To think that if you let your kids....

[LemonSherbetFancies]

Swim/play in the river, you should not be surprised if they come down with a flu/cold the next day?

I’d be more worried about them drowning as the water can be very cold.

My daughter asked me if you can get a cold from going out with wet hair. I said no that is an old myth and she said her friends dad who is a nurse says that 😆

If it wasn't ridiculously hot yesterday, I'd think the OP is saying the child got a cold as he was cold (and wet)

Don’t go near milk when you’re menstruating.
Or near anyone. Stay in your red tent because you know.
Superstition above science.

Oh my 4 year old has a fever, sore throat and a cough today.

I’m such an idiot. I’m isolating us and testing for covid- I should of course actually be swabbing his paddling pool for flu viruses, since he was in it on Sunday playing in the cool water.

[quote HappyHappyHippocampus]@Veterinari

Weil’s disease is vanishingly rare in the UK (where cold water swimming is a very popular sport). About 50 cases a year and some of those will have been caught abroad. She doesn’t need to alert her neighbour to anything. I’m sure the parents of the child in question are able to tell if their child needs medical attention.[/quote]
@HappyHappyHippocampus
Yes leptospirosis is rare. It's also life threatening. The child has swum in a river and is now showing clinical signs consistently with leptospirosis infection. You have no idea whether he's been exposed or not, and so dismissing it out of hand is potentially dangerous and one if the reasons people continue to die from this condition

The NHS suggest seeking medical support. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leptospirosis/

I have no idea whether the parents of the child have an awareness of lepto or not and neither do you, so no it shouldn't be assumed that they'll seek appropriate help, especially if they think he has flu.

Why exactly are you criticising me for alerting the OP to a potentially life threatening condition that fits with the child's clinical signs and exposure history ?

Definitely get a covid test. My friends daughter and mates went down to the river and they have all got covid. Obviously, nothing at all to do with the river, just a large group of young people in close contact.

😂😂😂😂😂😂

Hi MIL!

Golden

🤣 oh dear. OP has hidden the thread, surely?

You don’t catch a cold from getting cold - that has been well covered.

But if you did… in many parts of the UK yesterday was one of the (the?) hottest day of the year. My local lake was 22.8° - last month I swam in a heated lido that was only 23°! Of course, I must point out that one of the dangers of open water swimming is you can get surprisingly (to the inexperienced) low temperatures. I swam in a very deep reservoir at the weekend that was 11° at the centre compared to 17° at the edge (yes, I sometimes swim with a thermometer). But generally, I’d be surprised if the child was even that cold yesterday! And whatever the water temperature, air temperature (hot hot hot in many places yesterday) makes a big difference as you warm up quickly after, especially because you dry off much quicker.

ObviousNameChage
"Is it fish flu"

Sorry op that did make me snort my coffee everywhere

I think your neighbour's son probably had sunstroke rather than flu!

Of course you can get sick from swimming in a river. Water born disease is well known. Hepatitis is a virus that can be present in rivers. OP is wrong about flu and cold virus. But the principle of swimming in a river and “catching” something is well established. I think the OP is getting an uncalled for hard time.

Because @Veterinari it’s none of the OPs damn business and considering she things you can catch a cold or flu from being in water outside, I’d say that she’s not best placed for dishing out unsolicited advice. I’m sure the parents of the child know when to seek medical attention. Adding to the drama by harping on about a disease the majority of people will never see in their lifetime (during a pandemic that is fuelled by a non related virus. Hello?!) is just unhelpful.

There might be some water-borne things you could catch if you swallowed water and were very unlucky, but swimming in a river can't give you a cold fgs! On the contrary, there is lots of evidence that outdoor cold water swimming is incredibly good for your health.

I swam in the river last week when mine were at school. I'll remember to tell my self off if I get a sniffle.

Zero correlation.

You might get some sort of bacterial infection though.

My children often swim in lakes and occasionally in rivers (as do I). I haven’t noticed that we have gotten ill afterwards.

@HappyHappyHippocampus

Because *@Veterinari* it’s none of the OPs damn business and considering she things you can catch a cold or flu from being in water outside, I’d say that she’s not best placed for dishing out unsolicited advice. I’m sure the parents of the child know when to seek medical attention. Adding to the drama by harping on about a disease the majority of people will never see in their lifetime (during a pandemic that is fuelled by a non related virus. Hello?!) is just unhelpful.

Ah! I see you're the self appointed thread police, here to attack a helpful and constructive suggestion aimed at safeguarding a child because... why exactly? Because you've decided it's unhelpful.

I hate to break it to you - but you aren't the MN discussion thread manager

I think if you find a bit of we'll-intentioned advice not directed at you or in fact anything to do with you, so distressing and 'scary' that you have to verbally attack others, you should probably seek help with your anxiety, or at least move away from the thread. Your posts are neither constructive nor relevant.

Can you genuinely not find any more deserving targets for your unsolicited aggression ?

Ours regularly swim in the river. Shower straight afterwards. Never had a cold or flu next day - not even sure that's possible!

Adding to the drama by harping on about a disease the majority of people will never see in their lifetime (during a pandemic that is fuelled by a non related virus. Hello?!) is just unhelpful.

Also @HappyHappyHippocampus you do realise that the prevalence of COVID has zero bearing on the risk factors for lepto? The two things are mutually exclusive. The pandemic may be feeding your disproportionate anxiety response, but this thread isn't about you.

I'm sorry that you find me signposting the NHS advice 'dramatic' and 'scaremongering' but I suggest you take it up with them

I ahave to admit that we swam all the time and the only time I heard of risk of Leptospirosis there, was after a flood (once in millenia size).

Oh please @Veterinari do get a grip dear. I think the OP when to find hers. Perhaps you could join her.

Nope can’t be true @SchrodingersImmigrant. It has to be WAY more likely to catch a vanishingly rare weils than COVID or all the other snotty, sore throat, fever bugs that kids sneeze in to eachothers eyeballs on a daily basis.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I ahave to admit that we swam all the time and the only time I heard of risk of Leptospirosis there, was after a flood (once in millenia size).

Yep it's uncommon - about 70-80 cases/year in people (if you read past the first google search result) but it's worth considering in a child with flu-like symptoms after a recent wild water exposure

It's less of an issue in faster flowing rivers but those that are slow flowing where water may be contaminated by rat urine it can be an issue.

It's why it's part of the core vaccination course in dogs in the Uk - it is definitely out there, and we see cases, it's just that the proportion of people swimming in rivers where lepto may be an issue is relatively small.