Gastro and first day of school - what to do . . .

My kids have both had horrid gastro over the last week and had to take Miss E to hospital on Friday to get some fluids into her. She perked up a lot, but then last night had another chuck. Today she says she's feeling better but is obviously wiped out from having a week on and off of this. I'm pretty confident that Miss I is well over it now, although still pretty tired

My problem (other than a laundry that is once again full of bedding for washing) is that tomorrow is her first day of pre-primary - equivalent to prep in eastern states I think. Anyway, its a compulsory school year here. She is an extremely anxious child and I think its really important that she doesn't miss out on any of the first day stuff ITMS. There is no way she will last the full day, so I would pick her up and bring her home for lunch.

This gastro has been just diabolical - all five of us have had it since Tuesday and I'm still popping maxolon tablets like they're M&Ms. My folks both went down with it within 24 hours of looking after us when we all started chucking. While I want to do what's best for Miss E, the last thing I want to do is spread this any further.

Does anyone know how long contagious periods are? I would have thought 24+ hours from the last chuck would be ok but that's only a guess.

When e had it last month the gp put us all in quarantine until at least 48 hours after the last chuck or runny poo.

The fact your dd was unwell last night and you are still very nauseous I'd be worried you're really not properly over it and may need another day or so. Maxalon, as much as it stops you chucking, also stops you getting rid of the virus and it can hang around longer...

I've just had a quick look and most things seem to say quarantine for 48 hours from last vomit - mainly to make sure it doesn't come back and they are fully over it.

I'm sure the school would understand and will make sure she is looked after when she does make it.

Our CC policy states 24hrs since last vomit or runny BM then you're clear to come back.

ETA obviously though you have to look at the overall health of the child though - eating/drinking okay, not lethargic etc.

Gah, you poor things, that sounds awful.

I'd wait 48 hours to be honest. The gastro going around atm is highly contagious and it is best to be cautious. Your DD won't miss a lot on the first day, I'm sure it won't be a problem to wait one more day.

No way I'd send her. You have no idea if someone at the school is immune compromised and you could be putting them in serious danger. People don't realise how dangerous gastro can be, it's not just a case of the poos and vomits. It can be very life threatening to some.

She won't miss out on much. And they will make a big deal about fitting her in when she's back fit and healthy.

Definitely wait 48 hours, or 24 hours if the last vomit was also the last symptom. She is still ill, you should not send her. She won't miss much and will probably cope better with the anxiety if she is feeling well.

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Maxalon, as much as it stops you chucking, also stops you getting rid of the virus and it can hang around longer...

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Yeah, that's the down side to something like maxalon. Of course, the upside was that I could breastfeed Miss A without throwing up on her more than twice!!

Thanks all. I guess the next hurdle is convincing Miss E that she needs to stay home, as well as working out how to get Miss I to school for HER first day, without ending up having Miss E spread the plague anyway :rolleyes:

Oh man what crappy timing (sorry no pun intended!). Your poor things, I hope you are all on the mend :hug:

I'd probably keep her home too. Perhaps see if you can speak to her teacher and let him/her know what's going on so that they can make a big deal of her when she does start?
Good luck trying to co-ordinate Miss I's first day around Miss E's gastro :hug:

I would keep Miss I home too if it was me. We had the Gastro bug last year, and like you 4 of us went down in the space of a few hours. Ashton was the only well one, but I kept him home from school when we were all still feeling unwell.

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Oh man what crappy timing (sorry no pun intended!).

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I've thought more than once over the last week how relieved I am the kids somehow managed to have only had the top end to deal with - not enough toilets in this house for all of us!!

Love your new avvi!!

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I would keep Miss I home too if it was me. We had the Gastro bug last year, and like you 4 of us went down in the space of a few hours. Ashton was the only well one, but I kept him home from school when we were all still feeling unwell.

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We posted at the same time. Do you hand our razor blades with that advice Kathryn??? I think having my kids home and bickering at each other for another day is almost as bad as having gastro ;-) Argghhhh. I really don't know what to do. The baby had it last Sunday and has (she says while grabbing the most enormous piece of wood) been fine since Monday, and Miss I has been fine since Thursday. DH has been fine since Wednesday the lucky bugger.

Honestly, I would keep both of them home for at least one day, probably two.
a) you don't want them to still feel ill on their first days at school.
b) you don't want to be spreading the virus around.
and
c) because they have been so sick, they are also immuno-compromised and might pick something else up from the other kids.

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I would keep Miss I home too if it was me. We had the Gastro bug last year, and like you 4 of us went down in the space of a few hours. Ashton was the only well one, but I kept him home from school when we were all still feeling unwell.

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Yup. This. Gp put all three of us in quarantine for the two days after last sign of illness (only dd was ill, and in retrosoect, we believ it was food poisoning but at the time we thought it was gastro). As frustrating as it was to feel relatively ok (tired but not ill), given I have immune problems and pick up every gastro bug at work, it felt right to not do it to anyone else (far too many people come to work too soon. It's like a haven for gastro bugs!). Until you've all been clear of the bug for that period of time there is. A chance one of you is in the incubation period for the bug again as well.

Hope it's all done and dusted now for you all

I would be furious if another child who had been sick like that was sent to school with people still uncertain of how well they are.

oh yuck! You're all supposed to be better this year!
Maybe just sit it out to be sure? If one child is maybe sick, then there's always the risk of reinfection with the other kids. DVDs?
I hope you're all right as rain very soon

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I would be furious if another child who had been sick like that was sent to school with people still uncertain of how well they are.

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I think that's a bit out of line. I think my post was actually pretty clear that I was after advice to protect OTHER people's children as well as what's right for my own kids.

Thanks MadB

Quite apart from the risk of spreading infection, I would be keeping DD home simply because the first day of school is such a huge day and so overwhelming, it wouldn't be fair to send her for all that when she's not feeling 100%.

My DD started school last week, and there were several children who had been kept at home due to illness. Given that there's a particularly nasty strain of norovirus going around, better to err on the side of caution.

Sorry it came across that way. I just don't understand why it would even be a question of taking her at all. The idea of my kids getting a tummy bug is horrible. With a family of seven you could imagine how long it would hang around.

thanks Efjay. Its more that the Dr at the hospital on Friday said to the odd chuck might still happen, and said school should be ok because kids bounce back so quick and once its gone, its gone. What I hadn't asked him and should have was the incubation sort of period. If it were DD1 we were talking about then I wouldn't have even considered sending her - I'd have played it safe and kept her home. DD2 has some significant issues and its not exaggerating to say that if her school year gets off to a bad start then it can have a massive impact that could take months to rectify, so while I am very mindful of other people, its more than just a kid missing school in her case.

Sorry too if I offended. I'm running on empty. In the past 8 days two of my three children have been hospitalised and I doubt I've had more than 20 hours sleep so I'm not thinking very clearly about anything just now

:hug: Lulu. I hope all is better soon x

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I doubt I've had more than 20 hours sleep so I'm not thinking very clearly about anything just now

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With that quote alone, I don't think 'you' should be taking any child to school, unless you are within walking distance from school.. I would be arranging for DH to take them if you do send them. (If I am reading correctly that this is the estimated sleep in 8 days)

Hope you all get better soon though..

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I would be furious if another child who had been sick like that was sent to school with people still uncertain of how well they are.

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You'd be furious at alot of people then, I know of alot of times where parents have tried to sneak children back early at work with excuses or just not telling us they were even sick to begin with (as in the older sibling letting the cat out of the bag about johnnie vomited this morning). I imagine this happens an awful lot in the school system. I know at the local prep, children sent home vomiting are permitted back the next day - not even 24 hours later. Sadly not all parents even think twice about it.

I wouldn't send her. I hope you're all feeling better soon and you get some decent sleep. big hugs. :hug"

Its all become a moot point unfortunately :wall: I'm guessing now maybe school on Wednesday. Maybe

Oh no! More poo/vomit?

Oh no :hug:

Oh poor your poor DD I hope she feels better soon!
If it was me I wouldn't be sending her for a few days after the vomit just so she couldn't pass it on to anyone else. My DD last year missed the first week of school she handled it pretty well - I hope your DD does too. Again lots of hugs (from afar as I don't want to catch it through the screen ;-p)

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You'd be furious at alot of people then, I know of alot of times where parents have tried to sneak children back early at work with excuses or just not telling us they were even sick to begin with (as in the older sibling letting the cat out of the bag about johnnie vomited this morning). I imagine this happens an awful lot in the school system. I know at the local prep, children sent home vomiting are permitted back the next day - not even 24 hours later. Sadly not all parents even think twice about it.

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Yup! I suspect I would!
Even on Friday sitting with Iain at Kindy, A dad asked his little boy who was next to me at the table if his tummy was feeling better? I sat there & thought WTF?! Then he went up & told the teacher that his son had complained of a upset set tummy, but no vomit or poos. I still sat there thinking are you serious! BUT in my defense it is the domino effect that concerns me that if one of the kids brings home something from a child who was known to be unwell & still sent to school then Im in for at least 2 weeks of it with my kids. Plus DH is a real germ freak so if one of the kids is sick then he is a mess!

I hope your school week gets off to an ok start as best as it can. I know what its like to have kids with issues & school. My oldest is starting off by doing a week of only an hour & half in the afternoons at school & had to have the 2nd day off with a "sore throat".

I personally would keep them both home until you all are feeling 100%. I always think of the domino effect with these sort of things - say she is still contagious and she infects 5 friends, who then infect a further 5 kids when they return to school, and the families of those kids etc etc. It's part of the reason these things seem never ending!

Granted I have emetophobia (extreme irrational phobia of vomit), so my view is probably in the minority ;)

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I personally would keep them both home until you all are feeling 100%. I always think of the domino effect with these sort of things - say she is still contagious and she infects 5 friends, who then infect a further 5 kids when they return to school, and the families of those kids etc etc. It's part of the reason these things seem never ending!

Granted I have emetophobia (extreme irrational phobia of vomit), so my view is probably in the minority ;)

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No its exactly how I see it.
We didnt go to MIL's 60th which was on a Sunday because they had been vomiting on the wednesday. That was slightly different though because we know how careless they are with food prep etc so it really was too big a risk that someone would still be a carrier of the vomit bug (which had apparently had them down for 5 days!). Had we been exposed it would have been a month of vomiting here!

E now has diarrhea. I think I'm just going to have to write off this first week for both of them and cross everything that's the last of it.

I really hope I won lotto last night. I could do with a washer woman . . .

Oh no :( I'm so sorry Lulu :( Gastro is the absolute worst. I hope you get some relief as do your little ones, and next week is a great week for them at school :) Sending all the get well vibes I can.

Some tips are if you can keep those who are sick to one bathroom/toilet. Try and wipe down door handles/taps/light switches etc often just with disinfecant wipes are fine. Keep some sanitiser gel handy and if you have to clean up any spills try and use gloves. This will stop you from getting it and it going further. I have a huge paranoia about gastro. And with a few handy tips we've managed to keep the spread to a minimum when it hits by doing these things. People think I'm crazy... but I'll do anything to stop it from going through the whole family.

And unfortunately this is why there is a 48 hour period, and it's usually 24 hours for house occupants after the onset too. Just due to the fact it incubates and hits when you don't realise, and that's why it spreads. It's a horrible horrible virus. I hate it with a passion. But the more educated people become, the less chance it will to pass on so quickly.

Again I hope you all get some relief :hug:

Big hugs Lulu, what an awful week! I've got a phobia of vomit too so gastro is literally a nightmare to me. When it has hit (3 times last year but DD1 was 2.5 yrs before she caught it!), I do as Rouge suggested. It may seem OTT to some but so far it's worked besides the first bout when DH caught it (both ends, terribly!) and I got the runs for 6 hours. DD2 hasn't caught it yet and both DH and I haven't had it again.

I use the Pine O Clean wipes to wipe down surfaces, doors and door handles and any toys I suspect may be infected. I also use the Glen 20 spray and go nuts with that. DD1 still vomits in a bucket (not the toilet) so after it's washed out, I spray the bucket inside and out with Glen 20. I also wash towels as soon as they've copped any mess and I put hand gel in every room and use it A LOT! I put it on DD and myself and spread it right up our arms and even our legs if its been a bit messy :lol: Yep, I'm totally anal about it but like I said, vomit scares the day lights out of me so if I can avoid it spreading I will do anything I can.

Hope you guys are better soon :hug:

Phew you make me feel better Taurean. Yes. Do all those things!

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Phew you make me feel better Taurean. Yes. Do all those things!

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Don't feel bad. You're definitely not alone in the way you deal with gastro!

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Phew you make me feel better Taurean. Yes. Do all those things!

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I thought the same reading your post! :lol:

See, now I have this image of you trying to hold one of your bubs Taurean while they slide as a gooey, aquium mess out of your arms and down your gooey aquium legs ;-)

Thanks Rouge. I've been doing almost all of that. We've gone through 5 of the biggest plastic container thingies of the pine o clean wipes since last Tuesday. The only thing I was really struggling to keep on top of is the washing - front loaders take so long for a single load and there have been just sooooooooo many loads!! I can see the laundry floor again though so that's good, and I'm feeling a lot better today so plan on seriously blitzing the house.

Two devastated little girls missing their first days of school today. Makes me sad for them. They've been so excited about going back.

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See, now I have this image of you trying to hold one of your bubs Taurean while they slide as a gooey, aquium mess out of your arms and down your gooey aquium legs ;-)

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:rofl: You got it, that is exactly what happens! PMSL!

I've got a front loader too and yeah, that's the one time it's painful. Can you adjust your cycle time though? When I can get soiled towels, clothes, etc straight into the machine, I do a quicker cycles but still quite warm. If I've had to leave stuff on the laundry floor, I spray that sucker with Glen 20 :D I'm like a Gastro Buster with a Glen 20 pack on my back!

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I'm like a Gastro Buster with a Glen 20 pack on my back!

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LOL!

How are the girls today hun. Fingers crossed they are feeling much better :pray: