If Your Child Has Any of These Symptoms, Keep Them Home Until they Recover
The cold and flu season is almost here. If you have kids in daycare, you know they will likely experience the common cold at some point this year. And that’s okay. Common cold and flu symptoms don’t normally last long, and almost everyone gets them. But if your child is showing symptoms of a serious infection, you should keep them home from daycare until the symptoms pass. The last thing you want is to have your child suffering at daycare and passing on contagious infections to the other kids.
If your child is feeling sick, but you’re not sure whether or not they should stay home, watch for these symptoms and keep them home from their daycare in Ottawa until they’re feeling better.
A Fever
If your child has a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or higher, they have a fever. A fever is a telltale sign of your child’s body fighting off an infection. You can give your child medicine to bring down the fever, but there is nothing you can do to cure the contagious germs of an infection. Keep your child from spreading the germs at daycare until their fever goes away. Many schools and daycares ask parents to keep their kids at home until the fever has been gone for 24 hours. This ensures that your child is no longer contagious.
Non-Stop Coughing Or Breathing Difficulties
While typical colds involve coughing every so often, a bad sounding cough occurring constantly is a sign of a more serious infection. If your child is coughing non-stop, has breathing irregularities, or a bad sounding cough, bring them to the doctor and keep them home from daycare until the cough subsides.
Vomiting Or Diarrhea
These symptoms are usually a sign of a gastrointestinal infection, such as norovirus, that is highly contagious. As with other contagious infections, you should keep your kid home from daycare until the symptoms have been gone for at least 24 hours—or longer, depending on the illness. Both the daycare and your doctor will let you know how long to keep your child home if they have norovirus. You should also take extra precautions at home (such as disinfecting your bathroom if they’ve been sick) to prevent this nasty virus from spreading to other members of your household.
Severe Pain
If your child is suffering from pain beyond a bump or a bruise, you should keep them home and contact your doctor. Although it may not be anything too serious, your child will be better off if you address the cause of the pain as soon as possible.
If you’re not sure whether or not your child’s symptoms warrant keeping them home from daycare, call your doctor for advice. When it comes to discomfort and contagious illnesses, you will be doing everyone a favour—including your child, the other kids at daycare, and the daycare staff—by keeping your kid home from daycare in Ottawa when these symptoms are present.
