posted
i am a "lunch lady" at my son's school and the new school year is fast approaching! i really don't know how this is all going to pan out since i have severe joint, muscle and bone pain but i'm going to try!
i am going to be constantly surrounded by the little germ factories! so my question is, am i going to be more susceptible to catching their viruses now?
also, i have never gotten a flu shot before but should i?
Posts: 95 | From IL | Registered: Jun 2010
| IP: Logged |
sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
I understand your concern. I used to work closely with children. Got coughed on, sneezed on, snot wiped on me, vomit, urine, everything you can imagine and more. But after several years of close infectious contact I never got sick from the kids.
I got sick when my sister came home from college with a cold. That's it. Same with my coworkers, they only got sick when their kids or husbands brought something home.
So, teach your family good hand hygiene. Wash hands before eating or touching the face, after using the toilet or blowing noses. Use the alcohol hand sanitizer when out and about.
You can try to support your immune system with supplements such as colostrum or "Host Defense" (a mushroom blend). If your family or coworkers are ill with a cold, try taking some extra vit C or Lauricidin (antiviral supp) to protect yourself.
Ask your LLMD about the flu shot. I always get one. The one year that I didn't in nursing school I got horribly sick with the flu. Learned my lesson then. I will not pass up the flu shot again.
If you are the lunch lady that handles the money, ask to wear gloves. Money is dirtier than you can imagine.
Stay hydrated, rest when you can, and laugh everyday. Enjoy spending time with the kids, they're fun.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
| IP: Logged |
Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
sammy, i used to be a nanny until it was taking too much of a toll on me. i just didn't know that it was lyme at the time. i just thought i was spreading myself too thin between 3 families and my own!
i was only working 1 day per week with 1 family until i started as the lunch lady last year (still undiagnosed). i found that i was coming home absolutely drained and collapsing on the couch!
last year, i learned the hard way, that i seemed to pick up a lot of things - flu, stomach flu, pink eye, etc. so i started wearing gloves and changing them often. made sure i never touched my face, etc. i also wear a pair of gloves when i'm counting the drawer at the end of the day. i was absolutely disgusted to see that the new white gloves that i put on were now this dark shade of grey...yuck!!
carol, thank you for the link! is there one that you use and would recommend? i was leaning towards the immune punch....it sounds a little like the host defense that sammy was talking about with the mushrooms.
i will talk to my LLMD about the flu shot. i asked about that because 2 yrs ago i got a tetanus shot and i thought i was on my deathbed! i didn't know if they were safe for us or not.
Posts: 95 | From IL | Registered: Jun 2010
| IP: Logged |
julielynne4
Unregistered
posted
Do a search on this forum for "flu shot." There have been many posts about this topic- I would stay far, far away from the flu shot! With Lyme, it could make things Ssoooooooo much worse.....
IP: Logged |
Geneal
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 10375
posted
I worked in a public school all last year.
I only caught one nasty cold/cough thing.
I opted not to get the flu shot.
I wash my hands constantly.
Keep hand sanitizer handy.
Get plenty of rest when you can.
Enjoy the children. They always make me smile and laugh.
Hugs,
Geneal
Posts: 6250 | From Louisiana | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
general, that's exactly what i did last year. made sure to change gloves, used the sanitizer, etc.
i think i'm going to opt out of the shot and see what happens. i did the search julie and there are a lot that say no way!
oh, and general, i work in a middle school and i love it. some of the kids can be well, you know, but most of the time they are very polite & nice. i loved my nanny job. the tots always make me laugh and are were much fun!
Posts: 95 | From IL | Registered: Jun 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
I haven't been exposed to a lot of viruses since I got Lyme, so I don't know if I'm more susceptible or not.
I am using sodium ascorbate vitamin C powder in tomato juice. I put 4 tsp. (about 14 g) in there in the morning and then sip on it every hour or two through the day. If I drink too much at once or put too much powder in, it gives me diarrhea. Then you know you've hit the maximum dose and back off.
It is supposed to be generally helpful for the immune system. Proponents of megadoses of vitamin C for general health advise taking a lot of extra vitamin C every half hour when you first feel a virus coming on, and claim it will ward it off in a few hours. I haven't had the opportunity to try that yet. They also say that being on a high dose of it can make you resistant to infections.
It is also supposed to have some benefit either against Lyme, or helping your immune system fight Lyme. It also can be helpful against viruses, bacteria, fungi AND toxins, and in higher doses works great as a harmless laxative too.
I don't know if all this is true, but it is pretty cheap and not poisonous like drugs, so I am happy to experiment with it and see if it helps me.
-------------------- Don't forget to laugh! And when you're going through hell, keep going!
Bitten 5/25/2009 in Perry County, Indiana. Diagnosed by LLMD 12/2/2009. Posts: 756 | From Inside the tunnel | Registered: Jan 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
hmm, if i try the vit. C powder i'll have to come up with something else to put it in. i have pretty bad acid reflux and me and tomato juice don't mix
do you think a regular vit. C supplement would work? are their more benefits using the powder?
all this talk about vit. C & flu shots and i don't even know if i'm going to be able to continue to work! geeze, guess i'm just trying to think positively that i will be able to Posts: 95 | From IL | Registered: Jun 2010
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic