To think 24 hrs is not enough..

[FujimotosElixir]

Received a newsletter from school, after a lengthy explanation about how they were cracking down on absence and lateness etc,etc underneath it stated the incubation period after diahorrea and sickness/virus is only 24 hrs!!!, marvellous (!), I work in care, I cannot be anywhere near a client before 48 hrs, when I was at school it was 48 hrs. How can this be seen as acceptable? Kids in close proximity to each other for 6 hours a days coughing and hooping in the same room all day? AIBU to think this is just bit right?

[FujimotosElixir]

*just not right

[lotsoffunandgames]

It's 48hrs in the area I live. I don't think 24 hours is enough. I know alot of parents who lie and send them in after 24 hours tho or less!

[EmmaGellerGreen]

Same in Ds's school and it always has been.

[FujimotosElixir]

Hmm,I see that's odd, its extra cheeky considering the newsletter attendance essay,

[TheFairyCaravan]

The NHS guidelines are 48 hours. If I was in your position and my child got D&V, I'd email the school telling them they wouldn't be in until they had been clear of symptoms for 48 hours. I'd helpfully provide an attachment with the NHS guidelines on too!

[Madeyemoodysmum]

www.nhs.uk/conditions/Norovirus/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Here it clearly states 48 hrs. I'd be writing to the school if I were you. What if there are immune comprised children attending. This is what comes of the ridiculous attendance policy. Thanks Gov!

[Lucked]

E-mail and ask for clarification and send a link to the government public Heath guidance for schools.

Do head teachers really get to decide this? I would have though public health set the rules and schools would have to adhere.

[AvonleaAnne]

Our school went down to 24 hours but the levels of sickness got so bad that they put it back to 48 hours again.

[Lucked]

government guidance link.

At th end of that document is the public health contact details for the different areas of England. I don't know how old that document is though.

[FujimotosElixir]

Thanks for replies, I may ring up or email them on this re. Gov guidelines its just poor imo

[Rubygillis]

Our pre school (in Australia) is 24 hours from the last vomit/runs. I haven't noticed a great deal of sickness there, in fact my DS is having his first ever day off because of sickness as he was sick last night.

One thing I have wondered, how do you pass on stomach bugs? Obv if you throw up on someone but once the symptoms have passed, how is it passed then?

[Rubygillis]

It is tricky because my DS was sick at about 1am, and then woke up fine, if tired and pale. Completely normal all day. I kept him off today but it does seem a bit silly to keep him off for another healthy day.

[mummytime]

I got special permission for one of my DDs to go back after 24 hrs, but that was after her 4th bout of sickness in 2 terms. Both the teachers and I suspected it was the same bug, and she was probably shedding virus all the time (I believe we informed the immune compromised girl's parents of this).

Rubygillis - back when it was just 24 hours my DS was sick on Sunday, so off for Monday. Was fine so back to school on Tuesday. Then Tuesday evening was sick and proceeded to keep being sick for the next 3 days. 48 hrs would have caught this.

[Rubygillis]

So is that why we have the 48 hour rule, in case they aren't actually better, or is it because they are contagious even when they seem better?

[lotsoffunandgames]

It's because they may still be contagious rubygillis.hospitals advise visitors to allow 48 hours too. People (kids especially) touch there faces, mouths etc.don't wash their hands properly and things, surfaces etc they touch could pass on the bug.

[pyrowall]

The document linked to above is only 12 months old - published Sept 14 and are the current PHE guidelines

[Mistigri]

That NHS link is about norovirus. The advice has been extended to all cases of D&V which I dont think is necessarily evidence-based or helpful.

Schools don't impose any waiting period after D&V here (we're abroad) and tbh it doesn't seem to affect sickness rates. Parents use their own judgement or ask the GP. We've had no school-contracted vomiting-type viruses at all (in a combined 20 odd school years between them), and I've sent DS to school a couple of times within 24 hours of vomiting when it was plain that he didn't have a sickness bug.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

It always used to be 24 hours, when my dses were in primary school, but that is quite a number of years ago, and norovirus hadn't reared its ugly head at that point.

[SquinkiesRule]

Our US school was 24 hours after the last bout of vomiting or runs. There was no increased illness over what I see in Dd's UK school.
But every classroom had their own wash basin, washing was encouraged and the teachers had a giant bottle of hand sanitizer and would stand at the door and they'd all get a squirt as they entered, and before they went off to lunch.

[Spidertracker]

It was always 24hrs when I was at school in the 90s. DH and I both work in schools and have to have 24hrs after last bout but 48hrs for the children

[Mrscog]

It's different for adults bringthenoise as they are capable of practicing good hygeine whereas children aren't. The main transmission is poo to mouth, so as long as you wash hands well after loo and before eating it's actually quite hard to transmit. Breathing on someone wouldn't transmit the virus.

[Verbena37]

The HPA (Health Protection Agency) stipulate 48hrs after last bout of either D and or V

[Verbena37]

Oops, they are now PHE obviously.