Enterovirus 68

[KiddieCahoots]

It is made out of a berry that boosts your immunity. It is sweet and has a great taste. Kids apparently like the flavor but there are a lot of reports that it actually does really well. Similar to the flu vaccine. ..if they are taking it and do get sick it usually is not as bad.

I have heard from friends it is very effective.

http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-elderberry.html

there is a lot of info out there. I have also heard if they are already sick it shuts down the virus and bacteria growth and helps in those cases as well.
I'm crossing fingers.

OT
Not to be a smart a$$ or anything.........
BUT, Hershel on The Walking Dead used elderberries to make a tea to help people that had some sort of flu. Had no idea that was accurate, hmmmm.....

[SignMeUp]

For H1N1, we were given stricter guidelines to follow. The same ones wouldn't apply, because I think it was specific to how that virus presented. But it was something pretty simple like, for cold symptoms, stay home for 24 hours. Then follow the normal child care guidelines - if there is a fever over 101, call your doctor and it may be the influenza virus. If temp is under 101, just follow normal guidelines for a cold.
My parents worried enough about that one that they followed it really well. I don't know that they would now -- too many "scares" since then

[Blackcat31]

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supple...ame=elderberry

This same site/link says:

Because of serious potential risks, elderberry is not recommended for children or for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/supplement-guide-elderberry

I wouldn't be against giving my own child something herbal but I wouldn't give my DCK's this. NOT saying you are...just making the statement in case anyone is considering it.

I know many people who trust and have faith in herbal remedies but for every site you find that says how good it is, you can find another stating the opposite.

It's tough when there is so much info out there. Especially when it's conflicting info.

[TwinKristi]

:: I have one DCM that is "nervous" too...

I can't believe how crazy some of this is getting.

According to the CDC and the info we've been given via licensing and public health, it's the same type of virus that causes HFM and other respiratory illnesses such as RSV....ALL things we see come through every year and if we are diligent about our cleaning, hand washing and exclusion policies we will be doing ALL we can...other than shutting down and just waiting it out.

As soon as they put a name to something, it makes it seem so much more severe... H1N1 for example. It was a strain of the flu. A bad strain but still the flu.

This particular virus is EV-68. HFM is EV-71.

Wonder why no one is freaking out about EV-69 and EV-70

Well to me it's kind of simple. I don't know of any kids hospitalized for HFM, and they said while EV causes illnesses every year, the number of hospitalizations is unprecedented. Same thing happened with H1N1. In my area several people died from it. My family got it and while it wasn't OMG sheer panic, we did have 3 ER trips for pneumonia, multiple rounds on antibiotics, multiple inhalers and countless dr visits between late Dec and mid-Feb. It was not fun! Also like Norovirus... We had a local school shut down because over half the students were out sick, 1/6 of our school's students were home in one day from Norovirus. In a week over half the kids were out at some point. Entire cruise ships infected in a few days. It's crazy! Some things come and hit harder than others and this EV 68 is pretty scary for some.
And of course what used to just be "the flu" now has so many different types snd strains, A, B, H1N1, bird, Noro, Entero....

[Chatter Box]

OT
Not to be a smart a$$ or anything.........
BUT, Hershel on The Walking Dead used elderberries to make a tea to help people that had some sort of flu. Had no idea that was accurate, hmmmm.....

This hilarious thing is...tthat is the very first thing that popped into my head when someone told me they give it to their kids every year. ::

[MOM OF 4]

I'm in an area where it hit...plus it hit my 7yo dd. She's ok, but we thought for sure she'd need the ER. Rather, I took her to an urgent care after a terrible night where she could not breathe, and lots of albuterol, instead and had her checked there. She is on breathing treatments and treatments for symptoms of cold/cough, etc. My other kids have a 'cold' or somethng, but so far no issues, thankfully. But we caught it early enough, like RIGHT at the onset of symptoms (I just had a feeling due to her complaints/what I heard her doing) to where we just try to keep her symptoms at bay (which is ALL the ER will do, and even if they provided O2, so would the urgent care clinic and I can even get a script to administer at home). Poor thing had this BEFORE it came out all over the media. THANKFULLY none of the other kids have it, to our knowledge, though a couple others have a different virus going on (flu-like symptoms on them)

[Blackcat31]

Well to me it's kind of simple. I don't know of any kids hospitalized for HFM, and they said while EV causes illnesses every year, the number of hospitalizations is unprecedented. Same thing happened with H1N1. In my area several people died from it. My family got it and while it wasn't OMG sheer panic, we did have 3 ER trips for pneumonia, multiple rounds on antibiotics, multiple inhalers and countless dr visits between late Dec and mid-Feb. It was not fun! Also like Norovirus... We had a local school shut down because over half the students were out sick, 1/6 of our school's students were home in one day from Norovirus. In a week over half the kids were out at some point. Entire cruise ships infected in a few days. It's crazy! Some things come and hit harder than others and this EV 68 is pretty scary for some.
And of course what used to just be "the flu" now has so many different types snd strains, A, B, H1N1, bird, Noro, Entero....

I know...

I am being somewhat sarcastic about some of it...

Mostly because my point is we can only do so many things to be preventative and the rest (worrying) isn't going to help.

Be diligent about your illness policies, wash hands frequently and make sure you get the rest, exercise and proper nutrition needed.

[Blackcat31]

Here is some really good info I just received

http://www.cdc.gov/non-polio-enterovirus/about/EV-D68.html

[SignMeUp]

I so agree with not over-reacting, but if I were a parent of a preemie infant who is in group care, I would certainly be worried too.
I was the parent of a preemie infant and that infant was in MY group care.
But that was before we worried about and named each individual virus in the world.
If I knew it were in my area and might affect my preemie baby, I would take the steps I deemed necessary to protect him. But I wouldn't put that on my provider Well, I sure hope I wouldn't :: I would hate to be "that parent".