A few weeks ago, I caught the tail end of a friend’s conversation on Facebook. She was asking if anyone knew if lice could be spread without direct head-to-head contact, and many Moms were jumping in with their own war stories and tales of the itchy little critters. (Let’s all pause for a collective… “OMG”.)
Now normally conversations of this nature would have me scrolling down quicker than you can say “pass the fine-toothed comb”, but this time, a horrible thought occurred to me:
Ryder has started school. Which means he is now sharing a space with many other children. Hence, he is no longer immune to the breeding ground of bacteria that is often referred to as the classroom. O.M.G.
And so the paranoia began (as we knew it would), and at precisely 11:37pm I found myself Googling lice, cold and flu germs, common warts, strep throat, pink eye, and pretty much everything else that can be passed from child to child at an alarming rate. Ladies and gentlemen, there’s some scary stuff out there.
Seriously, how do Moms of school-aged children do it? How do you stay calm, knowing you’re relinquishing your baby into a cesspool of germiness?
(Okay, so germiness isn’t technically a word, but it is nevertheless understood by hypochondriacs everywhere.)
Thankfully, I didn’t go down a dark path for too long. In between my searches for conjunctivitis and ringworm, I realized that part of being a parent is being the voice of reason. And that my boys’ reaction to any childhood illness or condition will be a direct reflection of MY reaction – and that’s why I had to get a grip, and fast. Why should I make them feel bad over something that isn’t anyone’s fault, and really isn’t the end of the world?
So, I stopped panicking and decided to use some common sense. As in, I’ll cross that bridge if/when I come to it, and in the meantime, I’ll make myself aware of the available options out there. After all, one of the best ways to avoid panic is to be prepared!
And so I’d like to introduce you to my “Things That Keep Me Up at Night” series – where I’ll discuss some common childhood complaints (and my resulting insomnia from thinking about them) plus showcase sanity-saving products that you should keep in your medicine chest – or at the very least, keep on your radar – should you ever need them.
I figured I would tackle one of the decidedly unsexy topics first – warts. (I know. Ew.)
Here’s the deal. The HPV strain that causes common warts is quite resistant and can be transferred from person to person by shared objects… especially the kinds of objects that kiddos share. Children can pick up HPV – and get warts – from touching anything someone with a wart has used, like towels and surfaces.
Sanity-Check: Warts don’t generally cause any problems, so it’s not always necessary to have them removed. Without treatment, it can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for a wart to go away. However, most Moms will choose to remove warts to keep them from spreading to other parts of the body.
Sanity-Saver: WartFreeze Hand and Feet Wart Remover. Until recently, treating warts with cryotherapy (applying low temperature treatment to tissue) meant a visit to the doctor, time missed from work/school, and the inconvenience for returning for multiple visits should the wart prove resistant to the first round of therapy.
WartFreeze is based on the cryotherapy method used by general practitioners and dermatologists. Unlike other cryotherapy products on the market, Wartfreeze requires absolutely no assembly (score!) and has an easy 1-piece ready-to-use applicator. It dispenses an exact metered-dose of treatment directly to the wart for optimal efficacy (which also eliminates product waste). As a result, the treated wart will fall off 10 to 14 days after treatment, leaving a new layer of skin.
(If the wart does not disappear after ten days, you can treat the wart again. Each wart can be treated with WartFreeze a maximum of four times.)
The product is available at pharmacy and grocery chains across Canada including Rexall, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Walmart. The MSRP is $24.99 CDN.
So friends, don’t stay up at night sweating the small stuff. If your child currently has a wart, consider WartFreeze as a quick, convenient and almost painless solution. And if you’re like me, you’ll want to have a package in your medicine chest should the need arrive.
Tune in next time for another edition of “Things That Keep Me Up at Night” – with more tips for surviving the stuff kids like to share – you know, the icky stuff.
This post was sponsored by Wartfreeze. As always, the opinions on this blog are my own.
Great post! That’s the worst part of them starting school, colds all the time!
Tell me about it! The entire house (except for my husband) has been sick since Ryder started school. Poor Reid was down with a double ear infection this week! Gah!
We have been through so many common ailments over the course of the kids school years and even before. The worst has been the molluscum contagiosum that my 2nd and youngest daughter have been afflicted with. It’s like warts, but they clear up on their own within 2 years. It has left my daughter scarred though, plus kids tease her because it looks like she has warts all over her arms and legs.
Julia, thank you for telling me about molluscum contagiosum. I’ve actually seen a few children with the rash and always wondered what it was – now I know, and I know to be sensitive about it, because I can see how it would be hard on your daughter :(
They will be healthier in the long run for having been exposed to germs. I personally feel that the overuse of antibacterial hand sanitizer, antibiotics, and other such products has weakened our collective immune systems, thereby making us all more susceptible to common illnesses. I was a teacher for over ten years, and I never got lice, warts, pinkeye, or anything else besides the common cold and a stomach virus now and then. But just going out in public anywhere you can catch that stuff. Sure, kids are more likely, but again, as they are exposed to things, their immune systems will become stronger and eventually they will be more able to fight off some of that. :-) Hang in there Mom it’ll be okay!
You’re absolutely right. Although I shudder at all the classroom maladies, the point is that he simply must begin to build his immune system, and there’s no better way than immersing himself in it. I’ve heard of so many “North American” diseases because we simply are too cautious about a little bacteria. He’ll be okay and I’ll do my best to stop freaking out!!
Wow, what timing. I took my daughter to the doctor a couple of weeks ago because she was complaining of a lump on the sole of her foot – I had no idea but it turned out to be a plantars wart. The doctor did use cryotherapy while we were there but advised that if it remained we should buy our own to administer at home. Dear daughter (9) wanted to try the medicine pads first because it hurts just a bit to do the freezing. Anyway, long story short, the pads didn’t work well and I picked up Wart Freeze two days ago. Since it takes 10-14 days, I don’t know yet if one application will work but I can attest to the fact that it is super easy to use. My daughter said that it hurt but that lasted less than a minute. Fingers crossed that once is enough! But if not, the package contains enough for 15 applications.
Wow, thank you so much for chiming in! Crossing my fingers that the WartFreeze works for DD, and quickly :)
Yep, I agree with you, dannyscotland – it’s like letting my kids play outside in the dirt. It’s good for them, healthy for their immune systems, and hey, it keeps life interesting! = )
LOVE. It IS good for their immune systems – and a little runny nose never killed anyone ;)
I love that your not afraid to talk about this stuff. I think about all the icky stuff my girls catch all the time. Thank goodness for the chicken pox vaccine! One less thing to worry about. We’ve dealt with our fair share of warts but didn’t even know home freezing was available. Will be one for the medicine chest! Thanks for letting us know about it.
YES! Don’t know if I’d be able to survive chicken pox, LOL! And I am so pleased that cryotherapy is now available at home, because it is the standard for removal at the doctor’s. Good luck!
I’m not afriad of germs but I am afraid of warts because my BF has them all over his hand. We have tried the medicated pads with little success :( Might be time to freeze the suckers.
Oh, that is a tricky situation :( Let me know how you make out.
Oh yes, all the ‘lovely’ things kids can pick up at school or daycare! Now if only you could buy something to prevent/cure the bad language and weird ideas they come home with too. lol!
OMG it’s SO true!!! Laughing like crazy over the “weird ideas they come home with”!
I think it gets worse as they get older; mono was the worst thing my daughters picked up at school.
Anne! Don’t scare me, LOL! Seriously though, they made it out ok, right? I guess they all do. I’m sure we worry too much.
WartFreeze Hand and Feet Wart Remover sounds like a solution, but for Things That Keep Me Up at Night are not a good strategy for a parent. Our parents took care of us and we grow up healthy and our kids will do the same. I have grown up kids and I went through all that.
You’re right, Margaret – not worth staying up at night sweating the small stuff. Although I do freak out from time to time ;)
Lice and colds seem to pass really frequently at school and daycare. At least for lice the schools seem to let you know if anyone else in their class has it. Then the fun begins!
amazing post. made me feel more normal LOL