Rsv + - Rapid City,SD

My youngest was a preemie so germs have always been a concern for us. I have always been scared to take him anyway with other kids, however I have learned that hand washing is the most important thing I have ever taught him. I know a sink is not always handy but keep hand sanitizer in your purse or diaper bag. Also as a member of our local Y I can tell you they are great about keeping as many germs out as possible. They have a sign on the door that asks all people entering to wash their hands first-the DC is right next to the bathroom, this last fall they installed a sanitizer dispenser outside the DC room so that it only takes a few seconds for people to clean up before entering the room. We even have one attendant that spends her own money on Lysol and sprays toys that have been in mouths and the whole room at the end of each shift, they have even put a sign up by the sign in/out sheet asking parents to donate Lysol and hand sanitizer to keep costs down and enviroment as safe as possible.

As for diarrha with RSV that is probably a side effect from getting RSV. When you have RSV your immune system is low making it easier to catch other bugs. I am guessing your son has had RSV for a few days already, while his body was fighting to help his lungs he probably got a secondary virus. just keep pushing fluids. If he hates washing his hands my son LOVES the kids antibac line from Bath and Body, they have great foaming hand sanitizers that make them smell like grape bubblegum.

I have to say I agree with your husband. From August to January I also worked at a gym's nursery. It was fun to have the extra money and my son enjoyed going there to play. Well after dealing with illness after illness, including an ear infection that lasted 6 weeks because we couldn't get rid of it since he kept catching every cold that came in the center, I decided his health was not worth the extra money. I think I spent almost as much on Dr's visits and medicine as I made since I was only part time. I realized these ear infections could permanently affect his hearing and his health comes first! I just had another baby 2 weeks ago and there is NO way I would take my baby there. My son has not been sick since I quit and although I know it is good for kids to get occasional illnesses, being sick all winter long is not healthy and does not help build the immune system! We still go out and about all the time and he plays with other kids and he still hasn't gotten sick. We cleaned as much as we could at the center but parents bring their kids sick or kids are carrying something before they show symptoms and it's impossible to not spread germs. We had a no-sick kids policy too but unfortunately most parents completely ignored it and would get mad when we told them to take their kids home. The employee kids who were there every day were always sick and I really wonder how it'll affect their long term health. Find another way to get adult time because your children's health comes first and RSV isn't a small meaningless illness.
M.

J.,
Your son could have gotten RSV from anywhere. Not only the daycare. If you are worried about the environment, maybe you should consider working in a center and not a drop off facility. Plus, getting sick boosts the imune system.

I have a membership to the YMCA here in Lincoln too. I am rarely able to take my kids to the day care because once they go a few times they are sick! My doc has even told me not to take them there, and he sees lots of little ones who are thought to have caught something from the Y's daycare. When i do take the kids there, i do see LOTS of sniffeling, coughing kids. Its so frusterating to know some moms dont care, and take the kids there anyways. IM sure its that way with lots of daycare situations. Since you work there, I'd like to know, since my kids get sick when they go there, What are the daycares at the YMCA's cleaning routines? do they sanitize the toys? I have to say you shoudl quit, just because i know how it is when your kids are sick alot!

I wouldn't get too uptight about. kids are going to get exposed to germs and it's is the best way to help kids build up their immune system for when they go to daycare, school, etc. Now, it is pretty irresponsible for parents to bring their kids to a daycare when their sick just so they can work out. That's very selfish on their part. But you husband should be sure not to direct is anger/annoyance at you because of the "stupid" ones that can't see further than their little box. He needs to tell them. Let them know how much it can inconvenience others when they make poor decisions.

However, remember that some kids will naturally have drippy noses or sneeze and it has nothing to do with being sick, so sometimes it is hard to tell from the outside looking in.

Try keeping some wet wipes around (especially at the daycare) and wipe everything down. Wipe hands even if they are just playing, because how many times do you see a kid put hands to nose/mouth.

Have your son be on the brat diet intill the diarrhea is gone.
For your job I would just keep doing what you are doing and send the kids home or tell the mom'm they can not stay because they are sick. I don't think your son is picking all this up from your job. YOu can get sick just from going to wal-mart. Tell your husman to chill out. Good luck

Colds come from everywhere. People who have colds, etc are actually contagious a few days before they show symptoms. So, even if you kick out the sickies, one of the "healthy" ones may actually be sick tomorrow. I worked at a gym daycare and it seemed like my daughter was always sick too. I quit because I felt guilty for bringing a sick kid and didn't feel like I could call in with a sick kid every week. Thank God for spring and being able to go outside!

My daughter just got out of the hospital from pneumonia. She had diarrhea but I think it was from the antibiotics. She had been on albuterol a few days prior and just seemed to get grumpy but not diarrhea.

How old is your baby? I'm really sorry about the RSV. We were worried about that with my 2 month old recently, and if she did have it, luckily, she's almost completely well now. Just a little bit of stuffiness left.

I guess the only one who can tell you what to do with your job is you. You have to decide if it's something you want to do or not. One thing I can tell you though, is that it's actually quite possible that the RSV was transmitted by your husband or yourself and not someone from the day care. Adults and older kids get RSV all the time. It just presents itself as a common cold. So you could pass someone in the grocery store and they sneeze or cough and then hand you your change and you've got it to pass on to your baby. I guess I'm just saying that if you love your job or need it, I wouldn't just quit thinking I was going to keep my kids from getting sick.

But I totally know where you're coming from (or he is). I'm a SAHM but just recently had a baby so we put our 2 yo ds in a 2day a week preschool to make it easier on me and I feel like he's brought home every illness they've had in the place. So I stopped sending him. There I go contradicting what I was saying up above, lol. :) It's hard to be a parent. :) We constantly have to weigh the pro's and con's. Good luck and I hope your little guy gets to feeling better soon.

The diarrhea is probably just part of the cold virus that was carrying the RSV. I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure you keep your son hydrated..maybe even give him some pedialyte until the diarrhea lets up. Adults can also carry the RSV virus, only it just shows up as a cold. My son caught the virus from an adult last February (2006). By March it was full blown RSV and he was hospitalized for 9 days...he also developed pnemonia with his, so just watch you boy close.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/respiratory/rsvfeat.htm

http://www.rsvinfo.com/

here's some information about rsv..depending on how old your child is and their prior health,, it could or couldn't be serious.
with my daughter being a preemie ,rsv is very scary to us and for the first two years of her life got montly rsv shots between oct-april..

i agree with another post,, i don't necessarily think it is only your job that could be the culprit for this or any other illnesses. i stay home with my kids and during cold/flu season we don't go to play dates or play areas hardly at all.. but my husband could be the culprit bringing germs home.. i don't think your husband should be puting the blame on any individual person. with out insurance that has to be really tough. maybe you could or he could call your pediatrician and ask their opinion about 'bringing the germs home' issue. maybe if he heard from the dr that it could be any number of contacts,, maybe he won't be as quick to blame.

or you could get a different job in the child care field that offers insurance.. :-))
good luck
T.

Hi J.!
Well both my boys had RSV I hate that! They both had diarrhea for about two weeks with it. If you notice hes not urinating or not sleeping or fever spikes then just take him to the ER maybe you could start looking for a new doc if hes not answering any important concerns. It expensive with insurance I cant imagine without!! If I were you maybe you could comprimise my hubbs wont let me work because of my health and he wants me to raise the boys but maybe you could find somthing else to do at the Y like front desk or somthing. Just a though!!??!! Good Luck!----A.---

hi J., our daughter had rsv. this is not to be taken lightly as we almost lost her. here are a few suggestion for you. first talk to your doctor,see if he can give you a discount some times they will if you are having problems.second if you windup in hospital wait till you get the bill then file a finical statement some times they will dismiss the bill if you can prove that you cant afford to pay it. this is from medical people I know. hope this helps. on the diarrah that can be normal. try pedeolite it helps alot. I have 10 kids and I keep it on hand. T.

Hello,
My son had RSV and all that too. He got after we went to Capitol for a day where they had huge grills and lots of smoke. I don't smoke and I'm so picky I don't allow anyone near him who smells even a little like smoke. Kids get sick no matter how clean or how hard you try to prevent it. He spent his firt year and a half constantly having a runny nose and a fever off and on fromt he sinus infections. The baby sitter demanded I take him to the doctor and have tests done (she has kids and watches them so she should know if something's serious?) so I did and the doctor said not to worry. he was building his immune system and as soon as he got over a cold he had another kind of virus. My point is that they need to get sick. He hasn't been sick from daycare since November of 05! I knock on wood all the time now. When he was younger and wouldn't drink or eat to my satisfaction because of his colds, I gave him pedialyte. The doctor said not to worry, but we do and it helped me to know he was getting some nutrients.

I can see your husbands point in getting mad, but it should not be directed at you. You need adult time and kids benefit from a parent who takes care of themselves. Good luck to you.

K.

I would quit. It doesn't matter if you only get adult time there, find another job where there are rules about bringing sick children to be cared for. You will be happier with a child who is sick less often and your husband won't have a reason to complain :)

My daughter didn't have RSV but she was on a nebulizer with albuteral and she also had pretty bad diarrhea. It lasted the whole week she was on the medication. I don't think there is much you can do about it. I just made sure I was getting plenty of liquids in her so she wouldn't dehydrate.

I don't quite know what to tell you about quitting your job-- especially if it is one you enjoy. BUt RSV is not just something the floats around in daycares: My twins were born premature and we were always on high alert for RSV because of the possibility that it could develop into something awful. I stayed home the first 6 months (with twins that means I--LITERALLY- just stayed home and tried to handle their every needs) while my husband went to work. For their second 6 months, he stayed home and I worked. We were lucky. We limited all contact with children-- they didn't really see anyone other than us and their grandparents. We made everyone who entered the house wash their hands before handling them. We were maybe a bit paranoid. And, guess what? They both came down with RSV. I have no idea how but that just goes to show you that even when we try to isolate them from illness, they can still catch it.

We were lucky that they did not develop really bad cases of RSV, but they were ill (very ill) more than once. There really is no way to prevent kids from getting sick-- maybe short of making them live in a bubble. With that said, you are obviously increasing your child's risk for getting sick whenever you set foot outside the door and they come into contact (even if only seond hand) with other sick kids. But quitting your job may not necessarily put an end to that.

Rather, it seems to me that you have the right to put together a 'sick' child policy -- if you can get your co-workers and supervisors to agree-- to prevent sick kids from getting other kids (and you) ill. My daycare provider has one-- and even though kids ocassionally do arrive with the earlly stages of illness to her place-- when kids are really sick, they stay home... and everyone is better for it.

I hope that helps.

It is awful your son got so sick, but your husband should not be upset with you for that. Even if it was at your workplace that your son contracted the illness, children get sick everyday from all sorts of things, especially other kids. He should be thankful you are working at a place you can take your child, because if your son was in daycare he would be getting sick all the time from other kids.
Just love you son and know he will be better soon. Remember that you are a great mom!

I dont think you have to worry to much about your job, its one of the best ways to build up your son immune system. My son goes to public school and brings home all kinds of germs, which we girls get right away and are sick for a while. My son hasnt been sick this school year once yet (knock on wood). My husband works at a restraunt, and has had a cold real bad too. Unfortuantly people are selfish and dont believe in leaving sick kids at home. Its sad and disgusting to think about. My daughter has asthma, which gives her a cough that sounds very contagious, but its not, its asthma, but boy do I get the looks when we have to run to the store for something, people act like I am contaminating them. I dont blame them because too many people out there will bring their seriously sick kids or themselves out and about. Good Luck with the RSV.