That Time of Year

I have been a little sick for about 11 days.  It started out strong (fever, exhaustion) and calmed down pretty quickly.  Some days I have felt I am on the upswing and some days I have felt I am on the down slide.  Today was a down slide day.

I am washing my hands frequently, drinking fluids, not getting enough rest, and drinking wine. 

I also have a sick daughter.  She has had a cold and cough for longer than I have been under the weather.  The problem is that she is unaware of how to prevent spreading her germs everywhere.  She picks her nose, wipes runny snot onto her shirt sleeve, coughs onto everyone (although I know she's trying to remember to cover her mouth with her arm) and she has no problem touching everything and anything with her germy hands.  It is overwhelming to try and correct every germ spreading behavior every time I look at her, because it feels like it's constant.  There's only so much I can nag. 

She, like me, has had some upswing days and some down slide nights.  Last night was a down slide and had us all up for about an hour and a half due to the babe's hacking cough and inability to calm down long enough to fall back asleep.

I called the pediatrician today and was told I could:

-NOT give her cough medicine
-give her homeopathic soothing honey type substance (not available at a standard drug store)
-give her decaffeinated tea with honey (yes, I did remind them that she is 3 and not yet a tea drinker)
-keep a humidifier running in her room (while the dehumidifier runs simultaneously in the basement)
-use saline drops to loosen the mucus (squirting this up her nose caused her to almost throw up)

If we see a fever, notice any trouble with her eyes, notice ear pain, or anything funky, we are to call immediately.  If the cough doesn't get better by next week, we are to call for an appointment.  At this point it seems like every kid in her class sounds the same, and they are all just spreading their germs back and forth to each other.  I suppose this is the age where this kind of thing is pretty standard. 

Anyway, if you have any tips on how the babe and I can return to our former glory, please feel free to share.