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Original poster

How do i approach a parent and tell them i suspect.........

60 replies

Kidstrak · 11/12/2006 22:57

That their baby has an allergy to cats?!!!, the baby is 14m i have had him for 6m, when the baby came to me i was told of the excema that covered the skin mostly in the joints, i was told not to use cream on him as they done this at home, (although the creams are in his bag and say 3times daily and he is with me for 8hrs at a time) he scratches his body all the time and i have offered to put the cream on him, but parents say not to bother even though it weeps under his legs. He always is sleepy during the day as he doesn't sleep well during the night, up several times.

Anyway over last few months he has a constanly runny nose and a rattling chest like asthma some days more wheezing than others, but parents say he hasn't got asthma just a cold, but this so called cold has lasted far too long for my liking, poor little thing scratches his eyes also when they water.

Last week i noticed wart like spots on his bottom and said to his parents when they picked him up, they took him to the doctors who said it was a virus he had, and it would prob go away on its own, However earlier this evening i googled his syptoms and pet allergy came up, Cats! They have 2 cats! and the site also states about wart like spots which are a type of Herpes that happens when bacteria get into the excema!

Am i jumping the gun or does this little one have an allergy!!!!!

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Original poster
Kidstrak · 16/12/2006 15:34

hi all thanks for the messages, i spoke with the mum on fri, mum wanted to up the lo hours after xmas so she was here for about an hour discussing when she wanted the little one to be cared for, i mentioned a few things and eventually got on to lo skin, i said as his skin hadn't cleared up she should seek a second opinion from doctor just incase it had become infected and had he ever been tested for a milk allergy or cat allergy she looked at me weirdly and said "do you know i have always wondered about an allergy" god i could of jumped up and down when she said that, infact i could of kissed her, i said if doctors says its infected the i must put the cream on when he's here incase he gets more infected with other kids being here,(talking crap i know but anything to let me put cream on him) So hopefully now when she takes lo to the doctor he will pick up on all that she is saying and give new prescriptions that i can then put on him! Still waiting on the supposed call from HV but not that it matters now.

OP posts:
Kelly1978GotRunOverByAReindeer · 14/12/2006 22:15

I've read through and it really does sound like the mother needs a kick up the arse. That poor little boy clearly needs something, but I don't think you should be applying anything behind her back. I hope you do manage to contact her HV and they can speak to her. My cm can be a pain in the arse and sent the HV round for one of mine for bloody nappy rash which annoyed me, but this is far mroe serious. Further to what kidstrak said, it does sound like a relatively minor kind of neglect - social services call it failure to meet health needs. I know because when I became involved with ss they questioned it of me, but found I was meeting their needs.

FairyTaleOfNewYork · 14/12/2006 22:07

the parents could opbject to that, my dd1 and other children i have known of via eczema groups have reacted badly to aquous cream as it contains lanolin.

tron · 14/12/2006 22:04

elidel is a new cream out that i've found works better than anything for ds eczema, it's not steroid based either. You can use aqueous cream instead of soap, so can't you use it to 'wash' lo before lunch/snack etc etc that way parents can't object to cream and lo get some relief from te itching????

alison222 · 14/12/2006 19:23

My Ds has food allergies and he had bad excemea until they were diagnosed and eliminated from his diet. the excema cleared up practically overnight.

He did also have definate irritatio - would scratch until he bled with some of the food he is allergic to. Just a thought it could be anything.

I also was reluctant to use the steriod cream muc- but I did use it when it was bad. The peadiatrician told me that if I used it more liberally when it wwas bad, in the long run I 'd use less of it and the excema would clear up better too. And she reassured me that the amount and dose he was prescribed would not harm his skin at the rate I was using it.

I too think you need to sit down and share fully your dicomfort about all of this ,and before you do so decide what you will do if the parent still refuses to let you use creams or wont seek further help

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 13/12/2006 18:55

Kidstrak - hope you can get this sorted soon. Poor little thing. Excema with herpes is excema herpeticum and it can be quite serious.

MerryMellowmas · 13/12/2006 18:42

I visited my HV with a concern about someones dc, they had an infection and were not being treated for it. She told me that unless a family member visited her with same complaint nothing could be done.

hoxohoxohoxo · 13/12/2006 18:20

couple of points:

  1. I would love to have someone like you looking after my kids - it's clear that you really care for those in your charge
  2. why not just tell them teh truth? you were concerned so looked up possibilities. any parent would surely be delighted.

good for you !

uwila · 13/12/2006 12:56

I don't know if this is helpful. But my DD gets excema in her joints (mostly inside of elbow). I have found that all the creams sold in Boots and precribed by doctor (though never used steroids) don't really do much. But there is a product sold in the states (and rarely over here) called neosporin that works great. It is an ointment (looks like vasoline) with antibiotics. It comes in a small yellow tube. Occassionally I see it at Boots, but not very often. You might want to try it since the parents have not specifically forbidden you from using this one. And if you put it on in the morning who will ever know???

I haven't read this whole thread, but it does seem odd that they don't want you to put anything on him, yet leave it in the bag.

CMac · 13/12/2006 11:38

I know this is really hard for you kidstrack and that you have tried to talk to the mother, but to be honest i'd be furious if I found out that my childminder had phoned my doctor behind my back. Even though you weren't suggesting cruelty in an upfront way, the underlying message is that you think that the parents are in some way unfit. I realise you've tried to raise the subject a number of times but really think you have to stand up to this mother and just lay it on the line - that you don't feel that you can care properly for the child without doing everything you can to relieve his discomfort, and that if they won't allow you to do that then you don't feel that you are doing your job properly etc etc. Hopefully she would then get the message and sign the form. If not, and she ups and leaves it's her loss as you're obviously a very caring and committed childminder and she'd be mad to let you go.

Original poster
Kidstrak · 13/12/2006 11:05

Ok hi all, misdee the creams you mentioned are the two in his bag the antibiotic ones with the hydrocortozin one and the emouvate also a tub of clear stuff, the tubes are pretty full and rounded but the tubes look that old that the date has rubbed off the stickers, can't even see lo name on them, i have contacted the surgery where the lo is a patient but the docotr cannot speak about his patient to a childminder(i was told confidential and all that crap and its not a case of child cruelty kind of thing), i don't have a contact tele no for the HV but the surgery said they would pass on my concern to the lo HV who i hope will telephone me without phoning mum, so all in all i don't think the creams have been applied on a regular basis, as you mentioned misdee you would have gone through a tube in a week these tubes have been in his bag since he started with me, i now need to contact the care commisision to see what to do next. I feel i want to bury my head in the sand

OP posts:
mrssnoah · 12/12/2006 19:42

Hi again kidstrak.
Agree with edam, I would telephone HV and ask their advice.

PeachyIsNowAChristmasFruit · 12/12/2006 14:54

I mean I did sorry

doh

PeachyIsNowAChristmasFruit · 12/12/2006 14:54

got it wrong way round?

edam · 12/12/2006 14:51

Sounds very odd. I'm not sure they have understood the GP's advice. You've tried to raise it with them to no avail. Poor little boy obviously needs better treatment. I think I'd call his GP confidentially. They won't be able to tell you anything about the family, but you could tell the GP that you are concerned that the little boy has severe/infected eczema yet the parents won't allow you to use anything on his sore patches. You could ask the GP not to mention your name or the phone call but to remind the parents how the creams should be used.

Or you could approach the HV if you know who it is, or your own HV if you still have one.

foxinsocks · 12/12/2006 14:42

eumovate is the one with the steroid

eumobase (we use this like misdee in a 'grab off the shelf' way) is an emollient more greasy than aqueous.

Original poster
Kidstrak · 12/12/2006 14:42

i hear it all the time also with steroid based creams but its only 1% thats used in them, and i had to use it on ds face, but then my ds was on actual steroids because of asthma and also antibiotics for a swollen kidney so i was a bit sceptical of giving him loads of different medicines but then they all helped him, its about not listning to others but listening to thier own gp

OP posts:
PeachyIsNowAChristmasFruit · 12/12/2006 14:37

I think eumovate is aqueous, yes? With a brand name. Is it not cheaper if you buy it plain?

Original poster
Kidstrak · 12/12/2006 14:36

handleme the only way to find out if there is a cat allergy is a skin prick test at the gp, i think this still could be the case, its a possibility but then again it could just be excema thats infected but then linking the wheezing runny eyes and scratching it could all be triggered by an allergy

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 12/12/2006 14:36

I knew you knew that really misdee

yes, I wonder if they are 'at that place' kidstrack. I didn't mention it to slag her off but it's something I hear a lot (and on here) but if she just knew what a difference it could make to the boy she might be more tempted to use the creams.

Also, if it is a cat allergy, it may be that the creams don't work for long if he is still exposed to the animal but they have to drive that forward.

PeachyIsNowAChristmasFruit · 12/12/2006 14:36

Aqueous cream should be OK to use, I wuld have thought? I have eczma and my GP was a specialist who always recommnded Aqueous bought over the counter (cheap as you can imagine) whenever it itched to rpevent scarring as wella sreduce itching, in addition to normal meds. I would ask a chemist about that.

FairyTaleOfNewYork · 12/12/2006 14:34

d'oh my mistake i got eumoBASE

Original poster
Kidstrak · 12/12/2006 14:33

foxinsocks i see what you are saying as i was a bit like that with ds with the steroid creams but i did use them when his skin was bad and i also used an emoillent every day and when i used creams on ds they certainly made a clear visible difference, this lo however in 6m has NO visible difference, i will report back tommorow when i have looked at the creams in his bag, and i will be brave and casually mention the allergy thing, i just feel that all the time mum comes to drop off or pick up that i'm talking about the lo's health

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 12/12/2006 14:33

the eumovate we've got has got a steroid element (it's minute) and it's the one you get off the shelf

FairyTaleOfNewYork · 12/12/2006 14:30

eumovate is just a emoillant, i have bought some off the shelf at tesco in an emergency before.

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