Coughing...How Do You Make The Call?

[SilverSabre25]

...on when they ought to go home for it?

DCB was out yesterday and the diagnosis was ear infection. Caught me by surprise as he seemed FINE the day before--just a little cold. So today he's back and he started coughing...he coughed in such a way and SO hard that I grabbed him and, in between coughing fits, tried to get a look in his mouth to see if he was choking/gagging on something! He sounded at times like he was throwing up but he never did.

He coughed so hard off and on for twenty minutes that his face was red and his eyes were streaming, and the cough just sounds perfectly awful. Not croupy or whoopy or anything...but just awful.

WWYD?

[Willow]

Kids with a sensitive gag reflex can struggle like that with even a tiny bit of post nasal drip from a cold.

I'd be willing to bet if he was put on antibiotics for the ear infection it's clearing him out in general.


If he's old enough see if he'll gargle with a bit of salt water. If he's a bitty saline drops to the nose and suctioning any snot might help.

[SilverSabre25]

heh heh, I should mention, he's 13 months, so a bit too old for snot-sucking and too young for gargling. Thanks though! I got him to go to sleep for a nap and he's not coughing in his sleep at least...but I'll have to get him up by 10 or so if I want him to sleep during regular naptime.

[Meyou]

If he did it again I would call but if it was a one time big cough I would let it go for the day as long as he was ok to play.

[Cat Herder]

Illness has become a loaded topic here recently.

Technically the deciding factor is supposed to "well enough to participate in all activities".

The catch is that we are being pressured by licensing to accept "mildly ill" children which is loosely defined as "mild illness with symptoms controlled". We even get a new check box for it on our publicly available CCR&R listing.

It apparently is to include colds, ear infections, "teething", "allergies" and "other" common childhood illnesses.

[SilverSabre25]

Cat, that bites! Maybe if you don't accept them that would actually be a BENEFIT in some parents' eyes? Maybe?

Yeah I know, I"m hoping for the impossible :P Or at least, improbable.

[Cat Herder]

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25

Cat, that bites! Maybe if you don't accept them that would actually be a BENEFIT in some parents' eyes? Maybe?

Yeah I know, I"m hoping for the impossible :P Or at least, improbable.

I think it is more about the economy and keeping workers on the job right now? At least that is what over an hour of the mandatory 4 hour class I sat through last week was saying...

We will have to rethink to be able to stay in business. Luckily they are relaxing the "must be in same room at all times" rule to meet the "mildly ill" need.

Ugh...IDK. It is always changing. >>>insert Lucille Ball "whaaa!" here <<<<

[Mom&Provider]

Time to go home. I am not one for calling parents, in fact I rarely ever do, but in this situation there is no way to contain the germs, the child is clearly struggling and it is making you uncomfortable...

[SilverSabre25]

He's been up for 1.5 now and he's not coughing any more. Maybe he did just gag on something, or swallow some saliva wrong or something...? No fever, nothing else definitive.

At least he's only exposing my kids (who rarely get more than a drippy nose) and his sister. If he is sick that is. And at least he's getting the antibiotics so if it's bacterial he's good to go :P