purple, and on the mend

It's Tuesday, but it feels like Monday. We all stayed home and had a very quiet day yesterday, as poor Thomas has a stomach bug and Phillip was fighting an ear infection. (It's always. something.) At several points during the day I thought I might be getting it, too, but so far, so good.

I think I've mentioned Phillip's ears before, and his tendency to get ear infections with almost every cold. He's been on antibiotics several times since September, and I really don't want him to take more if he doesn't absolutely need to, especially since the doctors and pharmacists are having a hard time choosing one that he hasn't had recently or that doesn't give him awful stomach side effects. After his last bout, I decided that I was going to be proactive and come up with a plan. Teresa recommended HerbPharm's Garlic Mullein ear drops (no, this is not an ad and no one paid me a cent!) which I ordered after his last infection, along with an otoscope. He woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday, crying in pain, so we used some Auralgan drops to numb the pain so he could get through the night. We didn't know that those drops existed until his last infection, and the pharmacist recommended them. They are amazing. They numb the ear almost instantly, which is a wonderful thing in the middle of the night. He slept through until morning, when his ear hurt again and I looked at it with the otoscope. It was definitely red in there. I used some garlic ear oil drops in his ear three times yesterday, and twice today. I don't know if that's why, but his ear hasn't hurt since yesterday afternoon. I don't know if the garlic drops worked along with his body to fight off the infection, or if his body just took care of it, but this was certainly the best results we have ever had. Every other time that it's gotten to the point where his ear hurts, it has turned into a full-blown infection. He was thrilled to stay in his pyjamas all day, and he and I both had significant naps in the afternoon. Bonus: he smells like the most delicious garlic bread.
 
This morning, everyone was much better, and things are looking up. Phillip bounced out of bed and was excited to get dressed and get to school, and I was back at work where my home visit was cancelled because that family is sick, too. Hard to avoid, those germs. Thomas still isn't quite right. I'll spare you the details, but he's better than he was. Poor little guy.

So that's what I've been doing for the past few days - you? I hope you're having an uneventful week where everyone's free of pain, food is staying in and taking its usual route, and you're enjoying this first day of May.