It has got to be statistically pretty rare to have a not-yet-two year old get x-rayed twice in one year for completely different issues and not have something be off, but such is our lives this evening. Lily's strange medical history has been well documented here, and today adds another chapter.

We were dancing to the Wiggles in the kitchen, like we usually do when I'm cleaning, and Lily wanted to jump, which she still needs a bit of help with. So she grabbed my hands with hers and jumped and jumped...and then tried to kneel down suddenly while still holding my hands. She didn't slip, just wanted to try something new, and pop. There goes the elbow. She flashed that instant look of "oh shit, momma, that hurts!" followed by the agonizingly silent crying that proceeds the wails of pain. It was like having a horrible flashback to falling down the stairs. God have mercy. There is nothing in this world worse than a kid in pain.

Did you know that there are several vaccines that are specifically made for adults, and people are not taking advantage of them?  According to a survey by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, most adults have trouble naming diseases that could be prevented with a simple inoculation.  

Take for example, shingles. There is a vaccination for shingles available which only two percent of Americans ages 60 and older received during it's first year available.  According to the CDC, more than 1 million new cases of shingles are reported a year and it's described as follows:

Shingles is described as an excrucitiating rite of aging that causes a blistering skin rash. Up to 200,000 of them develop a complication of severe nerve pain that can last for months or even years. If you've suffered from chicken pox, you're at risk; especially once you hit your 60's, because the chickenpox virus hibernates for decades in nerve cells until erupting again.

There is a disclaimer to the vaccine though...

The shingles vaccine, Merck & Co's Zostavax, isn't perfect, but it cuts in half the risk of shingles - and those who still get it have a much milder case.

Personally, I've never suffered from shingles. In fact, whenever I even hear the word, I automatically think of a roof. But if I can get a shot that can prevent me from experiencing ANY type of pain, I'm gonna get it.

Other adult vaccinations that are available? A booster shot against whooping cough and against tetanus and diptheria. Whooping cough is described as follows:

The cough so strong it can break a rib is making a big comeback, because the vaccine given to babies and toddlers starts wearing off by adolescence. Older patients usually recover, but whooping cough can cause weeks of misery. Worse, those people can easily spread the illness to not-yet-vaccinated infants, who can die from the bacterial infection, also called pertussis.

The pertussis booster was added to another long-recommended shot, a booster against tetanus and diphtheria that adults should get every 10 years. The new triple combo is called "Tdap." Sanofi-Aventis's Adacel brand is for ages 11 to 64. There also is a version for 10- to 18-year-olds, GlaxoSmithKline's Boostrix.

Other vaccinations mentioned were the HPV vaccine, as well as the flu shot.

I'm all for keeping my children up to date with their vaccinations. What I never realized was that there were vaccinations available for me. What do you think, MT's? Would you get these vaccinations? Are YOU "up to date"?

This is the first year that we ambitiously decided to jet about, weather be damned, and visit both sets of parents. It has been a blur of planes, trains, and automobiles. Snowy vistas, flight cancellations, Indian call centers, Afghani cabbies, airports before dawn. What was I thinking?

The very thing that I looked forward to the most--togetherness with my family and eating delicious food-became nightmarish. Of the 14 people that congregated in Northern Wyoming, 9 were ill. The toll is still mounting. All of the children and half the adults were wracked with a violent stomach flu. Others had colds and flu. No matter how sumptuous the feast-no one wants to eat when babes are puking nearby. Our togetherness became a worst case scenario of cross-country contagion.

My favorite moments, not surprisingly, happened outdoors, away from the claustrophobia of germy interiors filled with ailing relatives and barf buckets. I strapped on my dad's cross country skis and carved some trail with my aunt. The sky was stunningly blue and clear, the snow fresh and deep. In a neighboring field, some dark horses stood around a hay bale, exhaling little clouds. In the high altitude, my blood was really pumping. I followed deer and rabbit tracks through the woods. The mountain beauty was ecstatic.

Less ethereal moments no less ecstatic: building a snow woman with my sister. We made her a battle-axe, with a spectacular bust and booty. My mate and brother-in-law built a snow man with his own special features. We created a whole narrative about the snow persons, meeting at a bar. Or at the company holiday party. It was a love story of sorts. An extremely ribald one.

My dad tied a couple of ropes to the back of an ATV and pulled us in sleds up and down the snow-packed dirt road. The tobaggans skittled around, banking off snow piles and slamming into each other. Later, we played a great game I want to recommend: Apples to Apples. It's a word game that takes 10 seconds to learn, and you'll laugh your ass off. You won't even care about winning or losing-it's that good.

While we were in Northern Wyoming, I was wished a Merry Christmas by countless strangers in stores. It became a little disconcerting. Every time, I thought, "How do you know I'm not Jewish?" People here take the "War on Christmas" very seriously. Or do they? I was constantly pondering this phenomenon. Has it always been the custom to use those words--and NO OTHER EXPRESSION--or is this just what happens in areas where there is little to no religious diversity?

Elisa and I have a friendly rivalry about hygiene: she bathes her kids religiously every day, while I let my son go a day or two between baths. Sometimes more. My son enjoys his baths immensely, and doesn't fight them. It's just that it doesn't take much for bathtime to get bumped down our priority list. Sometimes it's due to laziness, sometimes it's busy-ness. Sometimes it's poor planning. Sometimes we just prefer to socialize.

The other day, our husbands were teasing each other about our families' respective hygiene proclivities, and Markos said in defense of Elisa's high standards, "Well, Jude always has snot running out his nose." Touché! It's true--my boy sports a glistening snail trail under his nose a good half of the winter months.

Coming to the defense of my relative "earthiness" is Katherine Ashenburg, who was recently interviewed in Salon about her latest book "The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History." Ashenburg's overview ranges around the world and the centuries, describing trends, beliefs, and methods. The Roman aqueducts, the Greek's drastic exfoliation, the German's belief in the manliness of cold showers...

In general, Europeans and Christians come out the filthiest. I may go days without bathing, but I still reside on the far end of the clean spectrum compared to the 17th century French. Skunk de pew! The belief spread throughout Europe that bathing opened your pores and let the Black Death come in, so getting wet was considered perilous.

Ashenburg believes that modern American hygiene habits are "bizarrely fastidious," and that the pendulum has swung too far, surpassing the bounds of sense. There is more pressure than ever before to wash more. At the same time, people have never needed to bathe less--or at least those of us with plenty of labor-saving devices and desk jobs. Then there's the "hygiene hypothesis," which has surfaced in several Mothertalker dairies in reference to rising rates of allergies in children.

But didn't at least one doctor you interviewed argue that the most important thing for preventing disease in terms of cleanliness -- hand washing -- is actually one that many Americans do inadequately?

Yes. That's a very good point. This was Dr. Germ, or Dr. Gerba, which is his real name. He has sent his researchers into public washrooms and found that only about 15 percent of people there actually wash long enough and with soap.

So much of our current interest in cleanliness is really about appearance and not ever smelling like a human being. If we smell like mangoes or vanilla and our face looks clean and our teeth are paper white, that's good enough. But really the one seriously disease-preventing practice of hand washing is not done enough.

My daughter has had some of the most unlucky ailments. Her broken leg, followed quickly by strep throat which is highly unusual in kids under the age of 2. Then Friday, DH and I were slightly concerned by a few bumps on her back- they weren't bothering her, no fever or anything, so we decided to keep an eye on them. I guess DH's idea of "keeping an eye on them" is "watch them spread and not call my wife or anything" because when I returned from an all-day event on Saturday, I was shocked by the spread of the hives. I called the pediatrician on Sunday and he said to give her Benadryl and if it gets "worse" to come in, but it sounded like a reaction to... something.

Fast forward 48 hours- she has hives all over her body. DH and I have another one of our now famous disagreements about the severity of the hives- should we let the Benadryl work its course? If the hives spread, but are less red, are they worse or better? Gah. I highjacked her and took her to the doctor anyway- and once there, the Doctor felt pretty confident the hives were the work of the itch mite.

Do you know your child's medical history? What if your child was suddenly ill or injured and required emergency care. Would the sitter know how to answer a doctor's questions? How about your child's day care? Teacher?

According to this article, you should make a list.

If your child is ever ill or injured and requires emergency care, doctors, nurses, and paramedics will have many questions about his or her medical history. And even if you know all the answers in a calm moment, the most organized parent might not be able to remember the details of a child's health history in a stressful situation.

That's why it's important to keep a comprehensive record of your child's health information nearby. In many cases, this information can help a medical professional make quicker diagnoses and decisions during an emergency, when each second counts.

So, what should you have on this list?
1. Allergies. Include prescription and non-prescription allergies, reactions to insect bites and food allergies.
2. Medications. List any medication your child is currently taking, prescription and non-prescription. Include doses, dosing schedules and when taken last.
3. Pre-existing illnesses or conditions.
4. Hospitalizations and operations.
5. Immunizations. Include information about any reactions your child may have had following an immunization, such as seizures, high fever, or severe discomfort.
6. Height and weight.

The article advises to compile this record and keep copies in accessible places, such as on your refrigerator, one in each car, one at your workplace, on in your bag or wallet, and one for your child's day care and babysitter.

Don't forget to add the name and number of your child's doctor!!

I am very angry at my husband today. As I've said in previous posts, Lily's had some issues with health lately- her recent broken leg and cast issue, and then she caught Strep Throat. This morning, the rash that had tipped me off to her having strep 9 days ago came back, full force- all over every exposed part of her body, including her little face. My husband was tired when I left for work (he is home with her for the summer) because she had been up all night fussy and uncomfortable. I mentioned the rash, he insists she was fussy because she was gassy.

Gas is his excuse EVERY TIME SHE IS FUSSY. I cannot stand it, the second the words leave his mouth, I have the urge to bash him over the head with any object slightly heavier than a pillow. Everything is Gas. It is beyond irritating.

I officially have one unlucky baby. Somewhere in the trips to the doctors office, Lily got sick. Fever / rash sick. It isn't horribly surprising because of all the trips- hospital to doctor back to the hospital. What IS surprising is that she has strep throat! Even the doctor was shocked that, at 14 months, she would catch it. I am just so glad we have a great doctor's office, because he said he wouldn't normally even test for it, but JUST in case, since it would be hard to bring her back with the whole harness-carseat thing, he figured he'd give it a try.

Thankfully, once you know it's strep the treatment makes you feel a lot better pretty quickly. Still, I'm only half kidding when I told my mom I'm prepared to take her to church for the exorcism. Poor unlucky baby! All this drama in a less happy baby would be unbearable.