AIBU to send son to school?

[Blizy]

My 7 year old son has developed hand foot and mouth over the weekend, he is well in himself and I'm aware that there's no exclusion period for h f &m, I am/was planning on sending him to school as usual tomorrow but my sister is aghast at the idea of it. AIBU?

Ask the school first.

It is contagious.
Despite this the official advice is that children can be in school with it.
But the OP needs to check the school's own policies just incase. Some schools have to have specific rules in place or at least be notified incase of other vulnerable children in the school who may or may it be affected by it,

@ofwarren not 3 months no but at least until he's passed the incubation period which I think is a matter of a few days/week or so and the blisters have settled down.

That's logical surely?

Very unfair to return a child with something like this whilst still contagious.

I’d send them in. If I didn’t it would be an unauthorised absence! You said yourself their not unwell.

at least until he's passed the incubation period which I think is a matter of a few days/week or so and the blisters have settled down.That's logical surely?

And yet its not what public health England suggest.

Why is that, do you think? They don't just make this stuff up without a reason.

I caught hfm from a child. It was quite unpleasant. I was off work for several days. So send your child to school, infect the staff, and everybody loses out massively.

@12Thorns He will be infectious for up to 3 months!!
Public heath England say to send your children to school. Even my sons liver transplant team who won't let him go in when someone has other diseases say he's fine to be in when someone in the class has HFM.

I stated "very unfair to return a child whilst still contagious".

As before if a child is contagious then they cannot go to school. I cannot believe this needs explaining ?!

It can still be contagious months after contracting it. It's shed from the mouth and nose for weeks after and then from the stool.
How do you know when you are no longer infectious?

But they ARE contagious for 3 months therefore you either keep them off for 3 months ( which you cant ) or not at all ... which bit of that is difficult ????? It makes no difference if he goes in tomorrow or next week regarding contagiousness.....

What use us all that guff when the teacher is off sick and there is no supply teacher available?

What "Guff"? Scientific knowledge from medical professionals about how HFM is passed on and how long you are infectious for?

The NHS website also states the following:

You can start spreading it from a few days before you have any symptoms, but you're most likely to spread it to others in the first 5 days after symptoms start.

Which suggests that it does make a difference and 5 days would be sensible time return to school.

Are you suggesting they take it as unauthorised absence?

Hfm is not spread like chicken pox etc. it's an intestinal virus that can survive for 3 months and needs managed via personal hygiene which is why school exclusion isn't needed. Lots of hand washing is the key here

Why would it be unauthorised if the child is off with an illness?

Because most schools say you should go in if you have HFM.
If your child doesn't have a temperature and isn't feeling ill, then even with HFM they are supposed to go in.

The school will not know how ill a child is feeling with hfm disease, so how will the determine whether absence with it is authorised or not?

My ds school policy is to keep them off for 7 days from start but we have a few kids in is year group who would end up in hospital if they got it its also more contagious in under 10s I would keep him off anyway if it was my ds and take parental leave

So lying then?

I know when my dc were in nursery they had an outbreak and sent a letter stating so long as dc felt well they should attend nursery. My 2 never caught it. There’s lots of misinformed posters here tonight. School will have a policy so take their advice.

How so? If a parent phones in saying their child has hfm, the call recipient will know the child is covered in blisters. Are they really going to give the parent a grilling on how ill their child is?

Yes, we went through it last year.
Son got diagnosed with HFM, no symptoms other than sores on mouth and hands. Rang school, they said bring him in if he's not got a temperature or isn't feeling rough.

No official time off although exclusions can be requested by school.
Personally I'd phone tomorrow, explain the situation and ask their school view of the situation.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Guidance_on_infection_control_in%2520schools_poster.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjQjIiYn5f4AhVvQ_EDHaspASwQFnoECAUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2-ZUBzlWfZYDt03KhqQCd8

It’s guff because I’m a teacher who caught it from a child and was off work several days with unpleasant symptoms, and in the current climate there was no supply teacher available, my classes were split up between other classes, and other staff were teaching 40 kids each in rooms built for a maximum of 30.

so literally hundreds of students and staff negatively impacted by a child coming in to school with infectious hfm.

That is the reality.