Viruses when kids go back to nursery/school...

[TriangleBingoBongo]

When children do eventually go back to school what do you anticipate normal viruses like colds, chicken pox etc will be like for them?

My DC had only spent a few weeks in nursery before corona came (gutting we we spent two weeks gently settling him in and he was doing great). In that time he had a couple of bugs which everyone is told to expect and I understood that exposure to these bugs were good in that it would build his immune system. We also went to plenty of groups during mat leave so he had a normal exposure to bugs and viruses.

So what will happen when they’re back? Will all the bugs have died off owing to lack of contact and not having a carrier? Or will all the children be extra susceptible because they’ve been sheltered for so long?

Or am I overthinking it and is it not long enough, or are they not sheltered enough for it to have any affect?

Its an interesting question, my gut feeling is for toddlers and older it won't make any difference.

I'm a bit worried about the long term effects on babies not being exposed to anything in their first months (I have a 10 week old), plus barely going outside!
'Luckily' for DS2 I had a cold just before he was born and I'm also pretty sure he had coronavirus in late March (he just had a cough, but DS1 and I had a cough and fever, and I was short of breath for a few days).

How unfortunate with nursery settling in!

I was wondering this too in relation to threadworm and headlice. It makes sense to me there would be a decline but they’d be back to normal levels eventually.

Also wondering this.

Dd started Autumn and has been unwell most of the winter. Conjunctivitis, tonsillitis twice, virus miscellaneous, chest infections, colds.

I am dreading her going back and that all starting again.

That’s my fear Moobar that it will be worse when they return!

With threadworms and lice, it only takes one child at home not being treated to reintroduce them again.

You'd hope that other viruses, colds, flus, stomach bugs would be hit by social distancing, but each year they survive through the summer months and hit harder in the winter, so I suspect that's optomistic.
I would worry that our immune systems are not keeping up with exposure mutations to exising viruses and we could be hit harder on a return to more mixed society especially if it is in the colder months.

I used to notice on long term supply around the county that I used to get hit by a cold in the first 2-3 weeks in a new school/ town. I'm sure it was new exposure to a localised variation that my immune system took time to adapt to. It wasn't an issue that I had when established in a school.