How to Keep Your Family Healthy when One Member Has the Flu (Seasonal or H1N1)

I knew Mom was good, but I never knew how good! While writing my two previous articles on preventing your child from getting swine flu, I started to research a third article on how to protect your family from getting flu (H1N1 or seasonal flu) when one person in the household is already sick with it. I was amazed to see every suggested step was something my mother used to do when taking care of my siblings or me when we were sick.

With seasonal flu and swine flu starting to spread across the United States and the rest of the world, I would like to share with you a few of my mother's CDC approved techniques for caring for a sick child and preventing the rest of your family from getting the flu.

Separate the sick person from the rest of the family at the first sign of illness.
Mom was a registered nurse, so she quickly recognized signs of illness. These signs ranged from the subtle (Cara's cheeks are rosier than normal) to the less than subtle (Paul just vomited all over the back stairs landing). At the first sign of trouble, we were banished to a sick room where we were to remain in quarantine until Mom declared us healthy again.

For those who do not have a nursing degree, the signs of flu (seasonal and H1N1) include:
Fever
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Body aches
Headache
Chills
Fatigue
Diarrhea and vomiting (in some cases of H1N1, but not all)

If anything in your child's behavior concerns you, bundle them off to their room for rest and observation. Provide your child with entertainment (books, DVDs, CDs, toys, etc.) so they will stay in their room without too much complaint. Mom always gave us a black and white 13-inch TV (four channels!) and coloring books.

Recovering from the seasonal flu or H1N1 can take up to 7 days. The family member who is sick should not have contact with the rest of the family until they have been fever-free, without the use of fever reducing medications, for at least 24 hours.

The exception to the no contact rule is in the case of a breastfeeding mother. She should continue breastfeeding, as her breast milk will provide antibodies to protect her infant from becoming sick. If her symptoms are mild, she should wash her hands thoroughly before touching the baby and avoid coughing or sneezing in the baby's face, possibly even wearing a facemask to prevent exposing the infant to the virus. If her symptoms are more severe, she should use a breast pump and allow another family member to feed the baby.

Contact your doctor or hospital by phone for more information.
Fears of pandemic flu are not new. My mother was also faced with worry over swine flu in 1976, Hong Kong flu before that, and many strains of seasonal flu throughout the years. When one of us got sick, Mom called the doctor before taking us in to be examined. She knew many viruses have similar symptoms to the flu. If we had some other virus, taking us into a waiting room filled with other sick children could expose us to the very flu she from which she was trying to protect her family. Instead of rushing us somewhere, Mom contacted the doctor over the phone and allowed him to decide if our symptoms warranted a trip to his office.

My mother's precautions were exactly in line with what the CDC is suggesting during the current flu season. Do not rush your child to the doctor or emergency room. Instead, call your health care provider for more instructions.

Of course, you will want to seek medical attention at an emergency room if your child is showing signs of severe illness. Signs your child requires immediate medical attention include:

Fast or troubled breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Irritability to the point of not wanting to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Fever with a rash

Adults should seek emergency medical attention if they display any of the following symptoms:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting

Keep the sick person's germs away from other family members.
Mom got very fancy when it came to keeping our sick germs away from everyone else -- she gave us a box of Kleenex and a brown paper grocery bag to call our own. All dirty tissues, either from covering our mouth when coughing or blowing our nose, went into that grocery bag. The bag was thrown away daily (straight to the alley, no lurking about the house) and replaced with a new grocery bag.

As Mom was taking care of us in the days before alcohol-based hand sanitizers, she taught us to wash our hands in warm water, using plenty of soap. We were given a separate towel for our own personal use. The towel was kept a different color or put in a different location than the hand towels used by the healthy family members. If we were really pathetic, she even let us use the hand towels kept for guests just to make us feel special.

Hand sanitizers do exist during this current flu season. Encourage all family members to use them, whether they are sick or healthy, if soap and water are not available. When washing with soap and water, paper towels can be used in place of fabric towels for hand drying. Teach each child to get their paper towel into the trashcan, not on the floor around it. The sick family member should take their dirty paper towels back to their fancy paper grocery bag in their sick room.

Keep everything clean and disinfected.
We had only one bathroom in our house, which meant a meeting of the sick and healthy when nature called. Whenever we opened that bathroom door to go back to our room, we found Mom with a bottle of disinfectant and a scrub brush. The room was thoroughly aired at least once each day.

After eating, the dishes and utensils from the sick family member were saved until last. They were washed in hot water, and then rinsed in boiling water. The entire sink was then cleaned and rinsed with more boiling water.

Every couple days, we were moved to Mom and Dad's bedroom and our sick room was thoroughly cleaned and aired. The sheets were washed in hot water, dried on high, and then put back on our bed. We thought it was a nice treat, as the room felt so fresh and comfortable. In all actuality, Mom was on a mission to commit germicide. What we also did not realize back then was she had to do the same in their bedroom once we were moved back to our own sick room.

Again, Mom was doing exactly what the CDC recommends for keeping your family healthy when one member is sick. The viruses that cause seasonal flu and swine flu can live on environmental surfaces for up to 8 hours. Keep your house clean by using hot soapy water, bleach water, hydrogen peroxide or a disinfecting spray on all hard surfaces, doorknobs, toys, and other commonly touched items. Disinfect the bedside table, headboard, and other surfaces of the sick room on a regular basis. Wash dishes in the dishwasher or by hand in the hottest water you can physically handle. The sick family member's clothing and bed linens can be washed with the other laundry, but use the hottest water possible for the fabric and dry them in a hot dryer.

The CDC also recommends keeping your home well ventilated. Opening a window, even during cold weather, greatly reduces the number of airborne germs in the home. Keep the windows of the common rooms in your house, such as the bathroom and kitchen, open during the day. If this is not possible, air those rooms for a few minutes each day. At least once per day, air the sick room while that family member is out of it, such as when they use the restroom. If the weather is cold, do not let the temperature drop to the point where they will get a chill once they return.

Those are the basics when it comes to how my mother kept the rest of her family healthy when one of us was sick with the flu or some other nasty virus. She worked hard when caring for us and it usually paid off. My mother and I, as well as the CDC, hope these tips will help your family have as healthy of a flu season as possible.

For more information on how to prevent the spread of flu, check out the following articles here on Associated Content:
How to Prevent Your Child from Getting Swine Flu
Ways Parents and Teachers Can Help Prevent the Spread of H1N1 Flu in Schools