Don't forget to wash your hands!

I finally went to the doctor yesterday. I'm NOT pregnant (didn't think I was, really) but I do have something else: A gastrointestinal virus. I know, some people might see that and think, 'Are you SURE you want to blog about having this? Eww!' LOL But I think there is one thing about this that is important.

But first, I need to sum-up on what the doctor said. She said that because it's been a week since my symptoms started, there's not too much they can do. (Apparently, when I was looking into this thing via Google, I found out that the duration of the virus lasts for a certain number of hours/days and each stage should be treated accordingly. Like, at the very beginning, go on the BRAT diet, then switch to broths, drink Gatorade, etc.) They gave me medicine to help alleviate the nausea and heartburn, but they said right now just to wait it out over the weekend. Of course, I was frustrated with this, because I've been feeling so yucky and the pain is excruciating, but they said to wait until Monday to see how it is then. It should be out of my system by then. They said to drink A LOT of water to help my body flush it out and to take Tylenol for the abdominal pain.

I have to go back on Monday for follow-up care.

When I was looking into this GI thing on the Internet, I was shocked to learn that it was contagious. YIKES!! All this week, I've been sick with something contagious?? I started to try and remember if there was a time anyone was complaining of the same symptoms or anything. Jennifer has complained of her stomach hurting every so often but it was never more than that. (The virus might have just mildly affected her.) I also tried to remember if there was a time I hadn't washed my hands then touched either of the children, because not washing your hands well enough when you have this thing is one way it gets spread.

Which brings me to an important point: People, WASH YOUR HANDS! I cannot stress this enough. I'm not trying to use this blog post as some kind of "public service announcement" thing. But I just firmly believe in the importance of keeping your hands clean, especially if you're going to be in contact with other people! And with a baby in the home, it's a message that is just as important.

There are so many times I have had to remind Jennifer to wash her hands, using soap. After she comes home from school, we tell her to wash her hands. I remind her to do so before and after she eats. After she uses the bathroom, I ask, "Did you remember to wash your hands?" And sometimes, I remind her to use the soap. (Note to parents: If you have one of those kid-friendly soaps that foam up or are easy to use, kids are more likely to use them.) I wash my hands so much, sometimes it feels like ALL I am doing is washing my hands! LOL And sometimes, I wonder if I'm a little obsessive-compulsive about it...

But I realize that all of that hand-washing is a waste if other surfaces are not clean, too. I occasionally take a disinfectant cloth and clean the doorknobs and cabinet handles. I'll also give the keyboard a good cleaning every so often, as well as the remote control and light switches. I think it's important to keep these surfaces germ-free, too!

Still, I tried to wonder if I did catch this thing from hand contact. I shake a lot of peoples' hands and sometimes a store clerk's hand will brush over mine when they give me change. I ususally didn't wash my hands with soap after that. I don't know if it came from someone who did not wash their hands coming into contact with mine. The doctor said there are a variety of ways to catch the GI virus. It could be in the air or something you eat. It's just that when I did research, a lot of the sites I visited said a person could catch it because of inadequate hand-washing. In fact, there was an outbreak of this virus at a college because of inadequate hand-washing! (I have heard of other people getting sick of other things because of inadequate hand-washing. For example, at the Oregon County Fair not too long ago, a lot of people got sick from E. coli and they ALL ate food from the same booth. They found out that two men serving the food at this booth had not washed their hands after using the bathroom. Scary!)

So, there you have it. Proof that it's important to wash your hands. Of course, there's no proof I got this because someone didn't wash their hands (me? someone else?), but it's just one more reminder that it's an important habit to have.