Always healthy teen sick all middle school

[Anonymous]

DS never got too sick from 0-11. He would get the average cold here and there but didn’t come down with things other kids would. Then he started middle school and it all went down hill. It seems like he is constantly stuffy or has a cough, we treated him for mollescum in 6th grade. Here we are in 7th and he just had strep (I can’t remember the last time he had that) and now two weeks later he has a fever.

I don’t get it. Is it because teens are touching their hair and face more at this age? They don’t change clothes after gym and have more physical contact again? They are sharing drinks, food? I thought it got better as they got older but it’s gotten so much worse for him. He was once tested for mono at the urgent care (last year) and it was negative.

Anyone else notice an increase in illness at this stage?

[Anonymous]

Obviously environmental exposures to one or more of the following.
Something in the school building (molds, etc.)
Something from friends (dirty or sick friends)
More dirty fomites spreading germs. Teens are quite dirty overall if not taught proper self hygiene.

[Anonymous]

How old is his school building?
Does he wash his water bottles?
Does he play a sport where there are communal water bottles?
Is his middle school much larger than ES?

[Anonymous]

Have you drug tested him?

[Anonymous]

I used to work in a building that made me sick. I’m otherwise very healthy and rarely sick. This is a real thing as absurd as it seems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to work in a building that made me sick. I’m otherwise very healthy and rarely sick. This is a real thing as absurd as it seems.

Same. One wing of my school is currently being renovated. The construction guys went in with hazmats suits because there was soooooooo much mold in the walls and ceilings. Same with rodent urine and feces. Disgusting. Our wing is no different. I feel bad for kids/teachers with breathing issues.

[Anonymous]

This is easy. Teens are dirty and they let their hygiene go.

In elementary school, they are in class with the same 25 or so kids all day. Maybe they switch classes once or twice but it’s still basically the same kids. Teachers treat them like little kids and remind them to constantly wash their hands and they listen.

Then middle school happens. Classes change. They change rooms and mix with hundreds of others. No one tells them to wash hands and there may or may not even be soap in the bathroom. The desk that they sit at in each class is used by 5 others every day, every class period for every subject. Germs are everywhere they go.

They no longer care as much about their own hygiene because they are at the worst age of hitting puberty but not figuring out how to handle it yet.

[Anonymous]

21:30 and I’m a HS teacher. There hasn’t been soap in our student bathroom for weekend. I keep putting in requests for someone to refill it. I don’t want their germs either.

[Anonymous]

*weeks

[Anonymous]

Maybe he is allergic to the school building

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is easy. Teens are dirty and they let their hygiene go.

In elementary school, they are in class with the same 25 or so kids all day. Maybe they switch classes once or twice but it’s still basically the same kids. Teachers treat them like little kids and remind them to constantly wash their hands and they listen.

Then middle school happens. Classes change. They change rooms and mix with hundreds of others. No one tells them to wash hands and there may or may not even be soap in the bathroom. The desk that they sit at in each class is used by 5 others every day, every class period for every subject. Germs are everywhere they go.

They no longer care as much about their own hygiene because they are at the worst age of hitting puberty but not figuring out how to handle it yet.

All of this. Plus in FCPS not enough sleep. Both my kid always seemed to be getting a cold for the two years of middle school. Has not been the case for DS in HS. DD finishing middle now so hopefully same will be true for her.

[Anonymous]

My 7th grader has had Flu A, Flu B and covid (twice) this year. She missed more school in one year than k-6th combined.

I think partly it is she is growing and tired and her immunity is maybe a little down?

[Anonymous]

Is he stressed?

I swear one of mine is perfectly healthy and then if he has a stressful month, he is sick non stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:21:30 and I’m a HS teacher. There hasn’t been soap in our student bathroom for weekend. I keep putting in requests for someone to refill it. I don’t want their germs either.

That’s pretty bad. You should email the board of health in your town or city. They will make sure there’s soap the next day. In the meantime tell the principal to bring in soap for all the bathrooms until this gets resolved. That’s how hepatitis A gets around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:21:30 and I’m a HS teacher. There hasn’t been soap in our student bathroom for weekend. I keep putting in requests for someone to refill it. I don’t want their germs either.

That’s pretty bad. You should email the board of health in your town or city. They will make sure there’s soap the next day. In the meantime tell the principal to bring in soap for all the bathrooms until this gets resolved. That’s how hepatitis A gets around.

This has been common in every school I’ve ever worked at. I’ve been teaching for 28 years.