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?

Your son sounds similar to mine in terms of every cold turns into a cough, which then lasts about four weeks. He also has an inhaler.

I think he's now just had his 11th PCR test. Any break and resumption in coughing we get him retested e.g. if been away on holiday even though we know it's still the same cough. The nursery staff don't know that.

I just think that you can't know 100% it's not Covid and if I were another parent I wouldn't be happy with you possibly bringing Covid into the nursery so I give the situation the same respect I want others to.

It is a PITA but these are exceptional times.

I agree with pp you can't separate out covid. In non covid times I probably would have sent him in, but I would have had a contingency plan in place and not been more than an hour away, or somehow found someone to help.

He shouldn't be there with a temperature (I know you said it was the night before and he didn't have a temperature in the morning before nursery.)

A cough could be asthma of course but asthma doesn't cause a temperature. So the two together would be concerning- even before covid.

I'm surprised the nursery accepted him with a temperature. Would make me wonder if they let all the other children (and staff) attend with covid symptoms! What other guidelines are they not bothering with?

Leaving Covid aside as requested, I don't think you should send them in when they're poorly. It's not fair to DCs, the staff or the other family. But really to the DC. It's so tempting and so shit for work, but you have to wait until it passes and they're on the up.

If they have a fever overnight or even the day before, they're not going to be feeling right. And nursery can be an overwhelming place at the best of times.

@Emsie1987 my dd is older than yours (7) and the breakthrough for us has been that she’s able to swab herself now (obviously with close supervision to make sure she’s doing it right). That’s made her much calmer as she’s in control - previously we’d had community nurses chasing her round the house to pin her down when she needed a pre op swab. Yours is probably too young for that to work though and I do sympathise, having done a lot of restraining mine for medical procedures it feels awful. If you’re getting negative results though (rather than inadequate) odds are you’re doing it right.

Hoping everything settles, the guilt of phoning in to work with another child illness is horrid. It will pass though and it’s not your fault when you need to stay off 💐

@Emsie1987

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

Eh? My son had covid and paracetamol brought his temperature down

Did you follow their sickness policy? A sick child needs to be at home. My child's nursery has a policy that they have to be 24 hours without calpol and a normal temperature before returning. I think this is pretty standard even without covid.