Is your bathroom ready for the icky-sicky bugs that are going around? Mine usually is but we haven’t had the flu since 2003 and we haven’t had a tummy bug for about 8 years. I believe we’ve done so well because we’ve been very diligent about taking a good quality probiotic.

Be Prepared

While we were being treated with antibiotics for Lyme we had plenty of side effects that kept us in the powder room which is when I began keeping my bathroom ready and stocked for anything that might come our way.

Last night my 9-year-old son woke up with a terrible pain in his tummy! It was a long night with the “double-ended” sickness and because I haven’t fully stocked my bathrooms in our new house, my husband and I had to scurry through the house looking for things.

My Bathroom

Here’s what I usually keep in each bathroom and you should too!

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Activated Charcoal – I’ve talked about charcoal before and it’s one of the most important things to keep in the bathroom for those late night tummy bugs. Charcoal absorbs toxins and gently rids them through your bowels. Take 2 with water and then 2 every hour as needed. Be sure to replace necessary minerals when you’re well.

Ginger – You’ve heard of ginger, ginger tea, ginger in Asian food etc. We keep ginger capsules in the medicine cabinet and in every bathroom. Ginger is an anti-spasmodic and works wonderfully for tummy aches, gas, bloating and even acid reflux. Take 2 capsules with plenty of water. Ginger can cause some burning in your throat if you don’t drink enough water.

Young Living Peppermint Essential Oil – Peppermint is such a wonderful oil. It is also an anti-spasmodic and when rubbed in a circle on the tummy it can soothe and calm irritated intestines and tummy aches. Be sure to always dilute your peppermint oil or you could burn your skin. Just squirt a little almond or jojoba oil into your hand, add 1 drop of peppermint oil and rub on the tummy.

Thieves Household Cleaner –  Thieves is an absolute must. I haven’t used chemical cleaners in my home since discovering Thieves Household Cleaner. One bottle lasts me a good 6 months because it’s concentrated. I simply fill an empty glass cleaning bottle with a capful of Thieves concentrate and then add water. Thieves will kill almost all the germs, seriously, it’s just as good if not better than typical cleaners including bleach.

Personally, Thieves smells amazing and when I’ve used it in the past it has halted the tummy bug to where no one else got it.

Plastic trash can – You should keep a small dollar store plastic trash can under the sink in each bathroom. This is because when your little Johnny gets sick and needs to throw-up while sitting on the toilet, you can simply grab that trash can. Rinse it out after each episode and then when they’re ready to go to bed they can keep it beside them just in case.

Small water bottles – Keeping small water bottles in your linen closet or under the sink makes it easy to take Ginger or Charcoal and it’s also helpful to soothe a sore throat after throwing up.

Paper towels – Let’s face it, when you have littles they might miss their target and having paper towels handy makes cleaning up quick and easy.

Don’t get caught having to scurry around your house in the middle of the night looking for the things you need for when someone wakes up sick.

You’ll be so glad you at least have everything right there and ready to grab when you need it.

A tip for keeping yourself and your kids from getting these bugs in the first place is to keep a good diet with limited sugar, take a probiotic every day, and of course the most important thing – wash your hands often. Skip the antibacterial, they don’t work and disrupt your hormones. Plain old soap does wonders.