Many years ago I worked in the engineering department of a major company that supplied vessels to companies involved in offshore drilling. When one of the vessels was damaged and not in service we used the term Down For Repair or “DFR”. One of the engineers started joking whenever one of the staff was out sick that “so and so is DFR”. Well, last week I was “DFR”!
It started with a simple sneeze from Tyler and escalated into a full-fledged case of something resembling the flu. What’s strange is when Tyler’s sick, he’s “DFR” usually for all of about two hours without any medical intervention. It usually takes me much longer. Case in point,for this little bug it took his dear old mom a week, a bottle of CVS (yes, I use the generic over the counter stuff) Daytime Cold Medicine, a bottle of CVS Nighttime Cold medicine, a bottle of expectorant, a bottle of decongestant, two bags of peppermint, three bags of throat drops, six gallons of orange juice and two gallons of Gatorade. I’m not making this up. Food? Forget about it, unless cheese toast is considered a balanced meal.
I’ve had more colds since I became a mother. And it seems the older I get, the longer it takes me to shake them. In an ideal world moms would not get sick to begin with but since we don’t live in an ideal world there are some simple steps we can take to avoid getting sick when our kids are sick or at least minimize the amount of time we are “DFR”.
When it comes to colds and flu-like illnesses moms are at a big disadvantage by simply being in direct contact with our kids most of the time. Infection control is the name of the game. That means frequent hand washing to keep germs from spreading. And there’s no need for special anti-bacterial soap, any regular soap is fine. Also don’t allow sick kids to share cups, utensils or even snacks and avoid too many hugs and kisses. Teach your little one to sneeze or cough into a tissue and to immediately throw it away and also to sneeze or cough into their elbow or arm.
Here’s something I just found out— viruses can only travel about three feet. Teach your child to back up when he has to sneeze or cough and you lessen the chances of catching the bug.
Of course, even with these precautions you may still get sick. One way to lessen the amount of time you are “DFR” is to have a strong immune system to begin with. You can do this by aiming to get enough sleep, eating healthy and participating in stress-releasing activities like meditation.
In the end it seems like for me, a little rest and a lot of time is what brings me up to speed. I just wish it didn’t take soooooo long.