Daycare Diseases
"Welcome to daycare. Kindly check your child's immune system at the door." That's how it seems to many parents who enroll their young children in daycare or playschool. Roseola, pink eye and hand-foot-mouth disease? What are all of these bizarro illnesses - and why do your kids keep coming down with them?
Young kids don’t have much pre-existing immunity, says Dr. Joanne Langley, associate professor of pediatrics, division of infectious diseases at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Add "imperfectly developed hygiene skills" to a crowded environment, she says, and bingo, you've got an outbreak.
Unfortunately, it's tough to pinpoint exactly how long you'll be off work. Licensed daycare centres follow public health guidelines, which vary from province to province, informal care providers each have their own homegrown policies, and kids' reactions vary.
The glimmer of hope? According to the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), kids who attend daycare get fewer illnesses once they start school. In the meantime, pass the tissues and thank the heavens for remote email access.
Tip: You can use acetaminophen or ibuprofen for fevers over 39.5˚C if needed to make the child comfortable.
INFLUENZA
Symptoms
Fever, chills, head and muscle aches, fatigue, cough, sore throat.
Treatments
Rest, fluids and small nutritious meals. Ask your doctor about flu shots.
What it Means to You
Up to seven days at home until there’s no fever, diarrhea, vomiting, runny nose or cough.
CHICKENPOX
Symptoms
Mild fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, then crops of small pink spots anywhere on the body that become fluid filled and eventually crust over.
Treatments
Soothe skin with cool cloths or an oatmeal bath, and remind child not to scratch. A last-minute vaccination may prevent pox shortly after exposure.
What it Means to You
The CPS says kids with mild chickenpox can return to daycare as soon as they’re fever-free and feeling well enough; it’s contagious before the rash.
PINK EYE
Symptoms
Can include scratchy or painful eye with watery or pus discharge; whites of eyes turn red.
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