Mum putting Movicol in water bottle at school, would you tell the school?

[Dramatic]

So one of the Mums at the school gate was telling me her daughter gets constipated sometimes and when she does she puts Movicol in her water bottle for school. The kids are in Reception so age 4 or 5 and probably still of an age where they might take a swig from someone else's bottle or get their bottles mixed up, do you think I should tell school she's doing this or just keep out of it?

Yabu - don't tell school
Yanbu - tell school

It's a big deal.
All medications have effects and side effects. Some children are allergic and it is unacceptable for children to have access to unauthorized medication during school hours.

My daughter sometimes has movicol in her water bottle at school if she’s had to up her dose. School know about it because it has to be in squash as it’s rank with water. They’re not meant to have squash but she’s allowed for her movicol. It’s in her water bottle so none of her friends should be drinking out of it.

In my kids school, we have to fill in a form for all medication, even something as small as a chapstick (yes, a bloody chapstick). Whether it’s low risk is irrelevant. The child is under the schools care and anything relating to the child’s well-being during school hours should be shared, monitored and recorded.

I would not have thought the risk to a child from accidentally consuming a sip of water with movicol was meaningfully greater than the risk to a child from accidentally drinking pure water from someone else’s water bottle straw (and thus picking up whatever germs or illnesses they might have).

Ds is on movicol and needs to take it at school. He is taken to the medical room after lunch and given it by the staff member.
We did have to get a doctors note for school to give it him.

Presumably any child with a significant allergy would have it well drummed into them not to drink from random unidentified bottles. It would be similar to eating from another child's lunchbox - that's a no-no for kids with allergies.

I'm a doctor, OP, and I'm struggling to get even vaguely het up about this. Movicol is one of the least risky medications around, and a single swig poses virtually no danger to anyone.

Why would anyone be worrying about an accidental swig of movicol, certainly healthier than 90% of food and drink most kids consume - have you seen the school lunches!! Plus it’s not movicol I’d be worried about, rather all those germs & worms that are going to get under their nails and shared around from all the malcoordinated bum wiping 😂.

My childs school have allowed movicol. As long as they know its fine.

The teachers even remind them to drink it.

Probably just because they have to have so blinking much of it sometimes that it can be hard to get it all in them at home.

Honestly OP, all it does is help water molecules pass through the bowel wall. It isn't like paracetamol, it cannot harm anyone. You would need the equivalent of a sachet or 2 before it would even have a slight laxative effect on a non constipated child.

Movicol/Laxido are allowed at our school. As long as it's prescribed by the GP.

I have done this as my child needed a lot of it though out the day
it’s very upsetting to have a child with bowel issues please be more compassionate !

I’d be horrified at the thought of another parent alerting the school , you could have raised your concerns to the mum and she could have reassured you.

no harm would come to any child taking a sip

as an IBSD sufferer from childhood, I think that the Mum should have told the school but if you can get her to do it rather than your doing it that might be better.

Because they are not good at washing their hands and they have weaker immune systems at this age. They also do not understand that things they find on the floor or other objects are covered in germs and should not be licked.

However, they are acutely aware that other people are full of germs and their first experience of socialisation was being deliberately kept at a distance from others and being very careful indeed not to touch each other.

They do not share cutlery, bottles or cups.

One of my DC took movicol for years, it went in every water bottle they ever used, it was the only way to get tons of it into them.

Even the flavoured version is 🤢 I had citrus for my colonoscopy. Luckily I had some anti nausea medication. I don’t know how else I’d of got it to stay down,

All the hysteria about this but my children are severely allergic to milk and have managed fine around children consuming milk, cheese, yoghurt etc

My 5 year old takes Movicol in her water bottle at school. It is done in agreement with the school and her bottle is kept separately to everyone else’s so that it can’t be mixed up.

At five they are old enough to not take from other water bottles. One of mine was around during a meningitis spike. They were told not to share water bottles due to this and so didn't. Teach kids to only drink from their own water bottle.

Movicol is nothing compared to meningitis.

I would tell the school because it can cause breathing difficulties if taken by the wrong child. It is no different to sending in peanuts and hoping no-one is allergic. It has been known to cause anaphylactic shock.

Ha that will teach the small ones not to share water bottles. Movicol is so disgusting so they won't repeat it. I have to take it every day🤢

I’m sure the school are aware as it will probably be on child’s medical forms etc. . I know our school are very very strict about only eating own food at snack time own water bottles so I don’t see the issue tbh. Teach your child not to drink out of other people’s water bottles. Poor child and poor mum probably have enough going without you creating a drama.

Hopefully she has let the school know. But I can’t imagine that any child that takes a swig will be taking another one.

How do you know it's unauthorised? @Dramatic is a busybody, a child's private medical information is no one else's business.

5 year olds are perfectly capable of not drinking out of random water bottles, they aren't toddlers fgs

Children had their own water bottles out during the height of covid, noone ever considered changing this because at 4 children are good at using their own.

My class used to know who every single child's water bottle was, so any child could tell me any bottles owner.

Anyway I would stay out of it, it's hardly dangerous and it tastes absolutely awful.

Wouldn't even dream of getting involved. I have a toddler who gets constipated, it's hellish, the last thing this poor mum needs is a busybody trying to cause trouble for her.