Molluscum and nursery - staying at home

[mynamechange94]

My DS seems to have got molluscum and nursery have asked that we keep him at home until it's cleared up. It could be months! I'm happy to keep him in long sleeves and trousers until it's gone but it can't be reasonable to expect us to keep him at home, surely? NHS says not, and it's not something that makes kids ill, just a bit bumpy! AIBU to insist nursery take him even though it hasn't cleared up?

That's ridiculous! My son had molluscum contagiosum for around 6 months before it cleared up. He went to school as normal.

My son had it for over a year! That's ridiculous of them. Do they realise how long it could take to clear up?

The nursery has to follow the goverment timelines for illnesses in terms of absences.

My son has had it for 2 years! It still hasn’t cleared up but is starting to lessen (maybe wishful thinking). GP won’t do anything except say wait for it to go and so nursery are being ridiculous to say he can’t come in.

DS had it for a good 5/6 months. They are being ridiculous. They were on DS body and we did keep them covered easily with long sleeves and the odd plaster if necessary.

Yes, this is madness. Can you offer to use bandages maybe? It's one of those irritating childhood bugs that don't cause harm if kept clean etc, but are easily passed to other kids. I had a few DC have them, they lasted a good 6 months or more before fading away.

Sorry not helpful to the nursery part but read this thread as it could be helpful to reduce the time

Mine had it for the best part of year so that's madness! I eventually started dabbing neat tea tree oil on every spot every evening and within a week they had disappeared.

Public health advises no timeline is required for this. He doesn't need to be off at all

The guidelines very clearly say they don't need to be kept away from school https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/sites/default/files/Guidanceonninfectioncontrollin%20schools_poster.pdf

Ignore them OP

Oh! My child had this and I had no idea!

DD had molluscum for years in the end, that's really not a solution from the nursery there. Plus nursery should be aware of the fact that this is very very common and that it can take a long time to go!

@raspberrycordial exactly my point, a strong email with the guidelines referenced should do the trick.

That's crazy, my daughter had it for weeks, still went to school i did as you said and covered the spots, in the end i read on here about popping them with a sterile needle, that did the trick, triggered an immune response and they were gone within a think about 10 days. Only do-able though if your willing, child can understand and be ok with the needle (i iced the spots first)

I'll have to speak to the manager if the room staff won't relent. I had it for months as a kid, if not years. I can't remember exactly but it felt like it lasted forever. I've got to work, I can't keep a perfectly well, albeit slightly bumpy child at home for months. My boss is very understanding but even he (rightly!) has limits!

My kids had it for around 1.5 years each. My second DD had it on her bum so when she was potty training she had a separate potty at nursery to reduce risk of spreading it. Other than that they went to nursery as normal. I did not keep them at home for a total of 3 years between them!! I was surprised neither of my kids' nurseries seemed to be very familiar with it though, as the GP said it was very common.

They've agreed he can go in - they'd never heard of it before but I had it when I was younger and so did my brothers. So I'm surprised they haven't come across it until now! Anyway, I'll keep it covered with sleeves and trousers and hopefully it won't hang around for too long!

My sons school were like this when he had it in reception. They initially treated him like he had the plague - so ridiculous and wouldn’t listen to reason.

Thankfully he was booked in to see his paediatrician for something else. We explained how school were being and she gave us a letter stating very clearly that it was not a reason to stay off school which given it took nearly 2 years to go was a huge help!

My son had this too. I think he had it for quite a few months but he was school age when he got it. Glad the nursery has seen sense OP.

I always think it sounds like something out of Harry Potter.

That's good news OP, but utterly bizarre nursery haven't heard of it before! Are they very young staff?

Ridiculous. My DD had it for a year when she was 2. I tried everything then one day the 'Queen' went scabby and they disappeared.

It was rife in my sons school along with worms and lice. The lice were the worst, he has thick hair and in the end I gave him a number 4 skinhead and sent him into his expensive prep school explaining why