To ask anyone who works/has worked in a nursery if this is normal?!

[Fruity9]

Started a few months ago and ever since I’ve had a never ending cold/runny nose/cough. I rarely used to catch colds before but since starting it’s not gone away! Anyone else experienced this if you work or have worked in a nursery before? Will it get better as time goes on?

Not just nurseries but teaching generally, in Primary anyway. I have barely had a cold since I retired 10 years ago but used to get them all the time.

Had 3 months of it when my daughter started nursery - I was only exposed via her not dozens of the snotty-slobbery germ vectors!!

Yep. The most unwell I've ever been was first year in childcare.

Now, not so much. I haven't had a sick day in the last 5 years but I'm not on the floor with the children as much now either so that helps

My immune system is pretty solid after working in early years for 10 years, but I get sneezed and coughed over practically daily. Myself and all my colleagues always seem to get a cough/cold in September though, funnily enough.

Totally normal but once you've ran the gauntlet of illnesses you should have a cast iron immune system. When I started work at 18 in a private day nursery I had every illness going for the first 12 months or so but since then (25 years later) I still get colds but they never amount to much and almost never get sickness bugs.

I did as a teenager when I first started working with young children. I got the mumps after one week of starting one of my first placements.

Absolutely! Luckily I managed to escape all the sickness bugs!

Work in childcare for 20 years and never got the cast iron immune system. Would be ill most of winter every year. This is the first year I'll not worked with kids so we shall see

My first job as a GP was four months, over Christmas. I had a cold the entire time - got better, had maybe one day fine and then started with a scratchy throat again. am sure nursery would be the same.

Worked in nursery for over 30 years now. I take vitamin c with zinc, vitamin B complex and vitamin d.

It can take your immune system a wee while to build up.

I started working in a nursery about 18 months ago (in Sweden). I have never had more colds/coughs, upset stomachs - it's normal.

I was a teacher and every September I got "freshers flu" as all the new children entered my classroom with their new germs. I got it every year, but friends who still teach are now 10 years in and haven't had it for a couple of years now.

Our nursery moves large groups of children each school term, so I'd be expecting the staff to have "freshers flu" each time that happens.

Thanks everyone! Have been taking immune support vitamins so will see if that helps. HFM is also currently going round the nursery at present and croup was when I first started

I got HFM myself, too ... horrible illness. No idea how I'd never heard of it before! :D

I'm dreading when she brings chicken pox home - I never caught it as a child myself, so I bet I blinking well catch that too...

gloom

Good luck!

Hopefully your immune system will kick in but sounds very typical!

I worked as bank staff in a nursery so only worked a couple of days or one day a week. Over three months I was constantly ill with a sickness bug, COVID twice and the worst cold I've ever had and just constant sore throat, runny nose etc exactly as you describe. My DH also caught lots of what I had. I don't think my immune system could get used to the exposure to germs as I wasn't there all the time. It got so bad I actually left! Decided it wasn't worth it and I've been petty much cold and COVID free ever since.

Yes! This is normal. Had the same experience as you. After 6 months it got better, time to build up immunity to all the kiddie microbes going around.

Yes! Expect to catch everything. Also pay for the flu jab this winter!

Children are germ factories.

It does get better

Berocca is good for boosting your immune system/energy. Also make sure you are eating a good, varied diet and take vitamin supplements. Keep hydrated and get plenty of fresh air. Have the flu vaccine.

I'm a TA and when I first started the job caught Covid within the first couple of weeks then spent the first 6 months with a strange, scratchy throat which came to nothing. Since then I've caught Covid multiple times but (touch wood) nothing else.

Yep, I got tonsillitis and hand, foot and mouth in the first couple of months of working in a nursery

I feel your pain, OP. I've been a primary teacher for 20 years and this is the first year I've not come down with a cold in the first week of September that hasn't also lasted until Christmas!

The children are dropping like flies at the moment though so it's only a matter of time...

Mine started off as a scratchy throat too! Which lasted a few days and then a constant cold since then

Work with children in healthcare so a little more protected but yes was ill for first 18 months. Even caught chickenpox again!

In COVID front line throughout never caught it nearly twenty years later. Extremely rare I am ill now and when my kids caught everything I was ok. So I clearly did build up immunity eventually

It’s certainly like that in teaching so I would imagine childcare is the same!

I work in a primary school and was always ill when I first started. 20 years in it's not so bad but still usually have the cold the first few weeks of term.