Sneezes and Diseases
There’s a really yucky stomach virus going around Vancouver right now, and one of its actual names (on the internet, at least), is “Winter Vomiting Disease.” If you or your child has had it, you’ll know why that name is so perfect. 🙁
It’s not pretty, and there are a couple of things you should know:
1. The onset is very sudden, as little as 10 hours after exposure.
2. The main symptoms, namely vomiting and diarrhea, last 1 – 2 days, and then the contagion period lasts another 1 – 2 days.
3. The virus passes through exposure to… you guessed it: vomit and diarrhea.
At Buddings, we always wash towels, blankets, and sheets between uses, and spray all the toys and surfaces with bleach and water every day, but with this bug going round and round, we’ve taken some extra measures. We did a big bleaching of all the toys, and a clean, clean, clean of the daycare, as well as some research into what we could do to keep the spread to a minimum.
Washing hands is a big deal. With plain, old, normal soap, but with serious intention. Imagine that if your toddlers hands aren’t really clean, everyone in your family will start puking. (Don’t forget, antibiotics are not effective against a virus. It just has to run its course.)
Keeping children hydrated while they have upset tummies is tough, but super important. Clear liquids, and lots of them. Electrolytes, anyone? Coconut water?
Be very careful and conscious of cleanliness while preparing and eating food. Why not just wash your hands one more time before you start?
The whole city is passing this virus back and forth, and our friends in Toronto and Halifax are having a go of it as well. Even if you do love company, in this case, let’s all keep our misery to ourselves.
Please do not bring your child to Buddings until they have been vomit- and diarrhea-free for 24 hours.
You’ve been reading this for a few minutes, now. Let’s go wash our hands.
