Do you say something to a mom in public with a sick kid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:keep your kids away from the bug and when it hits it will hit them HARD!

Agreed. And while nobody likes their child getting sick, there are several studies indicating that exposure early in life to these little bugs may actually help reduce the risk of childhood leukemia. The theory is that early exposure helps toughen up that little immune system.

http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/healthteam/story/2898308/

[Anonymous]

As with most issues there is a grey area of acceptance in the public domain. I have to admit this post has made me laugh....DS (2 1/2) started day care on October 7th, 2008 and has had a runny nose and cough since October 11th!!! Seriously - almost without any brief periods of remittance. Before October I would have agreed with those on the side of keeping kids at home more. And still do when they have a fever or the (usually) minimal days that there is obvious infection - not the clear runny nose but the lovely thick, yellow/green gunk (sorry, TMI) that flows endlessly from time to time. Other that that we just started washing our hands the minute we get into the house and / or use Purell from time to time.

I do really feel for those moms that have a chronically ill child who either can't go out for fear of illness (I worked in NICUs and so know the laments of many parents who add this to their endless list of worries) or fear of the nasty looks/responses others feel the need to give to self righteously project their opinions to the world. The good for one and the greater good do not always meet at the same place and it doesn't mean there is a wrong in all situations.

[Anonymous]

I have to agree with the other posters that said you should just back off and mind your own business. My LO is in daycare, so maybe that makes me a bit more "germ-tolerant," but it also makes me aware of the importance of keeping her away from other kids when she's sick. That said, the way to keep your child healthy is to practice universal precautions, not to rely on others to do so. And, if you are going to take your child to a public place, you have to accept that there are things you can't control and have faith that every Mom tries to do what's right. If you are afraid of your baby being exposed to germs DURING COLD AND FLU SEASON, keep her home.

[Anonymous]

I would venture to say that most of these germophobes are SAHMs with one or 2 very very young children. I cannot even imagine a working mom who's child is in daycare would look twice at a runny nose or a hacking cough.

[Anonymous]

fyi, there is a lot more info on exposure to germs and immune systems than one random german study.
For example:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7301
http://uanews.org/node/16885

[Anonymous]

pp here--sorry for the repeat leukemia info. Got interrupted by a phone call and didn't refresh before posting..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would venture to say that most of these germophobes are SAHMs with one or 2 very very young children. I cannot even imagine a working mom who's child is in daycare would look twice at a runny nose or a hacking cough.

And even daycares don't require you keep the child home unless there is a fever. That's just life.

[Anonymous]

So, I guess those Moms who think sick kids should be quarantined assume that their kid will only get sick from the germs that they actually see being spread by other sick kids? Do they also assume that just because kids don't look sick, they aren't contagious? I had no clue that my daughter had roseola until the spots showed up after three days of a low-grade fever AND MY PEDIATRICIAN TOLD ME IT WAS LIKELY TEETHING. Oops.

[Anonymous]

The next time my son has the croup, I'll bring him to the playground and playarea then....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The next time my son has the croup, I'll bring him to the playground and playarea then....

Absolutely! Strenuous physical exercise is perfect for a child who's having trouble breathing!

[Anonymous]

to the PP who wrote about her child's very serious symptoms --

I just read this thread, and if there were a way to write you directly, I would (so as not to divert this fascinating discussion.)

But your child's symptoms sound a lot like mine -- except for the vomiting.

I just wanted to ask you if your doctors are considering Periodic fever, Aphthous-stomatitis, Pharyngitis, Adenitis (PFAPA) Syndrome

This syndrome includes recurrent episodes of fever with aphthous-stomatitis (mouth sores), pharyngitis (sore throat with redness and sometimes a throat that has a white covering – exudate - like that seen in a throat with streptococcal infection. PFAPA affects children in early childhood, usually starting at age two to four years. Episodes usually decrease in frequency and resolve after the age of 10 years. This disease was recognized for the first time in 1987 and was called Marshall’s.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/periodic_fever_syndrome/rheumatology_overview.aspx

[Anonymous]

I say things when I see kids eating and the play area has signs NO FOOD ALLOWED.

now let the sick children play!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP - cliche alert, but I have to ask -- this is your first child right?? For better or worse, you're going to realize soon enough that the world is not terribly sterile. Everywhere you go, you'll see sick kids and germy situations and guess what? You and your progeny will survive. Thrive even, because exposure to germs is how the body strengthens the immune system. A library is not a hospital clean room - if you don't want to encounter people with colds, you're going to have to stay at home... which is exactly what people with newborns do.

And as I suspect you'll hear from lots of other posters, by the time a kid is showing symptoms, s/he's often no longer contagious. You really can't tell from a quick observation if a child is horrendously ill or just has the garden-variety congestion that many kids who are in organized settings (school, playgroups, classes) have with some persistence at various points over the course of the winter. I keep my kids at home when they have a fever or are really incapacitated by the flu or a cold, but I certainly wouldn't ban any kid with a cough from going to the library or the supermarket. Or even that temple of good health Starbucks, despite the horror of the PP.

Agree.

hmmm you must be the moms who bring their sick children to public places. it's revolting that you do this. kids who are coughing up a lung are CONTAGIOUS. the phelm is filled with bacteria. i know a mom who continued to bring her sick kids out. it was really insensitive and i questioned whether to continue the friendship.

karma is a xxxxx. guess what, what goes around comes around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The next time my son has the croup, I'll bring him to the playground and playarea then....

wow, i can't believe you would do this. that's awful. you are awful. no wonder your kid gets the croup. karma is a xxxx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:to the PP who wrote about her child's very serious symptoms --

I just read this thread, and if there were a way to write you directly, I would (so as not to divert this fascinating discussion.)

But your child's symptoms sound a lot like mine -- except for the vomiting.

I just wanted to ask you if your doctors are considering Periodic fever, Aphthous-stomatitis, Pharyngitis, Adenitis (PFAPA) Syndrome

This syndrome includes recurrent episodes of fever with aphthous-stomatitis (mouth sores), pharyngitis (sore throat with redness and sometimes a throat that has a white covering – exudate - like that seen in a throat with streptococcal infection. PFAPA affects children in early childhood, usually starting at age two to four years. Episodes usually decrease in frequency and resolve after the age of 10 years. This disease was recognized for the first time in 1987 and was called Marshall’s.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/periodic_fever_syndrome/rheumatology_overview.aspx

They do mention vomiting later on as a symptom... my child doesn't have that one.

What are the main symptoms?
The main symptoms are episodic fevers, accompanied by a sore throat, mouth ulcers, or enlarged cervical lymph nodes (glands in the neck, an important part of the immune system). The episodes of fever start abruptly and last for three to seven days. During episodes, the child looks very ill and complains about at least one of the three symptoms mentioned above. The episodes of fever recur every few weeks and often families know the exact day when an attack will start. On the day the fever starts the child will feel a little ill before the attack and the family knows an attack is about to start. Not all children have all symptoms, especially mouth sores. Some children have other symptoms like joint pain, abdominal pain, headache, vomiting or diarrhea.