What do you do when your spouse/partner gets sick?

[CFinCalifornia]

I have CF and I recently moved in with my fiance, and it seems like he might be coming down with a cold (hard to say as he is also a very allergic person).

How do others with CF handle this? We sleep in the same bed, so if he is in fact sick, I'm guessing I've already been exposed, but I suppose I could sleep on the couch the next couple nights if he gets worse.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Printer]

Exposed to what!! A cold, allergy or CF. If you don't know the answers to these questions, you need to attend the CF Clinic when he goes there. Ask every possible question there.

I will tell you that you can not "catch" an allergy or CF but you can catch a cold.

Bill

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Exposed to what!! A cold, allergy or CF. If you don't know the answers to these questions, you need to attend the CF Clinic when he goes there. Ask every possible question there.

I will tell you that you can not "catch" an allergy or CF but you can catch a cold.

Bill

Haha sorry - should have been clearer... I am the one with CF, not him. Edited my post to make that clear.

 

[MichaelL]

Whenever me or my partner feels like one of us is getting sick, we sleep in separate beds. We also try to spend less time around each other. Sometimes we realize later that it was nothing, but it's better than me getting sick. Just a cold sets me back health wise, so it's not worth taking a chance.

 

[mamaScarlett]

Usually by the time my husband is sick, I've already been exposed to the contagious phase of a virus for a few days. That being said for bad colds or coughs we feel its still better to use common sense, and not have him coughing all over me. One of us usually sleeps in the guest room. Same with our kids, we try to take precaution but its usually impossible to avoid.

 

[erock77]

I used to just be Very careful and have my partner be careful too to wash their hands a lot and we'd both do everything we could to boost our immune systems. Super health eating and drinking, rest, etc. A couple times I managed not to catch it, we did share a bed still but didn't really touch or kiss or anything.
I just had a cold this past week, I'm pretty much over it now but by the end I had So much deep mucus to cough up. Most of the time I can get over it, but it has on occasion set off an exacerbation.

 

[LittleLab4CF]

I think it comes down to the consequences when you do get sick. If the average chest infection for your partner puts you in the hospital, you really need medical counseling to figure it out. Living together with isolation protocol requires separate sleeping rooms. Any compromise of that absolute rule pretty much blows the whole game. Whatever you can do practically will help but sharing a sleeping room night after night will contaminate you with anything you can catch.

Take a queue from your day life. If you work around people or have a lot of exposure, basic caution will do. If you are homebound and not resistant to infection, it's a tough decision but I would prefer to die in the arms of my wife than lay alone without human touch.

A CPAP mask arrangement is as close as I can find to protect your breathing in bed. Totally silent, the units filter and condition breathing air and being positive pressure, no untreated air gets in. My wife and I have shared a bed for over thirty years. She has caught more from me than I have from her so consider your partner's health too.

LL

 

[Lena Bean]

By the time we realize my fiance is sick, it's too late for me and I am too. We always take care of each other when it happens, which ever has the worst cold stays in bed (usually me but not always) while the other takes care of them.

 

[CFinCalifornia]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far. Several days later, his symptoms haven't really changed - just off and on stuffiness and sinus headaches- making me think that his spring allergies have come early and causing his sinus headaches. All the same, we've avoided kissing one another just in case. I think if his symptoms had become worse one of us would have slept on the couch. For what it's worth, I do work outside of the home, exposed to people, and my immune system (knock on wood) has been pretty good - I got a cold this winter for the first time in 2 years. But yes, I do need to take any little cold more seriously than the average human being.
Thanks again - appreciate the support.

 

[lilmac1177]

my boyfriend and i live together as well and when he gets sick i usually sleep on an air mattress in the living room (he offers to sleep elsewhere but it gives me a chance to cuddle w/ my kitties as they're not allowed in our bedroom since he's allergic

 

[sdeuber]

no kissing :-(
separate towels
lots of hand sanitizers in every corner of the house
lots of hand washing
I am lucky as I have a milder form of CF but I would also recommend a face mask for him and you.

 

[Kelly Rachell]

I'll take care of him until healed