This is a follow-up on a post that I did last Thursday. It has been confirmed that my DCK does have Molluscum Contagiosum. I have researched it and called my doctor's office for more info. Apparently it is very contagious but the parents of the child are swearing that it should not be an issue. I told the parents that they cannot bring their child back into my care until he has no marks on his body. A lot of the stuff that I have read online is saying that it is completely normal for kids to go to daycare and school with this virus, they are just wearing long sleeves and/or bandages.

Have any of you ever allowed a child to come to daycare with this virus?

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The last time this came up, I think I wrote a pretty lengthy response, so I won't bore you with my experience with molluscum at a center where I worked

Just have the parent bandage them everyday. You have to be careful of the child scratching them and popping out the pearly center and spreading them. You also have to watch out with water play- they can also spread through using the same towels.

An older child can manage keeping the band aids on, but it might be a challenge for younger kids.

Yes, very contagious!!!

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I had a dck have it and I required it to be covered/bandaged while here. No one else got it.

My own son had it years earlier when he was going to preschool and I just kept it covered. It lasted a long time on my son (just 3 spots, never spread) he was nearing the end of kindergarten by the time it was gone for good (roots came out) so he would have missed a whole year of school if they had excluded for it.

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If the parents do decide to pull him from my care and take him somewhere else, I wonder if other day cares would take him in with the condition. Even with the bandages, you still run the risk of spreading.

I just don't think its worth the risk to my kids. Especially since he is only coming one day per week.

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I think a center with multiple teachers could probably handle it better than an in home. Making sure the area stays covered, checking for spreading, etc. could be overwhelming for one person. My own dck's can't keep band aids on when they get cuts, I know it would be a struggle.

Another provider I know (who is probably one of the most professional, positive providers I've come across. She takes on special needs kids and gets referrals from schools and therapists because of her top notch program - so this is someone with multiple years of experience dealing with all kinds of needs) had a child in her care with it. Even though she took every precaution, SHE wound up getting it. In adults it's shows up in the genital area and is often confused with herpes.
It took a long time and medical treatment (I believe they freeze them off?) which she wanted because of where the sores were (generally no treatment is necessary beyond covering the spots) and she had to be careful not to spread them to her DH ("so sorry DH, we can't be intimate because of the day care kids" - not a convo I want to have!) she even said that she would never knowingly take on a child with the condition again.
There is a lot I willingly deal with each day because it comes with the job. But I do not want my work interfering with my intimate life, KWIM?

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Thank you. This makes me feel better about my decision to keep the kid out of daycare.

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My own kids had it. I didn't have a daycare at the time. The marks were never oozing and they never picked at it.

Their marks lasted for over a year before they were completely gone.

The doctor told us they were contagious when my ds got it.... one of our other kids caught it and that was it. And I was really vigilant with precautions, too. Reading these stories.... thank goodness!

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So it's a viral infection that presents with these bumps? And it can last for months? Man, that's a hard one. I'm not sure what I would do. As a parent, I'm sure I would lose my job and rightfully so, if my kid couldn't go to daycare for several months. But then again, as a parent, I wouldn't want my well child exposed to it. As a provider, I'd be between a rock and a hard place. I think I would probably exclude. It sucks, but it's a contagious illness, plain and simple. I'd be afraid I'd lose other children.

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Other threads about this

https://www.daycare.com/forum/search...archid=3559382

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I told the parents that they cannot bring the child back until the blisters are gone. This may sound harsh to some, but it is just not worth the risk to my business at this time.

I guess the other question is, should I term the child because the parents dropped the child off without informing me that he had the virus. I am very upset that they just blew it off like it was no big deal. They didn't even cover the blisters up and they were oozing and bleeding. If I do decide to let them go I wouldn't want there to be any repercussions because I am letting them go for the medical condition. The main reason would be because they broke contract. Also, if they are willing to bring the child in like this then I can probably expect them to keep every other ailment from me as well.

I just can't believe that I was put in this position in the first place. It was extremely irresponsible of them and now I have other parents mad at me about the situation.

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Did they purposely with hold info about it from you or were they just not very informed about it?

I've read several posts/threads on forums about Dr's telling parents that it ISN'T a big deal so ....just curious about the parent's intent kwim?

If I KNEW the parents knew better and purposely with held info, then my actions would be much different than if they were just parents that weren't really that informed and brought the child because it was "no big deal".

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I think that they were not very informed about it but carelessly forgot to let me know when they brought the child in. They also did not know the name of the virus and I was unable to get the name from them for several days. I don't know about you, but if my child had something looking like that I would know what it was called. I mean, I Googled the parent's description and it came up right away. It seems to me like the parents did not care enough about it or respect my business enough to even try.

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I think within 30 seconds of being told my kid had Molluscum Contagiosum I was typing it into google. Even the name sounds like it is contagious.

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I would never accept a child into care with that. It is HIGHLY contagious and small children aren't very diligent about keeping things covered. Hand washing, bandages, long sleeved clothing, making sure it's NEVER itched or touched at all. NOT worth the risk.

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I am a director currently faced with this decision. Ive decided its not worth the risk and I'm willing to take on a challenge from children's services (who has custody and is trying to place the child with us).
1. the child is 3, 3 year olds dont do a great job with hand washing, they are in close contact, share dress up clothes and a water table, roll around in the floor, snuggle up with the stuffed animals etc.
2. the child's torso is completely covered in lesions
3. 3 year olds do not keep bandaids on a cut, let alone a torso of bandages

My question is this...for those (including doctors) who state that despite being highly contagious, Mollusum is not that harmful or is no big deal, how is being covered in wartlike bumps for up to 4 years not a big deal? To a child who cant participate in sports, to a little 6 year old girl who has to go to school with these on her face. I'd rather my child have chicken pox or a horrible flu than to see the damage this disease will cause to a child's psyche. Moreover, these lesions can leave scars. Please explain this rationale to me.

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I don't know why it is played off as not a big deal. I would never wish this on any child. It can stick around for a while and parents cannot have their kids out of childcare for that long. It is a conundrum indeed.

Sorry that I cannot offer more insight on this. I ended up terming this child. Not only because the parents brought the kid to daycare without telling me about the virus, but also because after speaking with several people who knew the lady, no one had anything positive to say about her. It just wasn't going to work for my business at the time.

Molluscum can be contained as long as it is covered up and the infected child isn't putting it in water that is shared with others, but like you said that is difficult to do all of the time.

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Does your state have any exclusion guidelines for it? I did a 30 second search and WI doesn't, but if I were faced with the situation I'd do a deeper search and contact licensing for their input.

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My daughter has it and has for well over a year now. On her belly and down one arm. No one including her brother has gotten it and they bathe together and I use the same washcloth for both of them but not the same towel. Her belly obviously is always covered but she's been wearing short sleeves now and some aren't covered. I haven't told my daycare parents about it and none have asked. Her Dr told me it was highly contagious but never said I needed to keep them covered at all times.

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I just posted this not too long ago...

The family I used to nanny for and now occasionally watch during the summer have/had molluscum- although the mom never mentioned it to me. It was on their knees, multiple spots. My son developed one spot on his knee soon after being exposed to the boys. Winter came, and my son's spot was still there and then it grew into three spots (and one on his back). I took him to the doctor and they said it was highly contagious, but nothing to fret about. They said to let it run its course. I wasn't about to do that for a couple of reasons... 1) I was pregnant and didn't want the baby to get it
2) I didn't want to expose other children
3) I didn't want it to spread on my son, which it was slowly doing
In the end, I covered my son's molluscum with Apple cider vinegar every night. It burned his heathy skin, but cleared them up in a couple of weeks.
BUT... What a nightmare. I ended up getting a few (and yes, in adults they migrate to other areas. It ended up on my inner thigh and lower stomach. Thank goodness nowhere else). My mother thinks she now has it from my son (before we knew what it was and she was exposed).
We had to go to the doctor, which cost me a copay. Luckily, we didn't have to go to the dermatologist, but we had to be extremely diligent about treating it every night and covering it every day...
Now... I am nervous to see the family again. The mother is oblivious to anything the kids have....

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