Group A Strep and nursery

[nanodyne]

More of a wwyd I suppose. Nursery have a confirmed case of GAS. I'm inclined to keep sending DS1 (2yo) in because I'd rather he catch it and build up some sort of immunity - he's been at nursery since he was a baby so I have no reason to think his immune system has been unduly impacted by covid. However I also have DS2 (3mo) at home who obviously has minimal immune defences because he's so little. Mum and sister have both basically implied I'd be negligent to send him in. I'm currently on mat leave so it's not much of an issue to keep him home other than that I don't necessarily think it's the best thing to do. DH offering very little opinion either way. If I do decide to keep him home, how long? I resent paying for him to not be there, and he enjoys himself there so it would feel unfair to keep him off for a long time. This is our first media-driven bug scare so not sure how seriously to take it to be honest!

YABU - keep him home
YANBU - send him in

There's no right answer. But it's a bit weird to hope he catches it right now, whilst hospitals are slammed and people are struggling to get hold of antibiotics. I think believing the benefits of nursery outweigh the risks is a perfectly valid viewpoint, but hoping he catches it right now seems a bit off.

@NuttyinNotts I mean in terms of gaining some immunity since the chances of it being serious seem very low.. obviously I don't want him to be ill, but I would assume having caught it once he'd have some residual immunity against future outbreaks. Like I said though, I have no idea how seriously to take it as a bug compared to other things going around.

I'm not a doctor but I'm pretty sure you can't get immunity to group a strep? It's a bacterial infection not a virus. You can get it again and again

@nanodyne

It's not like chicken pox he won't get magic immunity

Upto you but I wouldn't send him while doc appt so hard to get.

It’s a difficult one because you could end up keeping him off for weeks until the weather starts to get better and this dies down.

I'd send him in. There will be endless things like this cropping up over the next few weeks/months. Just keep an eye on the baby, but you'd do that anyway.

You can't catch it and then magically have immunity, it's not like chicken pox or hfm. He'll either get it and be really unwell, get it and be ok, or not get it and he may well have it again in a couple of weeks.

He could also get it mildly and then pass it on to the baby

I have a three year old and a 6 month old and I would send my three year old in in these circumstances.

For those stating you can't develop immunity, the NHS Scotland website suggests you do develop immunity following infection:

"The symptoms of scarlet fever will only develop in people susceptible to toxins produced by the streptococcus bacteria. Most children over 10 years of age will have developed immunity to these toxins.

It's possible to catch scarlet fever more than once, but this is rare."

www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/scarlet-fever#:~:text=The%20symptoms%20of%20scarlet%20fever%20will%20only%20develop%20in%20people,once%2C%20but%20this%20is%20rare.

Scarlet fever is not required for invasive group a strep to develop.

@sleighedd thanks for clarifying, that hasn't been made clear on any of the NHS guidance I've read!

I'm particularly worried about the baby with him being so young, obviously didn't have this to think about when DS1 was tiny..

I’d be surprised if scarlet fever alone is causing the igas hospitalisations. It’s probably due to infected lesions due to impetigo or tonsilitis. You need to find out what exactly is the disease making the rounds because step a causes many things.

I have a similar situation. DD (2 yo) at nursery 4 days a week and today they've also had a confirmed case announced. DS is 11 weeks and I am on maternity leave. I've already been in hospital with DS twice; first time he caught RSV off my DD and second time an unknown bacterial infection. He also had Covid. After the last stint in hospital I still feel traumatised by the experience. I am keeping my DD home until after Christmas now as just need a break from the relentless rollercoaster.

@LASandOtto that sounds really rough, I don't blame you! We've had 2 D&V bugs and constant snotty noses since DS2 was born but nothing serious so far, which is probably swaying how I feel about sending DS1 in.

Have you spoken to the GP to check if you are able to get the antibiotics? I’d do that first. There’s no advantage to him getting this particular infection, and with a small baby at home I’d probably keep him home for a few days.

@nanodyne I understand. See how you feel. I am probably a bit paranoid at the moment. DS also had to have his 8 week immunisations delayed by two weeks due to the most recent hospitalisation so I am just trying to avoid my DD bringing more bugs home right now. Wishing you all the best!