To daycare or not to daycare with a fever?

It seems my poor little Squinkie is sick :( Not that you'd know to look at her, she's her normal happy self except for a persistent cough that a couple of weeks ago the Dr said was nothing.

The first we noticed she was a bit off was yesterday she was very sooky for me & DH - for daycare she was perfect. Then last night she broke her lovely pattern off waking 3 times a night to sleep for a maximum one hour at a time. Today she's been great, but her skin was feeling hot to me.

Checked her temp around 4:30 and it was 38.4. Decided to see how she went. Just now she's woken up for the second time already and it was 39.4 :( Gave her panadol and it's gone down to 38.9 in twenty minutes.

I've read up a lot on fevers and I'm not too stressed yet, but should she go to daycare tomorrow if her temp is still high? And how long should I wait for it to go down before making a Dr's appointment?

Tia xo

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Our daycare have a policy that we shouldn't send DS if he has had Panadol within 12 hrs. I wouldn't send DS with a fever as the childcare will call us to come and get him if he has a fever.


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Was just thinking she might have an ear infection, DS's only symptom was a persistent cough.


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Hmm, ear infection is a possibility, she seems to like having the thermometer in her ear, kinda leans into it. How do they decide if it's viral or bacterial, and if antibiotics are required? Thinking a call to the health help line might help.

Thanks kelebek.

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I wouldnt send with a temperature and If the temperature is there all day tomorrow I would say she will need antibiotics

I wouldn't take a child anywhere with a fever except the Dr.

She's just woken again and it's down to 38.1. I'm relieved it's going down, but I guess that's just the panadol and no real indicator of how things will be tomorrow.

I think she'll be best off with a day at home - even if her temp is normal in the morning it looks like a long night ahead for the poor thing :( And if it stays up in the morning then off to the Dr we go.

Thanks guys.

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Most day cares say not to send kids with a fever to day care. I wouldn't anyway as when kids are sick they want mummy or daddy and not day care workers anyway and dont want to risk spreading some bugs if its something that can be caught.

Hope better tomorrow for you.

Yeah I checked our daycare policy and it says nothing about temperatures. I guess I was wondering because she's fine during the day - today she happily went to my parents who she only sees once a month. I've also found our daycare haven't called me to pick her up when I'd have expected it, like the time she was sneezing giant boogers all over the place from the time we picked her up until bed.

The Dr kind of implied I was just another run of the mill paranoid mother when I went there last time, basically said she's likely to be sick for the first few months of daycare so get over it :(

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I hope she feels better tomorrow. I agree that the best thing is quiet rest at home with Mum.

Fever is generally a no-no - and plenty of daycares will send them home if they have a temp of 38oC+ and won't let them back within 24 hours...

Some will administer panadol once, but lots won't.

A day at home, and a trip to the Dr methinks.

I hope it doesn't spread!

I don't send mine to daycare with a fever that is only brought down with panandol (i.e if it is there before I give panadol and history shows it going up again once panadol wears off)..

Our daycare will administer panadol (after calling for our consent), and will insist on them going home if temp is still there or goes back once panadol wears off.

My centre will send them home if they have a fever.

I wouldn't take mine out of the house at all with a fever. Don't want to give it to some other poor kid.

How's she doing Kaytee? I echo peanutters post.
I hope this doesn't come across rantish! I'm passionate about chns health and wellbeing!

(17 years working in childcare and kindergarten)
It is usually a policy for children who have an elevated or depressed temperature to be kept at home for at least 24hours after their temperature returns to normal. The reason for this is that staff are first aid trained, not medically trained and don't have the staff numbers to care for a sick child. As you are experiencing, illness spreads really fast in childcare if sick children are brought to the centre and staff aren't vigelent In supporting families to keep sick chn at home.
It sound like the staff at the childcare centre could do with reviewing their practices( Staying healthy in childcare 4th edition or 5th edition if its been released) heres the link http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/ch43.pdf

If you haven't been called when you thought you would be... I wonder how many other families havent been called to collect chn who are sick resulting in your daughter getting sick.
Good luck, I hope your little one feels better soon and the dr shows some support and empathy next time you see them!

I guess I also think about when I have a fever. I want water and my own bed and peace and quiet. I think it would be pretty tough for a little person who had a fever at daycare where its go go go all day. Its so tough when it means having to have time off work though...

Our daycare centre will allow kids to attend if their only symptom is a temperature and if it is controlled by panadol (ie below 38). They will even give regular doses of panadol during the day if you sign in advance but will obviously call you if the temp is accompanied by a change in behaviour or mood. However this is for older kids and with a little baby I wouldn't risk it as they are a lot less resilient. It certainly wouldn't hurt getting her ears checked by a doctor who will be able to advise if it is likely to be bacterial or viral and can give you a plan of what (if any) medication she needs. Hope you got some sleep last night :)

Frangipani, that's exactly my thinking, I'm constantly seeing sick kids at daycare.

I feel I may have come across as a bit of a bad mum for even thinking of sending her, but to see her no one would ever think anything was wrong. She's up now, happy as Larry and crawling off all over the house to play. Her temp is now 38.4 again, down on its own which is nice but obviously I'd like it lower.

She's staying home though, as she slept really poorly last night and had a coughing fit that resulted in her coughing up milk in the bed, poor bugger.

Thanks for all your advice :)

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I also hate that I was made to feel stupid by the Dr when seeing him about this exact same thing. I thought she had a chesty cough but when he checked she was fine. Had the same temp of 38.4 during the say.

So I guess being told it's nothing and to expect more of it doesn't fill me with confidence to go back.

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:hug: TBH I would be finding a new Dr, totally not ok to be made to feel silly when it comes to kids. I know I need reassurance sometimes because I worry when fevers spike etc. My Dr is lovely, tells me its ok and that they are fine but that sometimes it IS best to check if associated with a fever, especially as DD was prone to endless ear infections and needed ABs frequently over winter.

As for going to CC - regardless of their policy I wouldn't be sending her with a fever, even if she seems ok, as the fever can make them grumpy at the drop of a hat, fever could spike, she could be contagious etc. so a day at home would be what I would be doing even if she seems ok (sorry I couldn't read back to previous posts!)

Yeah I agree we need a new Dr. When we moved we were recommended this clinic, but it wasn't until we went there that we found none of them ever really work closely with little kids and babies. So we're looking into the other clinics to find someone friendlier.

Thankfully, she does seem ok today. But sleepier than normal, but it's not making her extra grumpy or anything. I'm just glad I always have Fridays off anyway, so she'll have extra time to recover before Monday.

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Our Daycare send home at 38 degrees - they will administer panadol once if you authorise over the phone. However they will still ask you to pick up. Our DC is particularly tough on illness.

My DD suffers from febrile convulsions so they are even stricter with us - not that I mind I couldn't imagine anything worse than my poor little one suffering a seizure without me there.

In relation to your GP - do what your gut tells you. I made the mistake when my DD started DC of listening to my then GP (no longer our GP - you will see why shortly) as DD was constantly sick for the first few months. GP kept telling me it was a virus and normal - blah blah blah. Even up until the last visit we had with her where I pointed out that DD was red behind her left ear I was getting told not to worry - no ear infection etc. Well DD ended up in emergency THAT NIGHT and in surgery the next morning due to Mastoiditis caused by an undiagnosed ear infection. The surgeon estimated she would have had the infection for 6 weeks! I had been going to the GP once a week over that time.

Not meaning to scare you and our case is an extreme one, but I kicked myself so much for not getting a second opinion or listening to my mummy instincts more. By the way my DD never appeared sick with ear infections apart from a temp.

Janie xxx

Dont worry about asking questions thats what were all here for and if you dont ask how are you supposed to know, oh if I could have a dollar for every question I have asked and been laughed at.
Your a great mummy

Oh my gosh Janie, your poor little one! I have a similar story about my brother, my family swapped GPs after seven visits over two weeks, with the doctor telling mum she was paranoid. Mum demanded a blood test and he wound up in hospital immediately for two weeks with suspected cancer in his neck.

Thankfully though, DD's story ends well! She had loads of sleep today - I settled in the bedroom with the telly and A Game Of Thrones, so she fed lots and slept more than she has since she was a newborn. And now her temp is 37.3 with no panadol all day, and she's easily going back to sleep as I type. Very relieved and happy Mama here :)

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