Wife came home from work sick... She's in the bed now all curled up, coughing all over the place. I work from home (in IT).

I had to go buy her soup and I got myself a big bottle of 500mg Vitamin C. She has 240 hours of sick time built up, and literally hasn't called off once in the past 2-3 years, so i KNOW she is sick.

I've been training like a champ, so my immune system is probably lowered.

What can I do to lower the chance I will catch this -- other than sleeping on the couch, our leather couch is terrible, and our son is 6, so needless to say it's got springs popping up in places that make it unsleepable.

you're on the right track to try and limit your exposure to the spousal unit. sleeping apart is a good plan.

wash your hands after touching things she's had contact with.

strep throat just went thru our office because some jacktard thought they were too too important to take a sick day...

If you really want to avoid it, wear a mask and wash/alcohol your hands often. That's really all you can do.

That eliminates both common methods of entry, contact and airborne. You could also have HER wear a mask, but I doubt she'd be up for that.

A recent episode of "Elementary" had Sherlock bouncing on a trampoline to improve the circulation of his lymphatic system, so... worth a shot.

I'm willing to try anything. I thought about creating positive pressure into the room and opening the window a crack -- which actually sounds like the most practical of my other options.

stop training for now, eat and sleep a lot. vitamin c in pill form is overrated, up your intake of citrus fruits, the complex vitamins and minerals do a better job than the synthetic stuff. and yes, avoid her, although, in the same house, it's basically impossible in my experience to avoid it completely.

Going to be tough to avoid, she may have been contagious before she went to work. Wipe down everything with Lysol-type cleaner or wipes. Door knobs, faucet handles, stove knobs, TV remotes, refrigerator door, light switches - anything and everything you can think of. Wash your hands frequently/constantly. Try to avoid rubbing your face and eyes with your hands.

Alternatively try to figure out when she was exposed, estimate the incubation period, work out the most convenient (least inconvenient) time for you to be sick, back out the incubation period and at the calculated time give her a big smooch right on the lips get it over with.

Well, so far so good. A little sore from the couch last night. Lysol'd every door knob, and everything she could have possibly touched this morning.

She did make my coffee this morning, but that coffee heats up so high that she could probably cough right into it and the germs would die immediately.

I'll know when she's feeling better because she will just be randomly cleaning something...lol

Yeah...she's been cleaning all day so I know she's feeling good -- I'm not in the clear yet, because the incubation period is probably between 1 and 4 days.

I have come up with a pretty good plan though, and I've been training anyway, although lighter -- I call it the hot sauce and vitamin C regimen.

Basically I've been eating hot sauce and taking 1G extra vitamin C (in addition to whatever I would normally eat). Been working well so far.

And of course I've kept the bedroom window open with (contrary to my original plan) negative pressure created right there at the window by propping the fan up on a step stool and ensuring the arc of the wind created by the fan fully encompasses the opening in the window. To create a true positive pressure environment leading into the room was going to require a pretty high-powered fan (like the ones the fire departments use to ventillate a home).

Thanks for all the help -- and any additional information / ideas, feel free to post them up.

Honestly, I'd just give her a big ol' kiss, catch it, and get it over with.

Don't underestimate hot sauce and vitamin C. Separate, they may not be that great, but in combination with one another, I think I'm onto something.

Don't forget pure luck, too.

Get some Gan Mao Ling. It's a Chinese herbal formula that helps ward off colds. You can get it through an acupuncturist, or you can get it online. You might also find it at Whole Foods or other places where you can get natural remedies or herbs. Start taking the pills at the first sign of a cold or flu-like symptoms, and take it for a couple of days. You can also do a mechanical "release the exterior." Fill a tub with water as hot as you can stand. put in a tablespoon each of powdered ginger and cinnamon. Sit in the tub until you definitely feel warm, then get out, dry off, and wrap in a blanket and drink something warm--- cocoa, coffee, hot tea, or, even better, ginger and/or cinnamon tea (chai tea works, too!). Stay wrapped up until you break a sweat. Avoid getting chilled, and your done. Don't laugh--- it really works. In Chinese Medicine theory, the sweating pushes the "evil" out. (Basically, expels the virus.)

I hate to say this, but honestly feel it needs to be said.

You can grow up and be there for your wife, who as you point out is REALLY sick, rather than whine about the chance that you might catch it. Yes, taking reasonable precautions makes sense, so do the vitamin C on the off chance that it helps, or whatever else.

But, get real and be a decent guy and take care of your wife.

Yep. And the funny part about all this is that the OP, if he was going to catch this from his wife, would probably have been infected a day or two before she came home and curled up in bed. All his fussing since may have been pointless anyway.

Raw garlic, chilli peppar, and ginger in gut renching amounts!
Your wife won't want you to come close... guaranteed!

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LOL...thanks for the advice.

I joke around a bit, but she's doing good now. She said yesterday "For being such a great father year, we're getting you something extra special because you deserve it."

I literally spent those 72 hours running to the store, getting her chicken soups, then getting her different chicken soups, then getting her dayquil, then bringing her soups and waters, all while working full time, taking our son to and from school, making meals for all of us, putting him to bed, entertaining our son, making sure he was showered/happy/well-taken care of, homework done, house clean, dishes clean and put away, going to the gym after everything else is done and everyone is asleep, attending the PTA functions that she signed up for, taking our son to the activities that he had planned solo (soccer, a pizza party auction), etc etc...

I'm a senior level engineer, so I promise you my work day is, most of the time, very demanding.

My wife and I have been together for 14 years...and I'm a pretty good husband. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the best wife in the world.

Maybe some day I'll take your advice and grow up...or maybe I already have. Sorry for putting a little humor into my posts if it offends you or makes it seem like I'm not "grown up" but I assure you I am...and I assure you that avoiding sickness was the point of this post, not how to be a good husband.

EDIT: She ended up going to the doctor Friday -- they said it was just a common cold that turned into a sinus infection with post nasal drip...so they gave her some antibiotics.

Zinc lozenges, L-Lysine, and Vitamin C are common homeopathic solutions for warding off viruses.

Avoid contact as much as possible. Frequent hand washing, showering, and the use of hand sanitizer for both you and your spouse. Keep tissues close by and dispose of them immediately into a plastic bag. No sharing drinks, food, etc. and keep her out of the kitchen. If you have two bathrooms, try not to use the same one as your spouse. Wiping down door knobs, faucet controls, light switches, etc with an antimicrobial wipe on a regular basis will help. Keep yourself healthy with good nutrition, hydration and plenty of sleep. Your immune system is your best defense, don't let it get run down.