Why are all the kids sick?

[Wonderinglyy]

My kids keep getting ill, it just keeps rotating, if it’s not my kids it’s someone I knows kids who are ill. It’s either a cold, a cough, both sometimes, vomiting bug… what’s is going on?

Infact autumn 2019 was really bad with a vomiting bug that closed several schools in the north if I remember.

Vomiting bug and a respiratory virus, my DCs schools were among those that closed. At one point DC3 school were teaching all of the children in just two classrooms as so many were off. DC1 was sent home with it and when I collected him the receptionist said he was the 30-something'th child sent home that day (in a school of 250 pupils). DC2 school closed due to lack of staff and as it needed a deep clean. Loads of people I knew had it, I caught it and was coughing my head off for a good 6-7 weeks afterwards. There's been speculation since that covid may have been circulating relatively under the radar as early as November/December 2019 and masked by the cold and flu season but I doubt we'll ever know for certain, however it does show that winter is a bad time for bugs and that children in particular are among the biggest spreaders.

Our family is definitely having a worse time of it this year. More bugs, and the bugs are spreading between us - we’ve just come through a stomach bug that infected 4/5 members of the household. Never before in my DCs’ lives has one of them passed a stomach bug to each other or a parent.

But I think I’m also noticing it more this year, if that makes sense? Previously a cough would mean nothing. A fever would mean calpol and a couple of days on the sofa. Now both mean PCR tests, isolating, etc…

@Hospedia

Infact autumn 2019 was really bad with a vomiting bug that closed several schools in the north if I remember.

Vomiting bug and a respiratory virus, my DCs schools were among those that closed. At one point DC3 school were teaching all of the children in just two classrooms as so many were off. DC1 was sent home with it and when I collected him the receptionist said he was the 30-something'th child sent home that day (in a school of 250 pupils). DC2 school closed due to lack of staff and as it needed a deep clean. Loads of people I knew had it, I caught it and was coughing my head off for a good 6-7 weeks afterwards. There's been speculation since that covid may have been circulating relatively under the radar as early as November/December 2019 and masked by the cold and flu season but I doubt we'll ever know for certain, however it does show that winter is a bad time for bugs and that children in particular are among the biggest spreaders.

Our children’s ward was awful pre Christmas 2019. So many bugs, so many ill children.

Never known a winter as bad and most winters are pretty shit tbh! Eased up a bit after Christmas.

Our Paeds wards are also rammed as is a&e, it’s full of children with coughs and colds as lots of people have forgotten how to deal with ill children at home. That’s on top of our normal winter respiratory viruses.

I’ve got a stinking cold having not had one since before Covid. We’re mixing again having not done so for a year and a half, so all the viruses are spreading.

Our children’s ward was awful pre Christmas 2019. So many bugs, so many ill children. Never known a winter as bad and most winters are pretty shit tbh! Eased up a bit after Christmas.

A relative of mine died from pneumonia due to catching the respiratory bug. I remember A&E being rammed, my dad took ill and or nearest A&E had closed its doors as it was full so he had to be taken to another hospital, they were also on the verge of closing to new admissions but found a bed for him in RATU at the last minute.

@DukkaDukka

Our Paeds wards are also rammed as is a&e, it’s full of children with coughs and colds as lots of people have forgotten how to deal with ill children at home. That’s on top of our normal winter respiratory viruses.

I’ve got a stinking cold having not had one since before Covid. We’re mixing again having not done so for a year and a half, so all the viruses are spreading.

If a parent has got it wrong you don’t let them stay do you?

Or do you check them which is what is making wards full

Not sure how it works

Aren't quite a lot of people getting sick lately picking up bugs? Kids but also adults

I would attribute it to so many of us being locked up for so long to be honest, hadn't done our immune systems a great deal of good

If a parent has got it wrong you don’t let them stay do you?

Or do you check them which is what is making wards full

Not sure how it works

No of course not. If they’re sick they get admitted, if not they go home from a&e. And it’s not about parents getting it wrong, they’re concerned enough to want them seen, but some of them don’t need to be.

@DukkaDukka

If a parent has got it wrong you don’t let them stay do you?

Or do you check them which is what is making wards full

Not sure how it works

No of course not. If they’re sick they get admitted, if not they go home from a&e. And it’s not about parents getting it wrong, they’re concerned enough to want them seen, but some of them don’t need to be.

Ok it was because you mentioned parents forgetting what illness is as a cause

If the wards are busier then something is causing that?

This is not new information

@Hospedia

Infact autumn 2019 was really bad with a vomiting bug that closed several schools in the north if I remember.

Vomiting bug and a respiratory virus, my DCs schools were among those that closed. At one point DC3 school were teaching all of the children in just two classrooms as so many were off. DC1 was sent home with it and when I collected him the receptionist said he was the 30-something'th child sent home that day (in a school of 250 pupils). DC2 school closed due to lack of staff and as it needed a deep clean. Loads of people I knew had it, I caught it and was coughing my head off for a good 6-7 weeks afterwards. There's been speculation since that covid may have been circulating relatively under the radar as early as November/December 2019 and masked by the cold and flu season but I doubt we'll ever know for certain, however it does show that winter is a bad time for bugs and that children in particular are among the biggest spreaders.

I had similar experiences. DS1 then 9 is normally pretty resilient, but got sledgehammered by a nasty cold-flu-fever that eased then came back with a vengence, had him off school for a week for the first time ever and caused months of post-viral fatigue. Back in Jan 2020 when he was still on basic function, it was just post-viral fatigue and "Long Covid" wasn't a thing. The week he was off, a third of the class were unavaliable for swimming, either off ill or still recovering.

It was a vile summer/autumn/ winter when each day of torrential rain just merged into another for over 6 months. Vitamin D must have depleted unusually early. We first got hit by heavy colds quite early, a few weeks into September and it was a horribly buggy autumn term.

We're actually doing better this year although my DCs have upped their game and are now finding lots of obscure, non-contagious ailments to sabotage their attendance because they're creative like that

For the most part, this is just a big immune system update, a bit like turning on a computer after a prolonged period. Plus a layer of parents with less experience/ memory of normal childhood illness.

I haven’t noticed it yet (touch wood) but both of mine had key worker places so we didn’t have as long without mixing. I suspect lots of babies didn’t pick up as much last winter and if they’re now in nursery are picking up all the bugs.

I’d also hazard a guess more are ending up in A&E because they can’t see a GP easily.