm finding it especially difficult not to catch baby's colds, as his hands are always slobbery and find themselves creeping into my nose and mouth, not to mention his adorable wet open mouthed kisses, and coughs/sneezes that he can't cover up yet.

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