Sick neighbor was in our house - Covid related

[Spryte]

Oh. My. This just sounds about right.  I have to laugh, but can you all cross your fingers for me?

Today we had some unfortunate neighborhood drama, which resulted in the next door neighbor-friend needing to see our security camera footage.  We could not get it to send to him, knew he was vaxxed, said come on over and watch it.

He brought his three yr old, we adore her, but she hasn’t been in our house since last March. We just see her outside usually.  

This was an emergency kind of thing, so none of us were thinking clearly, and I just took little girl by the hand and took her to see our foster puppies once she had walked in.  

The Dad watched the footage, got what he needed and then came to see the puppies in our open living room/kitchen.

And then, boom, he says, “I hate to do this to you, but I have to tell you - all the kids have bad colds. But you’ll be fine, you’ve had Pfizer!” 

Sure enough, I’m suddenly aware that three year old is clearly on the snotty side. He told us the teens are pretty darn sick, and the 12 yr old has it, too. The mom and dad are both vaxxed and fine.

I just took little girl to the porch with the puppy, and helped her snuggle the pup. She was on the warm side, and said she feels sick.  Poor girl.  I just wanted to hug her.  

We opened all the windows and doors, and I had our at risk 10 yr old play in the basement for a while.  But that’s all I really knew to do.

So, now I need you all to tell me that kids don’t transmit this stuff, it was probably just a cold, and we’re good.

This was one of those emergency things, and I don’t have any regrets about it.  It’s exactly the kind of thing you save your risk budget for ... but still.  I’m a bit worried about our unvaxxed daughter.

Drama.  Waaayyyy too much drama around these parts lately!

Edited May 19, 2021 by Spryte
Changed thread title to stop scaring happi!

[Spryte]

Adding:  I’m so fried.  Crispy fried, stick a fork in me, I’m done kind of fried.  
 

Totally ready for some happy news.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Spryte

[whitestavern]

14 minutes ago, Spryte said:

Oh. My. This just sounds about right.  I have to laugh, but can you all cross your fingers for me?

Today we had some unfortunate neighborhood drama, which resulted in the next door neighbor-friend needing to see our security camera footage.  We could not get it to send to him, knew he was vaxxed, said come on over and watch it.

He brought his three yr old, we adore her, but she hasn’t been in our house since last March. We just see her outside usually.  

This was an emergency kind of thing, so none of us were thinking clearly, and I just took little girl by the hand and took her to see our foster puppies once she had walked in.  

The Dad watched the footage, got what he needed and then came to see the puppies in our open living room/kitchen.

And then, boom, he says, “I hate to do this to you, but I have to tell you - all the kids have bad colds. But you’ll be fine, you’ve had Pfizer!” 

Sure enough, I’m suddenly aware that three year old is clearly on the snotty side. He told us the teens are pretty darn sick, and the 12 yr old has it, too. The mom and dad are both vaxxed and fine.

I just took little girl to the porch with the puppy, and helped her snuggle the pup. She was on the warm side, and said she feels sick.  Poor girl.  I just wanted to hug her.  

We opened all the windows and doors, and I had our at risk 10 yr old play in the basement for a while.  But that’s all I really knew to do.

So, now I need you all to tell me that kids don’t transmit this stuff, it was probably just a cold, and we’re good.

This was one of those emergency things, and I don’t have any regrets about it.  It’s exactly the kind of thing you save your risk budget for ... but still.  I’m a bit worried about our unvaxxed daughter.

Drama.  Waaayyyy too much drama around these parts lately!

Hopefully this will make you feel a little better. We picked S up from college last Friday. He's been being tested weekly all semester and had been tested two days prior to us picking him up (and was negative). That night he developed cold symptoms, including a bad cough. Amazingly, my mind didn't immediately think Covid, I guess because he had been tested?? Anyway, by Sunday H and I have developed cold symptoms and bad cough. Finally my brain turned on and I realized I had better get tested. The first available opening was today. By the time we got there, I had also developed a fever. Well, we all ended up testing and none of us have Covid. All that to say, it is possible that your neighbor kids might just actually have a cold or other respiratory illness. Crossing fingers for you. 

[Carol in Cal.]

OK, here’s what to do right now:  Get some zinc lozenges.  Everybody sucks them under their tongue every two hours for 2-3 days.  That way even if it’s just a cold, it won’t be nearly as intense.  

Crucial to suck under the tongue rather than swallowing these.  You want the stuff to bathe the inside of your throat.  

How it works, I think, is it keeps the viruses from multiplying very much at the onset of the cold, so your body’s natural immune system kicks in and kills them off sooner and with milder symptoms than normally.  You know how you normally feel just awful for about 3 days, and then have lingering symptoms for maybe another week to 10 days?  For me, when I do the zinc thing right at the outset or at exposure, I never get the ‘just awful’ feeling.  Instead I feel like I have lingering symptoms, on the mild side, for about a week, maybe a little more, but never really bad ones.

My acupuncturist believes that zinc would help with Covid also if taken early enough.  I am not aware of any clinical proof of that, but you ARE vaccinated so that’s helpful.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Carol in Cal.

[Catwoman]

Oh no. 

I would be absolutely livid with your neighbor. What a rotten and inconsiderate thing to have done!!!

I hope you guys stay healthy!

[Catwoman]

Just now, Carol in Cal. said:

OK, here’s what to do right now:  Get some zinc lozenges.  Everybody sucks them under their tongue every two hours for 2-3 days.  That way even if it’s just a cold, it won’t be nearly as intense.  

Crucial to suck under the tongue rather than swallowing these.  You want the stuff to bathe the inside of your throat.  

How it works, I think, is it keeps the viruses from multiplying very much at the onset of the cold, so your body’s natural immune system kicks in and kills them off sooner and with milder symptoms than normally.  You know how you normally feel just awful for about 3 days, and then have lingering symptoms for maybe another week to 10 days?  For me, when I do the zinc thing right at the outset or at exposure, I never get the ‘just awful’ feeling.  Instead I feel like I have lingering symptoms, on the mild side, for about a week, maybe a little more, but never really bad ones.

Great idea, Carol!!!  And don't forget to load up on Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

[popmom]

12 minutes ago, whitestavern said:

Hopefully this will make you feel a little better. We picked S up from college last Friday. He's been being tested weekly all semester and had been tested two days prior to us picking him up (and was negative). That night he developed cold symptoms, including a bad cough. Amazingly, my mind didn't immediately think Covid, I guess because he had been tested?? Anyway, by Sunday H and I have developed cold symptoms and bad cough. Finally my brain turned on and I realized I had better get tested. The first available opening was today. By the time we got there, I had also developed a fever. Well, we all ended up testing and none of us have Covid. All that to say, it is possible that your neighbor kids might just actually have a cold or other respiratory illness. Crossing fingers for you. 

Similar situation here. My grad school dd was very sick for 2 weeks (recently) with upper respiratory stuff. Really, really bad cough. Ran fever. Two doctors' visits. Two negative COVID tests. There is a lot of other stuff going around now that more people are vaxxed and resuming life.

Edited May 19, 2021 by popmom

[gardenmom5]

I'd be annoyed the dad brought a sick kid to your house.   He's got older kids at his house - he could have left her.  "oh, you're vax'd" isn't an excuse, even vax'd people can get covid.  Even if it was just a cold, it was still irresponsible and inconsiderate.
 

[gardenmom5]

3 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

Great idea, Carol!!!  And don't forget to load up on Vitamin C and Vitamin D.

I would do (an easily absorbed) Vit C and echinachea every two hours when I would start to get sick.  otherwise, I was toast.

being diagnosed EBV explains that, so I'm hoping things are better.

Oh - monolaurin by ecological formulas.  Pharmica carries it.  it is a natural immunity booster found in breast milk.  It's one of the immunity boosters my dr has me on.

[Spryte]

Zinc, Vit C and D.  Will do.  I had forgotten!

[HSmomof2]

Even assuming it’s not Covid, I truly cannot understand the thinking of someone that exposing your family to a ‘bad cold’ is in any way acceptable either. I had hoped this kind of careless and thoughtless behavior would have changed, but apparently not. People are just as selfish as ever. Sorry you were exposed to something and hope you all stay well. 

Edited May 19, 2021 by HSmomof2

[Spryte]

15 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

I would do (an easily absorbed) Vit C and echinachea every two hours when I would start to get sick.  otherwise, I was toast.

being diagnosed EBV explains that, so I'm hoping things are better.

Oh - monolaurin by ecological formulas.  Pharmica carries it.  it is a natural immunity booster found in breast milk.  It's one of the immunity boosters my dr has me on.

Would you do these for kids?  I can’t seem to think straight.  I’m not doing any supplements for now, due to unresolved liver issues (probably from meds and supplements, so ...) ... Gaaaah.  
 

I do have Lauricidin, which I think is monolaurin.  Will check.

[MercyA]

Not sure where you are at, but colds are going around in northern Indiana right now. DH has one and I had a tiny bit of one. We are both fully vaxxed. DD has received one vax and hasn't caught the cold.

Elderberry + echinacea syrup works well for us.

So sorry, but it was very nice of you to help your neighbor. 

[Spryte]

1 minute ago, MercyA said:

Not sure where you are at, but colds are going around in northern Indiana right now. DH has one and I had a tiny bit of one. We are both fully vaxxed. DD has received one vax and hasn't caught the cold.

Elderberry + echinacea syrup works well for us.

So sorry, but it was very nice of you to help your neighbor. 

It could be a cold.  Really.  Their eldest works at a grocery store, and the Dad thinks he brought it home and gave it to the other three.  Could definitely be a cold.  

I’ll keep an eye on things and pull out the elderberry syrup, too.  

We see the doc tomorrow for something else - three of us with TBDs - so I will ask her for supplements, too.

Blech.  I can’t believe this. It’s so ridiculous to have made it so long and then be derailed by something so ridiculous.
 

[Corraleno]

Another vote for elderberry. The combo of Sambucol + zinc lozenges has allowed me to nip most colds in the bud before they take hold as long as I start taking them at the very first sign — or even before any symptoms show up if I know I've been exposed. I get maybe one cold every couple of years, and that's usually because I ignored the signs. 

I'm so sorry this happened to you, Spryte, on top of everything else! I don't know what that dad was thinking. 

[Spryte]

Just now, Corraleno said:

Another vote for elderberry. The combo of Sambucol + zinc lozenges has allowed me to nip most colds in the bud before they take hold as long as I start taking them at the very first sign — or even before any symptoms show up if I know I've been exposed. I get maybe one cold every couple of years, and that's usually because I ignored the signs. 

I'm so sorry this happened to you, Spryte, on top of everything else! I don't know what that dad was thinking. 

Thanks, I’ll try both of those.

I don’t know what I was thinking either, not just the dad! It was such a shock when he brought her in.  I didn’t even think to stop her.  She’s 3!  And who knows what the dad was thinking, obviously he wasn’t.  Ugh.  We were all just focused on the emergency event that had happened in the street, and getting the camera footage.  Distracted, I guess.

Now I guess we just wait it out and hope.  
 

[El...]

I think it was most likely a cold/other bug, because kids don't frequently exhibit covid symptoms.  It would surprise me to see several kids in the same family be symptomatic. I really, really hope you don't catch it. 

[J-rap]

Colds are suddenly rampant here.  I suppose it's because people are going out more, although still, everyone around here still wears masks, etc.  Both my dh and my sister's dh caught a bad cold in the last few days.  We have no idea how.  I've heard that allergens are super high right now too, so maybe that's contributing to it.

[mommyoffive]

Oh man I am so sorry that this added on to your stress list, ugh.  Hindsight is 20/20.    It sounds like it was an emergency situation and yeah he shouldn't have brought the kid there.  I am sending all the good thoughts your way that you guys don't get anything. 

Something happened 2 weeks ago.  A kid fell in the middle of the street outside our house and broke her ankle.  Dh ran out to help and totally forgot a mask.  

[popmom]

27 minutes ago, J-rap said:

Colds are suddenly rampant here.  I suppose it's because people are going out more, although still, everyone around here still wears masks, etc.  Both my dh and my sister's dh caught a bad cold in the last few days.  We have no idea how.  I've heard that allergens are super high right now too, so maybe that's contributing to it.

It makes sense considering how isolated we've all been. Normally, we're exposed to cold viruses year round. We've been a bit too clean out of necessity, so when that first cold hits, it's hitting hard and fast! Super unpleasant but probably not a bad thing for our immune systems in the long run.

[BeachGal]

Pfizer is working well it seems.

If the doctor you are seeing tomorrow is the one who offers ozone therapy, you could ask her if she’d give you a treatment should any of you get sick. It is working very well for most Covid patients in Italy and other countries. Some MDs are using it here as the only treatment and are finding it works quite well. You can use it for many viral infections. As a bonus, it has also helped many people with Lyme Disease, too.

Regardless, I hope all of you remain unscathed. Crossing my fingers!

[Spryte]

50 minutes ago, BeachGal said:

Pfizer is working well it seems.

If the doctor you are seeing tomorrow is the one who offers ozone therapy, you could ask her if she’d give you a treatment should any of you get sick. It is working very well for most Covid patients in Italy and other countries. Some MDs are using it here as the only treatment and are finding it works quite well. You can use it for many viral infections. As a bonus, it has also helped many people with Lyme Disease, too.

Regardless, I hope all of you remain unscathed. Crossing my fingers!

Yes, that’s the one.  She always offers it, even for things like flu.  It’s just a bit of a trek, for someone who’s sick (2 hours, and then home in crazy bad traffic takes even longer) so we rarely do it.  We would do it for Covid, though. DS had it when he was 12 or so, and still raves about it.  He was so terribly ill and it gave him such relief. 

We are crossing our fingers and toes that it was a cold, that we don’t catch it - whatever it was.

I did wipe the puppies down with a baby wipe, though, once they left. Which was probably overkill, but that’s ok.  

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Spryte said:

Would you do these for kids?  I can’t seem to think straight.  I’m not doing any supplements for now, due to unresolved liver issues (probably from meds and supplements, so ...) ... Gaaaah.  
 

I do have Lauricidin, which I think is monolaurin.  Will check.

I also have elevated liver numbers.  It was one of the things the prompted my dr to run the early antigen.  (EBV can cause elevated liver enzymes).

Vitamin c should be fine.  Maybe a lower dose.

pretty sure lauricidn is a brand? of monolaurin.

[kristin0713]

I would be so extremely annoyed with this neighbor and ask them to get at least one of the kids tested for your own peace of mind. It is so unbelievable and disappointing to me that people aren't "thinking" that others wouldn't want to be exposed to possible covid symptoms, even if it is likely a cold.    

[ktgrok]

Ugh. Just goes to show no one thinks of kids! Neighbor knew you were vaxxed, but obviously your kid isn't!

And even if everyone was vaccinated - no one wants a miserable cold! 

I'd wipe own anything she touched with peroxide or whatever you prefer, and you opened the windows so hopefuly you blew out the airborne germs. But man!

[OH_Homeschooler]

DD9 had a bad cold a couple weeks ago. It was the first time that I actually thought someone in my family could have Covid. But she tested negative! 

[happi duck]

This thread title keeps scaring me!

[Jaybee]

I do think there are lots of allergy symptoms as well as bad colds going around. It doesn't seem to be covid around here, just bad colds. Ds had one week before last. My eyes are puffy/itchy with allergy symptoms, and I'm having the occasional sneeze and sinus headache.

[Pen]

I don’t remember if you were one of the attack Pen bandwagon people. And do not know where you are  on openness to vitamins, supplements, HCQ, IVM etc.  If u would like some non mainstream ideas, aren’t a Pen hater, and have open mindedness to 

“alternative “ ideas, send me a PM 

[gardenmom5]

9 hours ago, kristin0713 said:

I would be so extremely annoyed with this neighbor and ask them to get at least one of the kids tested for your own peace of mind. It is so unbelievable and disappointing to me that people aren't "thinking" that others wouldn't want to be exposed to possible covid symptoms, even if it is likely a cold.    

Not "one of" - but the one who he brought to their house.   You can test babies.  My grandson got a quick test last summer before he was two because he'd had a possible exposure, and cold symptoms that weren't going away.  (it was just a cold.)

 

 

[Spryte]

6 hours ago, happi duck said:

This thread title keeps scaring me!

Oops, sorry!  

[Spryte]

Thanks, all!

We’ve been out all day at our LLMD’s office, so I’ve avoided thinking about it.  Which is probably good.

We’re all on a cocktail of supplements anyway - Vit D, C, multis.  We’ve got zinc, elderberry (were we not supposed to take that for potential Covid?  I have a vague memory about that?), and I feel like maybe some other things as well.

Crossing fingers and toes here.

And ... I will check in with the Mom to see how everyone next door is doing, and see about testing those kids.  

If they don’t test, how soon would I want to test DD, or just wait it out and see how she is?  

[Spryte]

6 hours ago, happi duck said:

This thread title keeps scaring me!

Changed it for you!  😊

[mlktwins]

You are much nicer than I am 😁!  Bringing known sick kids to things like my house, outsourced classes, etc. and not warning me to give me a choice in being around those people is a big no-no for me.  I can't control so much in a class setting, but my house I can.  He did not have to bring the little one, so bad on him and I wouldn't be so kind the next time.  I'm sorry this is just another big stressor on you!