Thursday, January 22, 2009

Germaphobia



Look at these cute little plush toys. The green one is the flu virus and the blue one is the common cold. I'm trying any kind of therapy to help me deal with the germs that have taken over my family, including considering the purchase of stuffed toys that make my fears look sweet.


I have always been aware of the germs around us and taken the proper precautions
to eliminate sickness in our house. We wash our hands after we got to the bathroom just like we should. I'll bust out the Purell hand sanitizer at Chuck-e-cheese after Griffin plays Wack-a-mole. Ya know, the normal stuff us moms do.

I'm not going to lie though, the latest rash of illnesses in our home is turning me into a bonafide Germaphobe. It's shameful. Yesterday when I took Griffin to the Doctor to confirm that yes, he has pink eye, I was a complete mess in the waiting room. Of course they would have a wonderful slide for all the sick children to slide down and as Griffin looked overjoyed and said "whee" as he slid down it, I couldn't help but notice the dried up yellow snot on the cheek of the child who had just slid down before him. I freaked out.

"Griffin, come sit next to mommy and don't touch anything!" I shouted as he grabbed a puzzle and started to put it together. He looked so confused. The 6 other sick children were happily snotting all over the toys, why couldn't he? Eventually he settled down and sat next to me and rubbed his pink eye on the curtain hanging behind his chair. Great...now MY child is the spreader of pink eye in the waiting room!

To add insult to injury, after I had given the nurse a list of Griffin's symptoms, I concluded about how insulted I was that we just got over a tummy bug and now we are dealing with pink eye. Her response was

"Oh yeah...that tummy bug is doozy, it's going around. There is a new strain too, we've had plenty of that come through this office today!" Then with a smile she stuck Griffin's file on the door and left the room.

Leaving me in a bacteria and virus laden room and my child doing everything short of licking the walls. TOTAL FREAK OUT! I'm not kidding...we washed our hands 10 times before we left the office. 10 TIMES! This just isn't like me.

I'm trying to keep Griffin at arms length so that I don't get his cold or pink eye but I think that's it's a lost cause. He slept on my head last night, like a little cat with crusty eyes, he loved and rubbed all over me. It's just a matter of time. I'm next...I just know it.

3 comments:

Stacey Bryant said...

I so feel your pain. Luckly my 3 yr old has been blessed and rarely sick--knock on wood!!! When I have taken her to the DR even for routine check ups, I sometimes bring her own toys so she doesn't play with theirs. She, for some ood reason, always wants to play with the toys that are in the sick room..UGH. Congrats on your preg, do you know if you are having a boy or girl?

Elash said...

He slept on your head like a little cat with crusty eyes! LOL!
My son came home from his dad's with scarlet fever, and decided that I had to sleep in his bed with him on a certain part of his pillow. "Put your head on Percy's (Thomas's train friend...character sheets) face!" he commanded, and he put his little arm around my neck and forced my face right up into his rash covered little chest. Why do they always want us to be sick too!!!

Unknown said...

Ugh, I hate doctor's offices with communal waiting rooms. Blech! The main selling point to our current office is that everyone is sent immediately to a room, no waiting (usually). I loathe some of the doctors in the practice, but my kids are never sharing toys with snotty kids. I guess it's a tradeoff.

Pink eye stinks. It took us over a month to get it all the way out of the house. Everyone but the dogs got it!!