Should I send Ds1 back tomorrow? (a bit TMI)

[Flighttattendant]

I'm just checking really because I was a bit confused by the Doctor's instructions.

DS1 is 7, meant to be back at school tomorrow. Last weekend he started being ill, high temp, sickness initially then really bad at the other end as it were.

We sent a sample off last Wednesday, should have results tomorrow. Took him to the Dr on Friday as he was starting to be better but still having bleeding, for some reason, and the Dr said he was waiting for the results of the test and we would need to inform the Health Authority if it were salmonella or similar, as it's notifiable and they don't want it to be spread in school.

He then said send DS back when he has gone 48 hours without any diarrhoea.

Well, yesterday morning it was still a bit dodgy, but he didn't go again all day, then this morning no bleeding and all back to normal. I figured Monday morning is a clear 48 hours, therefore.

But I don't know if he still wanted us to wait for the results. I would HATE DS to give something like that to anyone else, but am I right in thinking he is no longer infectious now?

He is fairly good at hand washing at least under supervision but I don't know if I ought to give it one extra day - then what if the results don't come in tomorrow?

I could use some opinions...thanks.

Thankyou Pixie; yes, I was thinking this too.
I guess if EH do get involved there will be a questionnaire to fill in and all sorts of complicated stuff. I don't want to wrongfoot school by sending him in prematurely, though he is to all intents and purposes completely well, now.

I don't know what it was though at this stage...suspected salmonella given the clinical course but Dr will not be drawn on this! I shall be interested to find out. Me and Ds2 have so far been OK (touch wood) so must have been something he ate I think.

Poor lad!

Ds2 starts preschool tomorrow so I wonder if he ought to go, too...?

poor boy - i'd keep them both off 'just in case' and when you have the result back you can decide what to do.

Thankyou, I might just do that.

I just feel fortunate that he has come through it without any serious harm. I know it can be much nastier. Maybe it was some other bacterial infection.

Well back to the 48 hours because his tummy is still a bit dodgy this morning...gahhh. Can't send him till Wednesday now. At least!

I hope we don't have to do another sample.
I don't even know if I should take him to the swings, this is a nightmare...will have to do a very, very unpopulated cycle ride I think.

And I shan't send his brother to preschool because it's his first day and I might have to stay - also nobody to leave ds1 with.

Is it illegal to leave a 7yo on their own in the house for 15 minutes while you go down the road (about 1/4 mile) to collect their brother?

That was 24 hours anyway, not 48. Don't send him until he has had no diarrhoea for 48 hours, like the doctor said

Thanks Giddy, he's 7 so not putting him in the buggy! (or pull ups!)

He's not actually ill any more - just waiting for his poo (sorry) to be totally normal again, it wasn't bad, just not quite right iyswim.

Lacking - it was 48 hours from Saturday morning to Monday morning actually unless my maths is worse than I thought.

Saturday morning was the last dodgy poo. He was fine all day saturday, eating normally, no more toilet visits, no sickness at all.

Sunday he did a normal poo first thing.

All set to go back this morning subject to waiting for results, then he had another slightly dodgy one so I'm keeping him off till at least Wednesday.

I hope this makes sense.

Sorry, I should say I've emailed school and I've also rung the preschool person and told her Ds2 can't start today because his big brother isn't well. She was fine about it so will start him either wednesday or next Monday (he only does 2 mornings)

Thanks again for your help.

Oh, poor DS.

My DS had salmonella when he was a baby and he was fine after he had a course of antibiotics. We had to be careful for ages afterwards until he was deemed free of the disease.

Thankyou Mme, I think I may have seen you on my archive search!!

This is the thing - I don't know how careful we have to be or if he will want re-testing or anything. Depends what they find I suppose.

There is little grimmer than collecting a sample of poo.

It was definitely some kind of bacterial thing though as it went on for days and he was very poorly with it, high temperature etc.

I hope they don't come round in space suits to take him away. They would see the state of our house and probably cordon it off as a high risk area.

Probably, I am always banging on about it and telling posters to have their DC tested for food poisoning.

We had to have him retested regularly and he was supposed to stay home for that time. The risk of him infecting someone was negligible as we were the only ones changing his nappies and we used disenfectant on our hands afterwards.

It's horrid isn't it - I've been bleaching his bathroom every time he goes, and trying to keep ds2 away from it!

Thank God I have a separate loo. He tries very very hard but a 7yo boy is not 100% reliable with hygiene!

Haven't washed my hands so much in ages.
I really hope it didn't come from our chickens though.

Well I rang to get ds1's test results and apparently they already tried to call me this morning, the GP wants to have a 'Non urgent' telephone consultation.

I asked the receptionist what it says and she couldn't decipher it. I am really anxious now!

Why would he need to talk to me if it isn't something awful? And if it's awful, why isn't it urgent?

Now got to wait in all afternoon and it'll be a different GP, who might not know the back story or why our GP wanted to talk to me.

Their idea of urgent is possibly different to mine...I need to know whether Ds can go back to school tomorrow, or needs further treatment etc etc. And we were going to go to the woods this afternoon and Ds1 is killing ds2 as we speak!

Hi hope ur ds is better and the results are better than expected x

Oh thankyou, that's really nice of you!

It was campylobacter after all that.

They didn't seem worried about re-testing, or notifying or anything (though I think they are supposed to)

They wondered about giving him antibiotics but said there's usually only any point early on in the illness or if the patient is very poorly, and ds is almost better now.

So...got to keep being careful about handwashing and everything, but at least we know what it was now. Could have been from anywhere really.