5 Tips for Surviving Covid in Your House

Two weeks ago my youngest daughter started feeling sick. Because we knew numbers were going up and there was a chance she was exposed, we got her tested immediately with a rapid test. 

Shortly after taking the test, we received the positive test results. Within minutes of getting the results I was in the car on my way to school to pick up the other 2 kids. Within hours we had segregated the sick kid away from the rest of the house, called all our close contacts and signed up to get the rest of the family tested. 

I can happily say that no one else in the house ever tested positive or got sick. Here are my tips for getting through this very stressful time without anyone else getting sick.

1. As much as possible, separate the positive case away from the rest of the house. The sick child had one dedicated bathroom to use. The rest of us used other restrooms. We are lucky to live in Scottsdale and the weather has been nice, so I dedicated a section on the patio and backyard for her. She stayed in her room 90% of the time. I was pretty much her personal butler getting her food, drinks, craft supplies, but it kept her in her room and occupied. It was worth it to keep everyone else from getting sick. 
2. Everyone needs to wear a mask. In the house, everyone wore a n95 mask any time they were outside of their bedroom. Every.single.time. If I was going into her room to take her temperature, clear the dirty dishes or check on her, I wore a mask, face shield and gloves. Hand sanitizer was used in abundance by everyone. 
3. Open the windows. As much as we could, we left the windows and doors open. The fresh air was good for all of our spirits and the air flow is supposed to limit the virus from spreading as easily.
4. Eat outdoors. We all ate outside, separated by at least 6 feet. Since we would need to take off our masks in order to eat, it just made sense for us to eat outside away from each other. 
5. Use mouthwash as much as possible. I had read this article about how mouthwash was potentially almost as effective as masks at stopping the spread of covid-19 in a household with a positive case. I put a bottle of mouthwash in every bathroom. Every time we used the restroom, we used the mouthwash when we washed our hands. It is just a theory but if it even helps a little bit, it is an easy trick to help protect the rest of the family. 

No joke- it was two of the most stressful weeks I have experienced. She was very sick and since she has asthma, we were very worried about her. And then after about 5 days of being sick, she did start to feel much better. But then the stress turned to keeping her occupied while needing to stay separate. Thank goodness for Amazon, I bought pony beads to make bracelets for friends, stress balls, and coloring books to keep her occupied. 

I am happy to say we made it. No one else in the house got sick. And I can thankfully hug all my children again.  I hope none of you have to go through this experience too. But just know that there will be an end to living the covid nightmare in your house. 

Please comment below on ways you got through a positive test in your house! We are all in this together!