Preparing for Sick Days

Cold and flu season is upon us! If you are not prepared, you face spending outrageous amounts of money making a late night stop at an all-night convenience store, and/or shopping with a sick, cranky child. Stock up on "sick day" supplies to save your sanity, time and money.

Medications

Make a list of the medications you prefer to use to treat pain and fever, cold symptoms, diarrhea, constipation, nausea and vomiting, and so on, and purchase them in the age-appropriate form (drops, liquid, chewable, tablets) for every member in your family.

Become familiar with the ingredients in combination medications (those that treat several symptoms). Acetaminophen (more commonly known by the brand name Tylenol), for example, is an ingredient in many combination medications. If you give the combination medication along with a separate dose of acetaminophen, you may be giving an overdose of acetaminophen.

Go through your medications once or twice a year to make sure they have not passed their expiration date and to make sure they are still in the age-appropriate form for your children.

Be sure to have an ample supply of prescription medications to treat chronic illnesses like diabetes or asthma. When a child or adult with a chronic illness becomes sick, he or she might require more medication, or medication of a different kind.

Other Pharmacy Items

• Electrolyte replacement fluid and/or popsicles for infants and toddlers who have diarrhea and/or vomiting
• Thermometer and probe covers
• Humidifier and distilled water
• Tissues
• Lotion for sore noses
• Throat-numbing spray
• Comfort foods such as soup, mashed potatoes, rice, applesauce, Jell-O, pudding, popsicles, ice cream, toast, animal crackers, anything that will help your children, or you (when you are the sick one), feel better.

Sanity-Preserving Items

These items will keep your children occupied when they're on the road to wellness, but bored, or when you are sick and need to keep them busy.

When they're on sale, purchase a supply of DVDs, coloring books, markers, crayons, stickers, pads of blank paper, simple craft projects, electronic games, and so on. Keep hidden until they're needed!

When you hear that a bug is going around school, or your mother's instinct tells you that your children are on the verge of getting ill, check these supplies and stock up as necessary! You'll be as ready as you can be to cope with the next sick days.

Shelly Burke, RN, is the author of Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom's Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home. Home is Where the Mom Is is the most comprehensive resource for all moms, especially at-home moms. The above article is an excerpt from Home is Where the Mom Is. Shelly believes moms need to care for themselves, first, so they can better care for those around them. To read an excerpt of Home is Where the Mom Is, go to www.homeiswherethemomis.com. Shelly's next book, What Should I Say? Finding the Words for Life's Stickiest, Trickiest, Most Uncomfortable Situations, is due out in the spring of 2007.

Take the Next Step

• Take inventory of what you have. Throw away things that are too old. Make a list of what you need. Get shopping!
• Keep them hydrated with these great Soda Alternatives.
• Find your local dollar store and purchase some simple fun items for the kids to do quietly.
• Find lots of ideas for your family on a weekly basis in The Dollar Stretcher for Parents E-zine.

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