We're a family. We go through the gamut of colds, flu, infections, rashes, and fevers. There are sleepless nights with a feverish baby, a coughing toddler, a puking child, and lots of snot. We deal with ooze from the eyes and sometimes the ears.

I've been on the phone at 2 a.m. with children's health care nurses talking me through fever symptoms, more than once. As a parent, that's what you do. Parents usually get the illness and it takes us three-times as long to recover. It's what we endure as the creator of these little germy miracles called kids. 

My oldest son, Ethan, and I have been treated for strep. My mom has had a couple stomach viruses. My husband has had a lingering sinus-cough-thing. My youngest son, Quinn, has a sinus and ear infection.

Quinn spent his first year with constant ear infections. For his first birthday, we got him ear tubes. He suffered only one ear infection until the tubes grew out this past month. I wish that I had purchased a Dr. Mom Otoscope that first year; it's the medical device doctors use to look in every orifice of your head. It's amazing. An infected ear is disgusting to look at, yet fascinating to watch heal.  If I had the otoscope years ago when Quinn had a constant infection, it would have been a huge relief and time saver. On many occasions, illnesses present trivial symptoms that go untreated until they are out of control.

Strep can present in so many different ways. This was Ethan's first time having strep. It started with a dry, hacky cough. It was enough to annoy me and sounded painful, so we went to the doctor. I was shocked to learn that he had strep because there was no fever, no sore throat, and no throat spots... nothing. Our pediatrician said that her daughter always presents strep with an upset stomach. Other kids get fevers, sore throats and headaches.

A week later, Quinn started the same unproductive cough. I shined a flashlight in his throat. I thought I saw white patches. As Dr. Mom, and so awesome at diagnosing my kids now, I diagnosed strep. The pediatrician's strep test was negative. Quinn's ear was infected.

Two kids living in the same hot bed of germs, sick the same week, similar symptoms, and two different illnesses. Fascinating.

Amidst the strep, ear infection and sinus coughing madness of our household, my ear clogged up. I was sure that it was sinus pressure or something easy to get over. I had my trusty Dr. Mom Otoscope and the manual's pictures that showed "this is what an ear infection looks like." The pictures are clear enough for anyone in the house to tell the difference between a healthy and an infected ear. So, why couldn't Ethan say, "Yes mom, your ear is red and I can't see the pretty silver shiny drum that you're supposed to have." Why couldn't my husband look and see a blazing red ear drum? Why was my mother unable to see that my eardrum was not reflecting light like the picture of the healthy eardrum? For crying out loud people!

Family members misdiagnosed me for a week. I was certain that the feeling of living underwater, not hearing and vertigo would go away because everyone said my eardrum looked clear.  Finally, when I was ready to say "Cut me, Mick" (Rocky movie quote; I was begging for ear relief), I visited Urgent Care and learned that I have a whopping inner ear infection. No fever, no pain, nothing but a little hearing loss and that pressure of feeling like I have water in my ear.  How is that for a lack of presentation?

Lesson learned. Even with the high-tech doctor gadgets that we have, it's probably not safe to diagnose your kids, or even yourself.

We dread sitting in the "sick room" with other infected kids and parents. We dread paying a co-pay to find out it's a virus that must run its course. The co-pay is well worth knowing what's wrong with your kids and how to treat it per doctor's orders.