To want to scrub DS's school down with dettol *mostly lighthearted*

[mumonashoestring]

as well as the kids in his class

I know it's normal, I know it's important for his immune system to be challenged, but I am completely fed up with my lovely cheerful little chap coming home with colds, coughs, viruses and now cold sores and spending his weekends poorly and sad.

Bloody plague-ridden miniature savages...

[CigarsofthePharoahs]

My son is a sort of Rhinovirus Roger (like Typhoid Mary!) in that he brings the damn things home but is rarely ill himself. Preschool was worst, I was solidly ill without a break from September till nearly the end of January that year. I ended up with sinusitis and that was hell. My son had a couple of minor sniffles.
He did get infections in both eyes though.

[Afreshstartplease]

My older two never get anything! I think it's down to them both doing 3+ years at nursery before school, they did catch things at nursery but have had one stomach bug since starting school four years ago between two of them!

Hopefully DC3+4 will be the same when their time comes! Although so far DC3 is that child who picks up EVERYTHING

[mumonashoestring]

Smellslikeoranges see above The only thing we use Dettol on at home is the drains a few times a year.

Funkin FFS. Really makes you wonder about whether they're quite wired up right doesn't it?

[Ditsy4]

Yep and they don't remember to cover their noses or mouths and snot or spit germs on staff. I have something I caught at school for five weeks. It started as a cold but also involves headaches and dizziness and a cough and generally feeling rough. Lots have it both kids and staff but kids brought it in first! I spent first weekend in bed with hot toddies😉 which helped.starting into six weeks on Monday! Some staff have had it longer.
I would say get them a multi vitamin or halibororange (sp)and give from September which is what I did with my kids but often forgot about me.

[hazeyjane]

I work in a preschool, dh calls my work tabard my, 'hazmat suit'. Gawd knows what monstrosities' get wiped on it.

The thing that really gets me is when a child vomits on your shoes, then tells you they were sick in their bed last night......aaaahgghh! Keep them home!!

[youarenotkiddingme]

I remember when DS was in year R. He had tonsillitis, then a cold then impetigo then slapped check. All in a month! He seemed to build resistance though as has barely had a cold since and he's 12 now!

[Matchingbluesocks]

I have to ask- people always talk about boosting immune systems by saying "they go on filthy muddy walks" or "play in the mud" but how could that affect ammunity? Mud is actually dirty, but it's not virus/ germ ridden, and a bit of virus/ germs is what builds the immune system

[Matchingbluesocks]

Immunity- stupid autocorrect

[Namechangeemergency]

I would have thought that mud is teeming with all kind of bacteria and stuff (not quite sure what I mean by 'stuff').

I doubt it contains flu germs but afaik getting muddy and going out a lot does help with immunity.

If it didn't....how do people catch stuff in the first place? Isn't that done but going out and meeting lots of people, touching lots of surfaces touched by other people?

[SnugglySnerd]

I'm a teacher. The cleaners wipe all the student desks down daily with some sort of pink vile-smelling spray and a dirty cloth. They mop all the hard floors with cold water and a dirty mop. I'm certain that the cloths and mops are never replaced.
My desk is cleaned during the 6 week holiday "deep clean" unless I do it myself. Things like filing cabinets, stock cupboards, letter trays etc are never cleaned and the lockers are done once every 5 years when their owners leave Year 11. It is hardly surprising that the kids are always ill! This is secondary btw, I imagine it's worse in primary when the kids cough, sneeze etc without putting their hands over their mouths.

[Matchingbluesocks]

Mud is just earth though isn't it? I am off to google

[McPie]

I will swap you for our school which is having its 2nd deep clean this weekend due to some classes being almost wiped out because of norovirus!

[BoboBunnyH0p]

My friend used to get every cough and cold going then moved to teaching, she had a rough couple of months but now rarely gets ill.
The only advice I give new parents is if they are planning on putting their child into nursery when they return to work is to start 1dsy a week 6weeks before the end of mat leave. My friend thanked me as her DD got every bug going in her first 4 weeks.

[DandelionAndBedrock]

We have hand sanitiser in our classrooms (primary). My children get pretty good at cleaning their hands after sneezing, which I hope helps.

Our cleaners are good, but I keep packs of antibac wipes for during particularly grotty times of the year when I go over door handles, my computer/desk, and the children's tables. We also had an enlightening lesson after I caught a few of them chewing/sucking on communal pens and pencils.

I don't really remember bugs ever going round my secondary school when I was a pupil.

[Namechangeemergency]

I think earth is a micro system or something
Return with your findings

[LittleBooInABox]

YANBU this time of year I bathe in the stuff!

I have a fear of vomit though so... I'm totally irrational with it and that's ok with me.

I told the PTA woman in the office the other day she was a moron when she boasted her child had finished being sick at 1am the night before and was still in!!!

[TealGiraffe]

Yanbu! I work in primary and while our cleaning team is fantastic and we start every day in a spotless school, by the end of the day it is disgusting...

Everything (including me) is covered in sweat / spit / snot / food

We constantly tell kids to get their hands out of their bums! And boys do like to fiddle with their bits! Luckily every classroom has a handwash sink and a hand gel dispenser on the wall.

Joy of joys we currently have:
A vomiting bug blazing through year 3
Nits in all years
Chickenpox in year 4,5,6
Plus all the usual winter coughs and colds.

I regularly get a wet cough in the face......

Staff did wonder about creating some sort of sheep dip system at the entrance

[mumonashoestring]

Matching here y'go: www.nbcnews.com/id/18082129/ns/health-livescience/t/soil-bacteria-can-boost-immune-system/ We have a microbes/immunity theme where I work as well with lots of cleverer-than-me types looking into this. Quite apart from anything else the more time DS is outside getting filthy, the less time he's climbing onto my lap to cough at me!

Teal I wouldn't blame any teacher (especially primary) who came in to work in full HazMat

[PinkSwimGoggles]

going outside is great.
the viral load in the air outside also is lower than inside. (that's an important reason to ventilate your home as well).

[PberryT]

Twinkle

In fairness, you don't have to use chemicals on nits and the majority of the chemicals aren't as effective as combing.

Combing done properly is the best way to get rid of them.

[Crunchymum]

We had a letter advising us Norovirus was doing the rounds at end of last week. As an emetophobe I've been anxious for days as almost everyone I've spoken to from DS's class (preschool) has it!!!

I hope they hired a bloody cleaning company to blitz the school over the weekend.

Oh and we have the class bear this weekend. I wasn't best pleased about that. It's probably harbouring all sorts.

[Matchingbluesocks]

Thank you! I can stop reading annoying forest school blogs now

[SittingDrinkingTea]

My DD spent her time between the ages of two and four being continually ill, but once she turned five it all stopped and she has a constitution of iron.

However she's got a slightly upset stomach today, and I'm rather worried that her slightly upset stomach will be raging norovirus in me 😭.

[grandmainmypocket]

Walking past the children's toilets alone makes me want to vomit. I think teachers are saints.

[blankmind]

For all the parents who catch everything going, try strengthening your own immune system, Vogels Echinacea tincture works for me, around Sept, take it for a few days, then only take it at the onset of symptoms. Also try and have something regularly which contains good gut bacteria, I use Fage yogurt, active miso and homemade sauerkraut, use whatever you find palatable.

For the littlies, I found using antibac gel hand-cleaner as soon as they got into the car then once at home changing out of uniform seemed to help a lot in stopping bug transference, throughout school years, dc (allergic and reactive to 'everything') had D+V twice, I caught it once at a different time to them.