Do We or Dont We?????

Ok, Olivia has had gastro since Monday. The first 2 days she slept and was hard to wake. She was projectile vomiting and had the runs, but only once a day. Now she is back to her normal self, EXCEPTshe still has the runs....once a day.

My question is.... we have a 25th birthday party to go to tonight, do we take her, do I stay home with her or should we all stay home? Adam has been sick too but is better. I have not been sick (lucky me:)touch wood!)
I just dont know if its till contageous.... opinions please:)

Cheers
Melissa

Yep, still contagious for at least 48 hours after the symptoms have disappeared. I guess if you'll be hanging on to her all night (and washing your hands frequently) it shouldn't matter, but if she's going to be passed around, etc, then maybe not such a bright idea.

(DD caught gastro from her cousin one Christmas eve, however they were a bit older and playing together and no body really minded cos who was gonna say that her cousin should miss out on the family Christmas celebration)! :)

I wouldn't go because even if she is over the worst of it, she might not be up to a noisy party with heaps of people and you can gurantee that there will be heaps of people who will want to hold her and it may just make her upset, as well as the risk of passing it on to someone else kwim?

Who's party is it Melissa? If it is a friend of yours, can you still go and explain why Adam and Olivia aren't there or visa versa? I'm sure they will understand and be happy that at least one of you made it.

I wouldn't takae her either. She is still contagious if she still has the runs. These things spread like wildfire and I believe really strongly that anything that has the potential to make someone else sick should be kept at home. There could be an immuno suppressed person, someone with other small kids or a newly pregnant woman. All would really suffer if they were to "catch the bug".

It's disappointing when these things happen when something's on we really want to go to but in the interests of everyone (your little one is probably still feeling a bit under the weather too) I think it's best to steer clear.

:hug:

i wouldn't go either, i would hate to pass it on to somenone else and i would be angry to know that someone who knew they were contagious passed it on to me. It is your decision of course, you know whats best for your family, fingers crossed you don't end up getting it

Right we have the results from the doctor from her poo sample... its not gastro...... am still erring on the side of not taking her coz yes, I dont want to give it to anyone at all because we caught it from someone at a party last saturday night and I know how angry i am at them.

yep.. i know what to do, theres always next time and I know that I was really peeved from getting from someone, so i dont think its the right thing to do by going. Adam will go (its his mates birthday). I'm happy to kick back at home and ....sleep!!!!!
Adam sent off another poo sample thismorning and got the results from the receptionist, so when I go back there on Wednesday for her immunisations, I will find out what it was. i dont think the receptionist told him what it was and I'm not sure if she can.
Anyway, thanks for your opinions:)
Have a great weekend
Love Melissa

Nah, Adam is fine and has been for over 2 days now. Sleep is looking a better option for me anyhow! I think, even though she is only having one runny poo a day, that we will give it a miss. Theres always next time....plus its an 80s party and i dont have a costume!!!!!

Hi Melissa,

Abbey has had the runs for almost 2 weeks now. We too sent off a stool (poo) sample and were told it isn't gastro. Abbey was initially having liquid poos (she was previously a 1 poo per day girl and it was like slime/sludge) every time she passed wind and that gradually slowed down. For the past 3 or 4 days it has been runny (almost liquid) poos about 5 times a day. The MCHN, the GP and myself are still working through what it might be - the current theory is secondary lactose intolerance. The doc thinks she picked up some sort of a tummy bug which gave her the runs and stripped the tummy lining making the gut more sensitive to lactose and so the presence of lactose was causing her to still have runny poo. She has been put on a lactose free formula for now. Anyway, my point is that the persistence of the runny poo may not be a sign of gastro and if the stool sample came back clear - I would not be concerned about her having something contagious in that sense.
I do agree though that if she has not been herself then she may not feel up to the party - but you are the best judge of that!

HTH

MG

Hi MotherGoose,
Thanks for that info. As of yesterday her runny poos have increased to every other nappy and with the other nappies, she will have a wet skiddy. Her bum is starting to get sore again too:( We did send in another poo sample on Saturday morning, so i will ring up to find out the results.
Her cousin which she caught the bug off was only throwing up. Olivia threw up all Monday and Tuesday and was definately not herself for those days, but has got better in the sense that she stopped throwing up and has become much brighter and cheerful and responsive and is taking her normal amount of fluids. Then by Tuesday night, she did one runny poo and one everyday til yesterday when it increased. Shes still happy and cheery but pooy. I will throw this idea up at the doctor. I hope to have her back on track soon, for her sake. Also, shes 8 weeks today, so if shes not well then she wont be able to have her vaccinations that are due.
As for the party, we dropped Adam off and then picked him up this morning... at 5am lol. He obviously had a great time coz wasnt ready to be picked up at the 2am feed.
Cheers
Melissa

Oh Melissa - your poor little girl! Abbey's poos have slowed down to three poos a day over the weekend (WOOHOO!) and her feeding has dramatically increased (by about 200mls) so am pretty happy with her!
For the sore bottom, are you using any creams? I found that initially we needed to use Zinc (with some water mixed in it - can be purchased in the baby aisle at the pharmacy) to get on top of the redness and then swapped to sudocream (or curash - depending on what was in reach!). The cream creates a barrier to help stop that burning sensation as the poo (or urine) hits the skin.
I'm not sure if you are breast feeding or formula feeding. When I posted about lactose intolerance someone said you can get tablets or something to put in EBM to remove or reduce the lactose so if you are breast feeding and the doc thinks it might be secondary lactose intolerance - you should still be able to breast feed. If she is formula fed - you can only get the lactose free formula from the Chemist unless you get soy or goats milk.
Abbey became more cheerful and back to her normal self after about a week as well. In relation to the immunisations - have you spoken to a doc or nurse about her not being able to have them due to the runs? I asked my MCHN about exclusions for immunisations and she said so long as they (bubs) dosen't have a fever they are fine to get their shots... worth checking out. Or call the Royal Children's Hospital and ask to speak to the Immunisation Nurse and ask them - they specialise in that stuff.

HTH and hope your DD continues to improve!

MG :)