Aging Begins at 30

An Unwelcome Gift to Grandma and Grandpa

You have a cold and sinus trouble again. Have you been visiting your grandchildren?

Children in preschool or with preschool siblings get their virus introduction and ear infections very early. Little children are hopelessly unsanitary. Their snotty noses run, they put everything in their mouths, and they get secretions on their hands and contaminate whatever they touch. A small dose of virus can give you immunity with few symptoms but a big dose can go down in your chest and cause trouble. It is important not to get big doses. Grandparents with asthma or other chest trouble probably should not baby-sit small children with infections. The rest of us usually help when needed. Be as sanitary as possible. Use tissues or a dampened paper towel to clean the baby's face. Use disinfectant liquid soap at the sink instead of soap bars that can be contaminated. Wash your hands and keep them away from your face. If you do get an infection for which your doctor feels you need an antibiotic, remember to tell your doctor where you got the infection to help choose the best antibiotic.

Your grandchildren shed large quantities of bacteria or viruses so the dose you are exposed to is large. The larger the dose, the greater the risk of infection. Cot rails or a toy that in themselves are not harmful but harbor lots of germs.

"Mother can you help?" I have two children sick with fever and tummy ache. I cared for a yellow grandmother who several weeks after a visit to ailing grandchildren in Arizona developed hepatitis A and a phone call confirmed that the grandchildren were yellow too.

Chicken pox exposure can lead to shingles (herpes zoster) in a grandparent or an outbreak in a nursing home. Without prompt treatment, shingles can cause long lasting chest pain or irreversible damage to an eye.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a lung infection of infants in late fall or early spring, which causes lung tube infection (bronchiolitis) and pneumonia. It usually infects half of the children exposed. It can be reduced greatly in hospitals by the use of gloves (or intensive hand washing) and gowns. This prevents doctors and nurses touching their eyes and nose with contaminated hands. Outbreaks of RSV can occur in nursing homes.

Of course the traffic of germs can go both ways. I have known families where grandpa's "chronic bronchitis" turned out to be tuberculosis and several of the children and grandchildren were infected before the true nature of the cough was diagnosed. This is not so common now but one needs to be aware of it.

Coming into this world means meeting up with a Pandora's box of infections. When done in infancy , it makes a person protected for most of life. There is, however, a lessening of protection in elderly grandparents. Do care for your grandchildren but try to let them keep their viruses to themselves.

Section Top | Title Page

See related Patient Topics Common Cold, Infections or Viral Infections.

See related Provider Topics Infections or Viral Infections.

All contents copyright © 1992-2004 the Author(s) and The University of Iowa. All rights reserved.

http://www.vh.org/adult/patient/internalmedicine/aba30/1996/grand.html