Can I vent for a second?

NewFamily09 · November 2012

This is so petty, but I am really sick of my DH being getting colds. Seriously, the guy has been sick on and off for about a month. It seems like every weekend he gets a cold that lasts about 2 days. It's getting old. He's a teacher and keeps bringing germs home I guess. Luckily, none of the rest of us every catch it. I know I sound like a horrible wife, but the sniffling and sneezing that I listen to 24/7 is starting to really grate on my nerves here. We thought he had allergies, which makes sense because it's so constant, but we bought claritin today and it hasn't seemed to make any difference so far. I guess he only took it a few hours ago. Maybe it takes a day or something to work. Okay, thanks for letting me vent. Now, I have to go and see if he needs anything and maybe give him a head rub.

gracefulruby33 · November 2012

Tell him to wash his hands more or get some hand sanitizer.

mbgreenwalt · November 2012

gracefulruby33:
Tell him to wash his hands more or get some hand sanitizer.

This and maybe some Airborne.

arcook0307 · November 2012

If you're a bad wife, then I'm worse.

I ended up making all of Thanksgiving dinner after I had prepped all my "assignments" ahead of time. This left 3 things for DH. I ended up doing his too but I so thought I was going to get a day to relax. Wrong! Then all he wanted to do during his time off was sleep since he felt so bad. Now DD has a snotty nose. After the third day of wanting to nap....I had had it. I was ready to have a little more help!

PrimRoseMama · November 2012

Have him drink more water, take a multivitamin. He also needs to wash his hands and use some bleach wipes on the desks in his classroom at the end of the day. My mom is a teacher and minimizes her illnesses by being a clean freak about her classroom.

katie4253 · November 2012

There is a percentage of the population that Claritin doesn't work for. Have him try Zyrtec or Allegra. They sell "D" versions of these too.

I also agree that he needs to integrate a cleaning routine into his classroom procedures. I had kids sanitize the desks at the end of every day. Also things like the: stapler, light switches, door knobs, and weekly someone did he scissors/markers/glue sticks.

EBRobbins · November 2012

I teach school too. I used to get sick all the time. I stayed home with my preemie last year and became a germ killing mama. Now at school the kids clean on a daily and weekly basis with clorox wipes, use hand sanitizer and wash before eating. Attendance is great. I also bring my own lunch, bring my own water, clean everything, and most importantly take probiotics. This is the first year I have not gotten sick. Not even a sniffle. My baby and hubby take probiotics too. We are all feeling great.

dairygirl19 · November 2012

Is he a new teacher? When I first started teaching the first 2 years were rough in the sick department. Like I had something every week and caught everything from the common cold to pink eye to foot and mouth.

8 years later, it's been a long time since I've caught any of the kid ailments or been sick in general.

It happened to most new teachers I know too. It just takes time to build immunity.

I'm not the biggest of over sanitizing but when I was full time teaching I had the kids Clorox wipe desks on Friday and I wiped down the most commonly used stuff as well. I also always grabbed a new water bottle and coffee cup everyday. Now that I still work in a school but just have office space I wipe down stuff periodically.

Also make sure there's a stack of Kleenex. Our school only provides so much so I bring my own. The cost is worth it to not have snotty nosed kids (even HSers) wiping it on their hand/sleeve.

Lastly, have him change clothes and shower when he gets home to get rid of the day's slime. I feel so much better and a lot less dirty.

Karen1998 · November 2012

Ditto the PPer about Claritin not working on some people. I'm one of them. Doing nothing is just as effective. Try Zyrtec before you rule out allergies. Or heck, get him tested for allergies as that's more accurate anyway.

The Ds won't stop the sneezing. They are decongestants, so they help with the congestion. He'll likely cough more as the congestion runs down the back of his throat and irritates it.

Since he's sneezing a lot, something like Neil Med's Sinus Rinse (like a Neti Pot - same maker, in fact - but easier to use) will probably help him quite a bit. Make sure you use distilled water, though. That's helped me as much, if not more, than medicine.

katie4253 · November 2012

Karen1998:
Ditto the PPer about Claritin not working on some people. nbsp;I'm one of them. nbsp;Doing nothing is just as effective. nbsp;Try Zyrtec before you rule out allergies. nbsp;Or heck, get him tested for allergies as that's more accurate anyway. nbsp;The Ds won't stop the sneezing. nbsp;They are decongestants, so they help with the congestion. nbsp;He'll likely cough more as the congestion runs down the back of his throat and irritates it.nbsp;Since he's sneezing a lot, something like Neil Med's Sinus Rinse like a Neti Pot same maker, in fact but easier to use will probably help him quite a bit. nbsp;Make sure you use distilled water, though. nbsp;That's helped me as much, if not more, than medicine. nbsp;

D allergy meds stop sneezing they just have the added D that dries you up. It will stop the post nasal drip which would help with he sore throat.

tmwishful · November 2012

Everything they said, plus have him try a sinus rinse with the NeilMed bottle or Neti Pot. I do one every night. Clears out excess mucus and germs. Does he get at least 8 hours of sleep?

NewFamily09 · November 2012

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I would love to help him not get sick so much. He's been diagnosed with allergies, mostly cats and dust. We do have a cat, but she has short hair and as long as DH doesn't touch her, he seems fine. These episodes are weird because he only gets sick for about 1 day, 2 at the most and then he's totally fine. So I'm not sure if that sounds more like allergies or a cold to you guys. He's not a new teacher at all. He's in his 13th year or something. I don't know how clean he keeps his room, but he's paranoid about germs at home, so I'd be surprised if he lets the classroom get gross. He changes his clothes as soon as he gets home but doesn't shower and maybe doesn't throw all his clothes into the wash. There might be some pants he wears 2x. I used to be a teacher too, before the kids were born. I taught kindergarten and first grade and I guess that built up my immune system really well because I almost never get sick. I seriously only get a cold about once or twice a year at the most. But then, I don't work outside of the home, so I'm probably not exposed to nearly as many germs as he is.

Maybe the illnesses will subside soon because he actually resigned from his job (I think I posted about that a few weeks ago). So after December, he won't be a teacher anymore.

sugarbear0524 · November 2012

I'm sure it can get annoying. But, don't you think it's annoying for him too? He's the one who feels bad. Put yourself in his shoes. Don't you think he'd rather feel good than bad? Try to have a little compassion for him.

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