School and chronic runny nose

[Pleiades45]

DS1 has had a runny nose since before his first birthday, it only ever seems to stop when the weather hits an all time high and then we have a few tissue free weeks.

We recently moved to a new school (year 1), and he's telling me his nose is an issue for the other children (I don't blame them). More questions have led to me realising that they don't keep tissues in the classroom, something they did in his last school. DS is coming home with a nose which is severely caked up from lack of attention. Apparently they have sent him to the toilet a few times to do something about the nose but to be honest he could spend half the day in there and I can see why he's reluctant to keep going there.

At the moment he needs encouragement to recognise he needs to deal with his nose. I was going to approach this subject with the teacher at parents evening but I've just heard they are not allowed to assist with runny noses. No physical contact is allowed.

I am also going to make an appointment with our new GP to see if anything can be done, past doctors have said not to worry.

In the event the GP doesn't offer any help, what do I do? It's a question of hygiene and habit but I'm not with him for most of the day and it's obviously interfering with the social aspect of his schooling.

If the school is anything like the one I work in, the tissues are paid for by the teacher, so that might be why there aren't any!

You could (regularly) buy some boxes of tissues for the classroom. I'm sure the adults don't like looking at a runny nose, and if you asked them they would occasionally ask him to deal with his nose. You could also say to your DS that when the children mention it (you say it is an issue for them), that that is a good signal for him to blow his nose!

I'm sure that a 5 / 6 year old could wipe or blow his nose if reminded, no physical contact needed.

I think you do need to raise this at school, if only to let them know he isn't ill etc.

Hope you get the problem sorted.