Dd has a bit of a cold - send to school or not?

[Besom]

Dd has a mild sniffly cold. No cough, temp or anything. Normally would just send her but at the moment - what are we supposed to do?

And school staff need to be protected. We are now being asked not to see friends and family to keep schools secure.

The flip side of that is that parents need to be over rather than under cautious in sending ill children to school.

Because staff sickness is what will close schools again. Not student sickness. There will come a point where if too many children with ‘mild’ symptoms are sent in without tests that there are too many staff off sick to be covered.

I’m just telling you where this lackadaisical attitude leads.

[quote BelleSausage]@GoldenOmber

Have you actually read any of the updates about how mild symptoms present in children? It can present initially as a runny nose[/quote]
Yes, Belle. And yet, as I said, children here can only get tested if their symptoms meet one of the testing criteria symptoms.

Runny nose can be a symptom of Covid. But you can’t get a test for your child if a runny nose is the only symptom they’ve got.

@museumum

Have you been tested? You absolutely can and should. Especially if you are attending high risk settings or working with vulnerable people.

So would you not expect an ill teacher to get tested? We are being told by school to get a test as soon as we fall at all I’ll and not wait for a fever.

@phlebasconsidered

I would very much prefer it if all parents with children exhibiting symptoms would follow guidelines and keep them at home and get them tested. But it seems like things will be back to normal and they'll just be dosed with calpol and sent in most of the time.

And that's how it will spread in schools.

You might prefer that but the OP is under no obligation to when her child has none of the symptoms that require a test.

@BelleSausage

So would you not expect an ill teacher to get tested? We are being told by school to get a test as soon as we fall at all I’ll and not wait for a fever.

I don’t know what the testing criteria for teachers and school staff is. You should follow whatever advice you’re given.

But once again, you can only get an ill child tested if the child has one of those three symptoms. If they don’t then you can’t get a test. The test booking system will not let you get a test.

Symptoms of Covid widely vary with some people never experiencing fever, cough or loss of smell & taste.

covid.joinzoe.com/post/covid-clusters

Look at the UK study above. People need to be more vigilant in sending sick children into school. For those who won’t click the link, here’s what the current research has found regarding different symptom clusters in Covid cases currently circulating in the U.K.

^The six clusters are as follows:
1 (‘flu-like’ with no fever): Headache, loss of smell, muscle pains, cough, sore throat, chest pain, no fever.

2 (‘flu-like’ with fever): Headache, loss of smell, cough, sore throat, hoarseness, fever, loss of appetite.

3 (gastrointestinal): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, diarrhea, sore throat, chest pain, no cough.

4 (severe level one, fatigue): Headache, loss of smell, cough, fever, hoarseness, chest pain, fatigue.

5 (severe level two, confusion): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain.

6 (severe level three, abdominal and respiratory): Headache, loss of smell, loss of appetite, cough, fever, hoarseness, sore throat, chest pain, fatigue, confusion, muscle pain, shortness of breath, diarrhea, abdominal pain.^

[quote BelleSausage]@museumum

Have you been tested? You absolutely can and should. Especially if you are attending high risk settings or working with vulnerable people.[/quote]
No. I haven’t. Because to book a test you are asked to verify that you have a fever, new and persistent cough or loss or change of smell or taste. I haven’t had those and would not lie.

At my school children with runny noses (there have been quite a few) have generally been kept home 1-2 days and if still only a bit of a runny nose they’ve gone back in.

I would keep him home to see whether it develops into a cough or not, presumable if he's feeling under the weather he'd be happier under the duvet anyway!

People need to stop making up their own rules

You shouldn’t get a test or isolate (keep off school) because your child does not have Covid symptoms end of

If all parents did this no one would be in school

It’s a bloody cold! Kids get colds, temps etc all the time

Any snotty clearly poorly child will be sent home from my class. I will not be taking any chances with the health of myself or my vulnerable son.

I still need to read up on our schools rules. But my intention at this time, is to keep them off and get them tested if they have any of the 3 main symptoms. But send them in if they don’t have any of the main 3. I will adapt if necessary. But otherwise you could have a kid with eg. sinusitis, who is never allowed in school, or has to get tested every other day?

ILL CHILDREN SHOULD NOT COME TO SCHOOL REGARDLESS OF CORONAVIRUS OR NOT.

Every year. Forever. Why would you send a poorly child to school? Colds are contagious. It’s not nice for children to be ill in school. Other children don’t want your child’s cold. I don’t want your child’s cold. If you have an ill child then they belong at home.

@NameChange84 every one of those clusters includes one of the symptoms you are required to get a test for.

I'd keep my child off with a cough, temp or change in taste/smell (until negative test received) Otherwise I would send in.

This is the official guidance.

Over 95% of symptomatic cases present with one of the three main symptoms above (sometimes alongside others) It is very rare that a symptomatic patient would present without one of these symptoms, hence the guidance being what it is.

Testing kids with runny noses in the absence of other symptoms is about as useful as random testing, perhaps of value if done regularly school wide (as in nursing/residential homes) but fairly useless in isolation.

And FWIW, as a registered nurse, if I phoned my manager telling her I was isolating until I had a negative swab due to a runny nose and feeling tired or a bit off she would be demanding I came into work.

NHS staff policy is you don't need a test unless you have one of the main triad of symptoms.

A child will any symptoms of illness might be treated like a leper by other kids. I'd be worried about bullying or a child being ostracised. Children will be anxious if their class mates are displaying any obvious symptoms and unkind ones will be mean. Anxious children might not want to go to school if someone is full of snot especially if they have a vulnerable parent or sibling at home. Secondary schools will be worse.

Bercows

Not round here you wouldn’t

Kids have been REN mixing in groups of 20+ and having multiple sleepovers since May June

No distancing at all

Kids genuinely don’t care at all not to do most adults 🤷‍♀️

Masks are a massive mistake - we’ll be wearing them for years as our gov bows down to people who have health anxiety

They need help to get them to understand risks - we shouldn’t be feeding their hysteria with masks on kids it’s disgustimg

No one should be full of snot in school. Adults won’t be going in to work places snotting and sneezing everywhere. Their colleagues won’t appreciate it. Nor will your child’s friends and teachers.

I would test but at least phone school for advice.

That’s ridiculous

Adults can’t stay off for a cold

If someone doesn’t understand that cold symptoms done mean tests or isolation then managers need to be educating them

Under current circumstances would you go to work snotting and sneezing and constantly blowing your nose @Vinoonasunnyday? Say, in an office of 30 people?

In any circumstances, come to that?

Yes I would as would all my colleagues because having a cold doesn’t mean I can’t work

I’d be laughed to a disciplinary if I tried to stay off with a cold

Temp/flu is different but no self respecting employee can stay off work with a cold

That’s just embarrassing

I'm a teacher and I'm off. To be fair I have a horrid cough and a terrible headache as well as runny nose and congestion. Still convinced it's just a horrid cold but I'm not well enough to work. I sent off a postal test Saturday and still haven't had my result.
I am hardly ever off work. However I'm starting to feel more human today and would go back tomorrow if I had my results!