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?

[weebarra]

Our local authority (Scotland) has also said that runny noses are not a symptom and if kids feel fine they should come in. DS's high school has now had a confirmed case, but that if we aren't contacted by Test and Protect, they should attend school as usual.
I do feel that there may be more colds than usual at the moment but the children have all been in lockdown since March.

[CaptainMerica]

Well, my hardline stance on this has bitten me on the arse as DC is now home with a mild sore throat.

School have said he is fine to come in as long as it is not one of the main three symptoms, but feel free to keep him home if he would feel better there.

[BottomOfMyPencilCase]

Yeah, it’s on the Glasgow live page today. Just popped up
Thanks.

Every year, our DC get ill at the start of Sept and get sent home. Like a PP, I'm hoping there will be less colds and bugs thanks to the masks, the hand sanitising and being outdoors.

[yawnsvillex]

You'd like to think @BottomOfMyPencilCase .... sadly our colds have already started. The common cold is a fiesty, resilient little bastard!

[beresh]

In Switzerland for children just a runny nose is a symptom requiring a child to stay home from school and get a covid test. For adults a cough or fever is required to get a free test. Family members don't need to isolate unless the test is positive. I don't know what science the runny nose for kids rule is based on, but it is being strictly followed and lots of kids are being sent home. Schools for under 16's have been back in full classes since early June. Whilst a few children/teachers have tested positive and some schools/kindergartens have had to close temporarily, there has been little evidence of the virus spreading within schools. Maybe this rule is helping!

[yawnsvillex]

@beresh my DC has allergies which give him a constant runny nose, we could be testing daily if that's the case here.

[Rassy]

Nicola Sturgeon has today announced that a runny nose by itself is not a reason to get tested. Says only get tested if got one or more of the 3 symptoms.

[897654321abcvrufhfgg]

Those of you saying a cold is not a symptom of Covid. This is of the nhs website. Those symptoms seem very cold like to me.

[RhubarbAndMustard]

Visited our school today for my youngest's transition session and specifically asked this question. Was told to send them in if it's just a runny nose, minor cold etc. They would rather they were in school than off for minor cold symptoms.

I think it's got to be the schools call in this. You can't just keep kids off for a runny nose if the schools don't want them to be off.

[eeeyoresmiles]

I think there should have been some national guidance from PHE (and national equivalents) on this - even if only in the form of requesting kids with colds to be kept at home if possible, without it being a strict rule as for the main three covid symptoms.

It must surely be better to reduce the circulation of ordinary colds as much as possible. In a few people even ordinary colds produce fevers and coughs and so will lead to more testing that's not necessary, and then a minority will also actually be covid. So it's got to be worth encouraging those parents who can keep kids at home for a couple of days easily to do so.

[eeeyoresmiles]

You could differentiate that by age too - in older kids colds are more discrete things like adults have, with a clear beginning, middle and end. It's harder for very young children with a constantly runny nose, but older kids could be taken out of circulation while full of cold quite easily, especially if they don't need childcare.

[stayathomer]

are you a school nurse? Our DC has never had their temperature tested by a teacher in class. Even the school nurse would only temperature check if they DC complained of having a temperature.
Two of my children have had their temps checked on more than 1 occasion (both get very flushed). Teachers came up to me afterwards to let me know

[LouiseNW]

Vinoonasunnyday

Louise

That’s a massive over reaction

You can pick colds up anywhere!

Not all kids with asthma develop complications from a common cold.

That’s some serious health anxiety going on there.

Most workplaces would not accept staff staying off work for having a cold. Even in nhs that’d be frowned upon. Temp/being unwell of course, but a common cold?!

It’s an extra concern if your child has asthma but that’s ridiculous expecting the country to stay at home for a cold just in case you get it, and just in case you pass it on, and further just in case your child gets complications!“


Well aren’t you the milk of human kindness. I’ll just tell myself that I have health anxiety, next time I’m sat in a very uncomfortable hospital chair at 3 am wishing some selfish arsehole who clearly believed they were indispensable in the office had stayed home for a day or two, rather than causing us two weeks of anxiety.
I haven’t worked in an office environment for a long time. Even back in the dark ages when lunch was for wimps and our city suits were cut with two jackets so no-one knew you had dared to call it a day at 10pm after a 6 am start, we were told to stay home if the least unwell. In an air conditioned skyscraper, better one person of today than and dozen in two or three.

But hey, f**k everyone else, eh, long as you can go about your incredibly important business.

[Squintybumcheek]

We got an email today from dc school (Scotland) with a quote from the local public health director asking for people to only get their kids tested if they have one of the three main symptoms. Since schools reopened there has been huge pressure on testing because people have been getting kids with runny noses, other cold symptoms tested.

So many kids are off though with colds so can understand why people want to get them tested to check.

[Trackandtrace]

The issue with colds is that if the cokd is covid related or the oerson also has covid (nonsumptomatic or pre stmptoms) they are more likely to spread through sneezing

[maddy68]

Get them tested. I can't believe you wouldn't ?

[MadameBlobby]

@BelleSausage

Symptoms can be very mild in children and vary greatly.

If parents want schools to stay open then they need to do their part in helping stop staff members from getting sick by having their ill children tested.

It’s not a lot to ask. Especially since staff are being asked to work unprotected to get schools open in the first place.

If we are going to have parents acting selfishly then the whole system will fall apart.

Yes, get them tested when they have the Covid symptoms we have been told merit a test. Not a sniffle and a sore throat.

My son had a sore throat on Tuesday, no Covid symptoms but I kept him off. He didn’t develop any Covid symptoms so he went back to school. I’m happy to keep them off with colds to stop spreading those too but it’s completely ridiculous that parents are getting tests for their kids when they don’t even have symptoms of Covid.

As for “it’s not too much to ask” well it is actually if people with Covid symptoms can’t actually get a bloody test because all the slots are taken up by people whose kids have a sore throat and a sniffle, no Covid symptoms, and plainly have a cold.

[MadameBlobby]

@eeeyoresmiles

I think there should have been some national guidance from PHE (and national equivalents) on this - even if only in the form of requesting kids with colds to be kept at home if possible, without it being a strict rule as for the main three covid symptoms.

It must surely be better to reduce the circulation of ordinary colds as much as possible. In a few people even ordinary colds produce fevers and coughs and so will lead to more testing that's not necessary, and then a minority will also actually be covid. So it's got to be worth encouraging those parents who can keep kids at home for a couple of days easily to do so.

Agree, our school have said that if kids are unwell (not just with Covid symptoms) they should be kept at home.

[latticechaos]

My son had a sore throat on Tuesday, no Covid symptoms but I kept him off. He didn’t develop any Covid symptoms so he went back to school. I’m happy to keep them off with colds to stop spreading those too but it’s completely ridiculous that parents are getting tests for their kids when they don’t even have symptoms of Covid.

And herein lies the issue with our testing - because he could have covid with no symptoms of covid.

We are not really ready to open schools the way we are imo, as both testing, and track and trace are below the level needed.

[Iminaglasscaseofemotion]

We are in Scotland. Mine are both full of the cold so I'm keeping them off today.

[MadameBlobby]

@latticechaos

My son had a sore throat on Tuesday, no Covid symptoms but I kept him off. He didn’t develop any Covid symptoms so he went back to school. I’m happy to keep them off with colds to stop spreading those too but it’s completely ridiculous that parents are getting tests for their kids when they don’t even have symptoms of Covid.

And herein lies the issue with our testing - because he could have covid with no symptoms of covid.

We are not really ready to open schools the way we are imo, as both testing, and track and trace are below the level needed.

But then anyone could have Covid with no symptoms of Covid by that reckoning. What are we meant to do get a test every time we feel under the weather with any ailment whatsoever?

I’ll stay home and keep my kids home if we are unwell. I’ll book tests if we have symptoms. If the government want me to get my children tested when they don’t have any of the symptoms set out by them as requiring one, they can change the guidance. I’ve done their job enough for them this year without having to second guess whether my child has Covid without any symptoms. It’s my job to follow the guidelines, not to take it on myself to go further.

[latticechaos]

@MadameBlobby

Yes, quite. The testing is a false reassurance imo, we have to do it of course, but it doesn't help schools much because most children display no symptoms or mild symptoms, which really doesn't help to stop the virus.

I totally agree it isn't your job or my job to go further. But being here best, testing isn't really much help for schools.

Better than not doing it, so we must, but not enough really.

[latticechaos]

Sorry, here best = honest

[FippertyGibbett]

No, phone school for advice.

[Yellowbutterfly1]

It’s not to much to ask for people and places to use some common sense.

Most of these children have not been around many others for months, so their natural immune systems are not going to be the best and are even more likely to pick up cough, colds, sickness bugs then ever before.
If you keep them off school for testing for every single thing that is not listed as a reason for testing by the government then you may as well keep all schools closed.