to think immunity is sometimes a bit of a cop out?

[Marshathemallow]

Saw another thread which got me thinking. Do we really believe that kids being highly and frequently exposed to numerous viruses builds up their immune system or is that a bit of a cop out?

Play outdoors, get dirty, be exposed to germs and viruses in everyday life etc, I get that, but I don’t get why we say that it’s ok to let children (or teachers) put up with the level of illness in most classrooms.

Wouldn’t it be better for them to build up immunity with less continual strain on their bodies?

I’d actually like to be shown I’m wrong.

Yes it would be good if people stayed home if they were infectious.

The modern world isn’t set up for us to afford this luxury.

Keep kids at home when lethargic/ in pain/ being sick or having diarrhoea but otherwise we all have to crack on!

I don’t know. Isn’t that just how immunity works? You’ll get it at some point, possibly when it’s less convenient or more dangerous (like pregnant women getting chickenpox).

All mine went through that phase of seemingly constantly ill from about 3-5. Rarely ill at primary after that, almost never ill at late primary secondary age.

I don't know if this was universal but when lock down ended, me and everyone I knew spent weeks)months getting virus after virus after virus back to back. Never experienced anything like it. I read something at the time which suggested this was because our collectively immunity had reduced while in isolation because of lack of exposure and now we were being hit with everything at once.

@Cerialkiller yep, first winter after lockdown was our first winter in nursery. I call it the winter of doom! We were all disgustingly ill for the whole season 🤣

The viruses were brutal too they came back full force like heeeeey!

It's a really good idea not to spread viruses or germs... let's go back into lockdown. That did no harm right?

How do you suggest they get immunity without the exposure though?

Isnt that the whole point of immunity? You get it once and your body learns how to fight the bug and you won’t get it (or not as badly) next time?

The issue with constant illnesses in classrooms is because lots of viruses adapt so quickly or have so many strains that it’s impossible to build immunity to them. Often people are also spreading bugs long before they’re symptomatic so by the time they would know to isolate they’ve already spread the virus. Also, younger children are just more likely to dig in the mud, put things in their mouths, share bottles, not cover noses and mouths when coughing or sneezing, not wash hands as thoroughly after the toilet etc etc so things just spread more quickly in classrooms for reasons that can’t realistically be eliminated.

After the covid years, my child started reception from the first normal school year after all restrictions were lifted. And he was so poorly, as were half the school, parents and staff for that year and especially the first half term. He caught everything going so I think keeping him shielded during his toddler years and then starting school was like throwing a child with no built up immune system into a cesspit essentially. Much better for children to naturally get one or two illnesses per year as they go along.

@Ohthatsabitshit- agree
@IlovePhilMitchell- but there are things that could be done if there was will to do so (inc political will). In principle, do you agree with me then (forgetting how things are at moment and just based on how much we throw at kids).
@BananaPeanutToast- for one and done maybe, but alot of viruses aren’t and immunity is short lived. Even being ok with a particular virus the first few times doesn’t guarantee ok the next time (e.g. child may end up with long covid after their third infection, but be seemingly ok on first and second). With regard to pregnant women, it is not uncommon for primary/nursery staff to be pregnant or for children to have a pregnant mum or baby they take the viruses home to. Chickenpox - weird that we still don’t vaccinate for this. Some viruses make you more susceptible to others e.g. chicken and strep. Some children e.g. someone with asthma triggered by a virus take steroid inhalers to manage the school environment. Other children end up with slower speech and language as they are prone to temporary issues for weeks post-virus. Some children end up in hospital due to the volume of viruses they’re trying to fight off.

I’m not sure parents getting ill much more often from things children pick up at school are doing more healthy. If their immune system is getting a heavier workout due to all the additional exposure, why are parents so sick too?

Kids are home now (without viruses, yay!), so I’ll be back later to respond to others.

When people talk about lockdown, I think we all mean different things and obviously there were differences between where people lived. So for me (London), the first winter after lockdown was actually a lockdown, because here we locked down in spring 2020 with nurseries and schools closed (to many kids anyway - vulnerable kids, children of key workers etc could attend), with nurseries and selected school years open in June and back for all in September. Nurseries remained open, but schools closed in Jan 2021, but were open to a wider pool of children than the March ‘20 lockdown (eligibility to attend was widened).