To send DS to nursery even though one child has suspected swine flu....

[mistletoekisses]

Have posted here to get more responses than I would on swine flu thread....

Just picked up DS from nursery and a sign was up saying one child was off with suspected case of swine flu. The nursery manager has spoken with the mother and aside from high temp - child seems to be doing ok.
Apparently other parents have reacted by saying they are not going to send their DC's in. I didnt even consider this at the time.

I am on maternity leave (have had the sf jab) so am home to take care of him.

AIBU to continue to send him to nursery?

Be gentle even though it is AIBU, am 35 weeks pregnant and a tad hormonal.

It's up to you.

Would it hurt to keep him off though if you're on ML anyway?

We all had swine flu last week (confirmed by private test) and I would much rather have been able to prevent my 15mo getting it than watch her go through it.

It is suspected swine flu, not confirmed and at 35 wks you need your rest and you've had the jab.

Others may disagree, but I think YANBU.

Ghouls and Mishy - you have argued the same two points that I keep thinking for and against.

DS is home with me tmrw, may call the nursery tmrw pm to see if they have had any other cases before making a decision on weds.

Only my opinion, but I would keep him off. I'm perhaps saying this because there haven't been that many cases of swine flu around these parts, so if I could possibly avoid it I would.

There's no certainty that any of your family would get it, whether you took your DS in or not, but why take the chance, even if the diagnosis system is a bit sketchy.

Thanks guys. Any other opinions. DH and I keep going round in circles.

my son has had close contact at his hospital based nursery several times and i havent batted an eye lid. If i kept him off with every suspected virus doing the rounds he would never be there. Chances are your child would have already had contact with infected child anyway.

it is viral,no point excluding him.someone else in supermarket could just as easily infect him

good hand hygiene
disposable tissue
common-sense precautions

I guess the decision is harder because you are at home - if you were still at work, would you think twice about still sending him to nursery??

You can't really protect him from everything so I think I would probably send him in - it is only suspected.

I can see your dilemma though!! Very tough and I honestly don't know what I would do.

was he with the child who is ill before they went off sick?

If so then he was at biggest risk then, not now surely. I guess take the view that if there are a lot more cases then keep him off, if not then no reason to keep him home.

You need your rest at 35 weeks but also you dont really want to catch swine flu from him should he get it do you?

If the other child has it, then your child has already been exposed and there is no reason to keep him away unless you want to.

You've had the jab, so you won't get it, of course.

I think I would send him and get your rest before new baby comes!

Would you prefer to care for a potentially severely sick child or 'put up' with your DC and keep him home?

alarmist and histrionic post- you cannot possible know whether her son will get "potentially severely sick"

you are whipping it up a bit

Thanks all for your responses - is most appreciated! Here are my thoughts having slept on it

• it is suspected swine flu, no swabs taken and at this stage, there are lots of infections doing the rounds. It could be swine flu, but it may not be.
• DS was actually very poorly back in Sept when we were on holiday. had all the symptoms of swine flu - v high temp etc, so he may actually have had it. We went to Scotland to see family and ended up in isolation at our rented cottage as a result.
• if i keep him off now, which of course I am happy to do, swine flu is not going away. what do I do when / if another sign goes up in Jan/ Feb? Do I just keep him home for the next few months?
• he is mixing with a lot of children outside of nursery (on xmas eve we go to a circus, it is highly contagious, he could catch it anytime)

• chances are that he did have contact with the child, there are only between 16-20 children in the nursery at any one time and they go outside to play/join the rooms together for activities throughout the day.

I am not worried about myself, I have had the jab. And the only reason it is a dilemma is because I am home. As ceebee has said, if I was at work, I wouldnt be taking time off over a suspected case in someone elses child.

The bottom line is that DS loves nursery. At 35 weeks pregnant, I am not being the most entertaining of mothers. If I keep him home now, I can see myself doing it over the next few months.

I never kept my DC off if there was an illness in nursery, novovirus , mumps and scarlet fever were ones that went the rounds at the time.

If you keep your child home every time there is a bug in nursery then they will be home every week. And then you would have to sit at home and not let anyone be in contact with him.

I would send him in and rest.

I'm also on Mat leave at the moment (baby due in one week) and there have been loads of cases of suspected swine flu at DS' nursery (including at the moment). It hasn't occurred to me to keep him off; as others say if he was home with me, he'd be just as likely to pick it up at the supermarket or on the tube when we are out and about and nursery is much more fun than being at home with knackered and grumpy mummy at the moment.

Thank you for your responses!

TBH it wouldnt have crossed my mind either; it was only when the manager said that other parents were going keep their DC's home that I felt a little guilty for not even considering it.