This time of year is a particular worry as a parent of two little ones as it is the dreaded bug season.
We literally live in daily fear that one of our two will catch a virus of some sort as it inevitably means the other one will too. And if hubby and I are particularly run-down, then so will we - just like dominos knocked down one by one!
Of course, it is not nice for anyone to get ill, child or adult, but parents of young children will know exactly what I mean about the worry, as children's immature immune systems are far more susceptible. If you are lucky, a stuffy nose is all you will have to contend with, but even that is tricky to handle as you struggle to squirt stuff up their noses, suction their snot (if they are too young to blow it themselves), battle with the fear that their mild cough will turn into pneumonic-bronchitis, and put up with their neediness and whining. If you are very unlucky then you will enjoy countless wash loads of clothes and sheets that come courtesy of tummy bugs and their colourful and frequent vomiting and diarrhea, or the sheer panic of monitoring a child's raising temperature.
This year, there has been an outbreak of Scarlet Fever in Larnaca, which causes a sore throat with white spots, swollen tongue, fever and rash - a horror straight out of Medieval times. And there have also been reports of Swine Flu on the island. It almost makes you want to put your kids in a giant protective bubble and never let them leave the house again.
But, I don't ever remember being this ill this frequently when I was a child. Am I remembering incorrectly, or were we just not so sickly in those days? My mother wouldn't allow us to stay home from school unless we were 'dying' (her words!), and I had very few sick days my whole childhood. Clearly, something was different back then – was it our immune systems or the bugs themselves?
It seems that nowadays, my kids spend the entire winter season with a runny nose at least, and it's not as a result of nutritional deficiencies. I am somewhat of a hippy mum in that area and I supplement them (naturally), give them herbal teas, chia seeds, flaxseed oil, probiotic powder, elderberry syrup, astragalus, all manner of inventively hidden fruit and vegetables, fresh air and cuddles… and still they get ill!
To be honest, bugs absolutely petrify me because you never know who is harbouring one until its too late, or how bad it will be. What if the next time round it is a new, incurable Super Bug, like in the film Contagion?
The bug season also rudely reminds me that for all our bravado and power trips, man is not the one in the driving seat, and it makes me all the more aware and appreciative of the importance of good health, above all else. I am just hoping 'the bugs' will be appeased by my awareness and acknowledgement of their power over us and take pity on us this year!
