Illness

[Emsie1987]

My son had a high temp last night. We gave him Calpol and the temp came down. This morning he woke up, temp was normal but he had a cough. He always has a bit of a cough (potential asthmatic). I was due to go into London for the first time in ages. Didn't feel I could say to work sorry I can't because my sons ill. So I sent him to nursery. Explained to nursery about the above and that his behaviour had been normal this morning. But to call me if any issues. They did call me at 11 saying that his temp had spiked and asked if they could give him calpol. I agreed. And also said I would come and get him but would let him have his nap first. Reason being I was over an hour away and he was falling asleep at that point. I didn't want them to wake him from his nap when he clearly needed It being sick.

No one else to call upon to look after him, while I went to the office, no other person to pick him up earlier.

Was I in the wrong sending him in this morning? How sick does your child need to be for you not to send them in / pick them up immediately?

I don’t know what I find more unbelievable, that you sent your child to nursery with two of the main symptoms of Covid or that your nursery accepted him with two of the main symptoms of Covid. You should have kept him off and ordered a PCR test and stayed at hone yourself. I hope that you’ve ordered him a pcr test now!

Without question you shouldn't have sent him and they shouldn't have accepted him. He needs a PCR, where have you been for the last 18 months?

Yes they are the main two symptoms of covid. However, he has 'asthma' and a prescribed inhaler from the doctors. Every time he gets a cold he gets a cough. Nursery have a letter from the doctors about this because obviously with Covid going around and winter last year he was basically always coughing with one cold after another. At the time I said to the doctor how will I know if this is a normal bug or covid as it's not practical to do PCR tests each week. They said if it's covid calpol won't bring the temperature down or it won't bring it down for the full four hours. If in doubt take a lateral flow test.

His temp came down last night and didn't rise again for another 14 hours. I also did a lateral flow test this morning.

Yes I know we are in covid times. I lived through five hospital stays with my son having bronchitis last year and worried that he would get covid while in hospital. However, this is about general illness question. Also he has a cough nearly 80% of the time this wasn't a new cough. And temp can be related to teething.

Does that answer your covid questions/fears that I have been spreading covid?
lol

I’m a nursery manager and I wouldn’t have accepted him in with a high temp, a cough and certainly not after having calpol
You were extremely unreasonable to send him in and I’m shocked the nursery accepted him
I would have excluded him till a negative Covid test

Hi he didn't have have a high temp when he went to nursery and he didn't have calpol before nursery to reduce it as he didn't have one. He had a high temp at 9pm the night before when he was given calpol. He didn't have any calpol after that until he was at nursery at 11am when they administrated calpol due to his temp going up again. They know that his cough is related to his asthma and theyHave been given medical records from gp to confirm this. I gave him a lateral flow test before he went which was negative.

Clearly you’re oblivious to others opinions and clearly you think you’re right op.

Not sure what the point of the thread is really.

Yabu to send him in but you clearly don’t care. So what’s the point

I do want other peoples views but it's not above covid otherwise I would of put it on the covid forum.

My question is at what point of illness do you not send your child to nursery? The night before he was ill and in the morning he was fine no temp, not

In normal times, our nursery has a policy where a child can’t attend for 24 hours after having a temperature of 38 C or more. With covid, any temp of 37.8 C or above requires a negative PCR test before being allowed to nursery.

Sorry sent that too early. Not much of a cough and playing and running around with toys. So I made a decision based on how he was that morning and the negative flow test to send him. He then got worse during the day so I picked him up.

Do other parents allow their child to sneeze once and not send them in? Or what point do you get to of how ill they are before not sending?

Covid aside please. As I have said he had a cough most of the time and he did have a negative lateral flow test. Which is what the nursery ask for if unwire.

I wouldn’t accept a lateral flow teat either
I wouldn’t have accepted him after having a high temp and calpol the night before
This is to protect everyone in the nursery, and frankly I wouldn’t care about your job or your meeting
My job is to look out for the health and well-being of my staff and the other children, so while a cough could be asthma, a cough coupled with a high temp could be Covid. And this needs to be discounted with a negative PCR test not a LFT
My nursery has been open throughout the whole pandemic and we have had no cases of Covid, no cases amongst children or staff. So I must be doing something right

@twoofusburningmatches

In normal times, our nursery has a policy where a child can’t attend for 24 hours after having a temperature of 38 C or more. With covid, any temp of 37.8 C or above requires a negative PCR test before being allowed to nursery.

Thank you. are nursery only has a policy about staying away after a case of diarrhoea for 48 hours and a lateral flow test in current times. Do you ask for pcr and not lateral flow tests then?

My daughter is 3. She had a temp thurs night. And slight cough. Friday we went for a PCR (negative). Saturday she developed a chesty cough. She’s still off nursery now as temp goes up one day and down the next. RSV and other virus are really common in local nurseries at the moment.
No you can’t send a sick child to nursery. He will have passed it to more kids now and now their parents have to miss work too. I’m missing work, it’s what happens.

@insancerre

I wouldn’t accept a lateral flow teat either I wouldn’t have accepted him after having a high temp and calpol the night before This is to protect everyone in the nursery, and frankly I wouldn’t care about your job or your meeting My job is to look out for the health and well-being of my staff and the other children, so while a cough could be asthma, a cough coupled with a high temp could be Covid. And this needs to be discounted with a negative PCR test not a LFT My nursery has been open throughout the whole pandemic and we have had no cases of Covid, no cases amongst children or staff. So I must be doing something right

Excellent I am really glad you, your nursery staff and children have been safe during these times.

However I am glad that my child has been medically exempt basically for the coughing otherwise he would not have been able to attend nursery at all last year as he coughed the whole time and was teething a lot of the time. We as a family have done lateral flow tests twice a week and have been negative and not shown any symptoms. As you know not having symptoms doesn't mean you don't have covid. Nursery also advised us to do this. I'm sure every parent doesn't arrange a pcr test each time there child has a temp from teething.

It's good to understand different policies though.
Next time he gets a temp I will keep him at home for another 24 hours to see if it spikes again or is a once off. Felt terrible sending him in when I thought he seemed okay this morning.

@Whatamuddleduck

My daughter is 3. She had a temp thurs night. And slight cough. Friday we went for a PCR (negative). Saturday she developed a chesty cough. She’s still off nursery now as temp goes up one day and down the next. RSV and other virus are really common in local nurseries at the moment. No you can’t send a sick child to nursery. He will have passed it to more kids now and now their parents have to miss work too. I’m missing work, it’s what happens.

Thank you.

Normally I am that over cautious parent that keeps them off just to see mainly because of his breathing. It's been easier to do because I have been working from home too. Today was the first time I had to choose between keeping him off or going to the office. I do feel like I made the wrong decision otherwise I wouldn't of asked.

Apart from the temp the night before. When he woke up this morning he was running around, playing normally and had breakfast. Seemed like a normal day so I made a judgement call. Obviously he spiked again and I made the wrong all

I have a cough variant asthmatic child and I am only glad she is an adult now and able to make these decisions for herself but, in answer to your question, no I wouldn't have sent my child to nursery if they had had a temperature in the evening.

Pleased you will keep him off next time he has a temperature
It is the responsible thing to do
It is hard having to exclude children but on the other hand we have strict guidelines so we don’t have to make the decision

No, they don’t accept lateral flow tests at our nursery. Luckily most of my DC’s temperatures have happened over weekends since covid, so we’ve had time to get the results of a PCR test back before she was due back at nursery. I do sympathise - sometimes it is hard to know when to keep them off or not!

It’s really rubbish but I don’t see how you can leave Covid aside here. A lateral flow test is not appropriate for someone with symptoms, they need a PCR and should still isolate until results. The temperature definitely counts as a symptom and the cough would count if it’s new even in an asthmatic. If the cough is not new that’s different. (I’m a doctor and have spent months checking on guidelines and giving advice). My daughter had weekly PCRs because of fevers for the last 7 weeks of the school summer term - it’s a pain but the right thing to do. We’ve seen plenty of kids who’ve had one high temperature which has settled with calpol (or even without) but tested positive for Covid.
Even without Covid most nurseries would suggest 24 hours minimum post temperature which seems fair enough.

@chinateapot

It’s really rubbish but I don’t see how you can leave Covid aside here. A lateral flow test is not appropriate for someone with symptoms, they need a PCR and should still isolate until results. The temperature definitely counts as a symptom and the cough would count if it’s new even in an asthmatic. If the cough is not new that’s different. (I’m a doctor and have spent months checking on guidelines and giving advice). My daughter had weekly PCRs because of fevers for the last 7 weeks of the school summer term - it’s a pain but the right thing to do. We’ve seen plenty of kids who’ve had one high temperature which has settled with calpol (or even without) but tested positive for Covid. Even without Covid most nurseries would suggest 24 hours minimum post temperature which seems fair enough.

Hi thanks for your view point especially as a doctor as I can imagine you have read a lot more information about covid then I have due to questions asked.

The cough hadn't got worse he was just his normal coughing self. The temp was probably what led me to think it was okay to send him. He didn't feel warm to touch when he went to bed and he woke up crying at 9pm. Wasn't sure if his teeth woke him up and caused a fever which has happened in the past and calpol settles it. Normally a once off and doesn't spike again. Because his temp was normal in the morning and he was himself didnt think much more of it. Did a lateral flow test as told by my doctor and our nursery as a precaution. Didn't even think about a pcr test as in my opinion he didn't have symptoms. Obviously now home and thought about it a lot more with out the stress of the morning routine I should of looked at it from that side more. Didn't help that my meeting today was about future flexibility at work.

You mentioned about giving your child regular pcr tests? Can I ask some advice on how to do them? We have done many in past and it's always been quite upsetting for him and me as I literally have to put him in a headlock and never know if I am doing them properly. Always had negative results not come back unknown though so maybe I am.

Super shocked at your nursery who clearly aren’t following the guidelines correctly.

I would be super pissed off it a kid in my class had a cough and a temp and no negative pcr test. I feel we should start giving those parents a big fine.

I think you made a decision based on the fact you had to go to London and put other children at risk of catching whatever your son has.

@user1493494961

I think you made a decision based on the fact you had to go to London and put other children at risk of catching whatever your son has.

That's okay your entitled to your opinion but I didn't. My view this morning was he had a teething temp and would be fine going in. Based on previous health experiences with him. Today I was wrong.

I fully informed staff what happened the night before, didn't mask any symptoms and they accepted him. So they also didn't think anything covid related either.

Of course my decision was partly made on going to the office. As I said before I am normally a cautious parent and even if his fully well after a cold I will give him an extra day. But that was when I was working at home. Now I am trying to navigate working in office onsite with a child who can be poorly quite a lot, during covid times and what is acceptable level of illness and what isn't. Sickness and diarrhoea policy is 48 hours. Nothing on temp. They are allowed in with a sniffle.

If I had a pound every time a parent has told me a child's fever, diarrhoea, vomitting, cough, cold etc was caused by teething, I'd be a very rich woman! The amount of times I've caught 'teething' myself too!

Very bizarre thread. Your defensiveness suggests that you obviously feel guilty, OP. It’s done now. Just keep him home next time.

How would you feel if DS caught covid after being at nursery with a child who they had allowed in with a cough and temp?

An LFT wouldn't show as positive anyway once you have symptoms, you need a PCR. You either didn't tell the nursery the whole truth, or they aren't following the guidelines.