Sick kid at home

Isn't it just awful when your little ones are under the weather? I think I could bear a whole month of being sick if it meant my kids could forgo the experience. They have that sad, vulnerable look in their eyes, and their personalities become that of someone much older (I think.) Owen awoke this morning dry heaving. PR laid down on the floor and slept next to him (he's so good about that...I could never sleep on the floor!) After one blue Pedialyte Icepop, we had a nice blue stain on the carpet, though the poor kid ran full speed to try and make it to the bathroom.
Owen is normally a very neat child- in fact, he's more tidy than his dad. You rarely have to ask him to put something away after he's played with it, and everything is exactly where it belongs- sorted by color or in the specified bins or whatever. It's wonderful! (I know, he'll need therapy later in life thanks to me.) So Owen carried his little plastic "barf bowl" around with him all morning, just in case. (He was so brave and had the best attitude, if only his daddy would take some notes. )
I tried without success to keep Caroline away from him. However, she flocks to him like a fly at a BBQ...he's the ultimate source of entertainment (even if that sometimes involves physical or mental anguish for Caroline.) While I'm thankful his bug only lasted a few hours, especially because his birthday party is THIS Sunday, I"m dreading the wee hours of tomorrow when I have another little sickey who will most assuredly pass it along to PR and I.
Has anyone ever tried Airborne? My dad swears by it, and he travels quite a bit. But I asked my neighbors a few years back (who are both pharmacists) and they completely discount it. Apparently, you can get the same benefits if you take your multivitamin and guzzle tons of water throughout the day. But maybe it's one of those mental things...the placebo effect? Anyway, it wouldn't help me in this situation, I think it' just for cold type symptoms. Maybe someone can invent a magical chewable pill that would instantly stop the upset stomach and upchucking?? (And preferably in a chocolate or fruity flavor? Have you ever tasted that green NyQuil? ICK!)