I need a little help because I feel horrible. On Monday, I had a little girl who came to daycare perfectly fine. Then a couple hours later I noticed she had green goop coming from her eye... so I isolated her (put her high chair and gave her morning snack) and wiped it, washed my hands really good and when I came back to look at her the green goop was back. I called her dad and he came and got her. I guess the parents called the doctor and they didn't want to see her because they don't treat her symptoms anymore. I had talked to Mom each day (Tues, Weds, Thurs) about her and she said that she was great and the green goop and red eyes where gone. She even took her to the doctor yesterday night and her doctor said the pink eye was gone.

Oh, and I bleached EVERYTHING in my house she was around!!! Plus, (knock on wood) no other child has gotten it.

So, today I felt comfortable and allowed her to come back... she's playing all morning fine and when I go to pick her up... she has GREEN GOOP in her eye AGAIN! So...... I called dad to confirmed she had gone to the doctor and he told me to call mom (which he sounded really mad that I was calling!) I talked to mom and she said doctor had told her it was gone.... So my question is.... Am I wrong for sending her home again? I feel really horrible and I don't want to lose this family as I love their little girl!!

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I've never known a case of treated pink eye take so long to clear up. Did they just let it run it's course or did they treat with meds? And is the eye red or is it just goop? Maybe it's another type of infection or the tear duct?

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We do not have to exclude for pink eye. I can and do sometimes but we aren't required to. I also send kids who have suspected cases of pink eye to the eye doctor not the regular doctor. After all, the eye doctor is the one who knows about eyes.

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They let it run it's course the doctor would not treat it. The one eye has crust and the other was green goop. I'm not sure what she has and that's why I feel horrible about calling and having her picked up. I have 3 other dcks plus my own kids that I have to look out for.

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I am going through the same thing and just let my DCB back today. His doctor gave him and antibiotic cream for his eyes and both me and the Dr. told Mom that her child could not return until he had been on the antibiotc for 24hrs. She was really upset yesterday, because she had a mandatory meeting and asked if he could just come for a few hours until her meeting was finished. Even though I knew she was in a tough spot for work (she has also been a best friend of mine for years) I had to tell her no to protect my family and the other children in my care. I know she didn't like that answer! It is hard, but you have to do what you can to keep it from spreading to other families. I would send her home if she had goop coming out of her becuase it is very contagious. Maybe you could print out some info for her on when it is safe to return. Just do a search for conjunctivitis or Pink and see if you can find one that states the conditions for returning to a daycare/school setting. Good Luck!

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In my contract it says that children have to stay home with any discharge coming from eyes. I never thought about asking her to see an eye doctor. I could ask dcm to send her. Do you require a note from the doctor?

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Thank You So Much!!! I will do that. I called my son's doctor and asked when it was safe for her to return because I was very concerned about her spreading it to my family and other dcks. My doctor told me as long as all of her symptoms were gone she could come back... and that's why I did because dcm said they were gone and her own doctor cleared her.

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Did they bring you a doctors note saying her diagnosis?

Otherwise the only thing you have from them is words.

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I don't have a doctors note. The family is really wonderful and I went by word of mouth. I'm starting to think I need to require notes from the doctor when it comes to very contagious diseases.

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If my doctor refused to give my child medicine to treat pink eye, which takes literally 2 - 3 doses to be clear and feeling better , (even though we do the drops for 7 - 10 days) I would be shopping for a new doc. period.

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Yeah

I had this one family who were SUPER DOOPER for about seven years. They were awesome parents and I loved their kid.

The Mom came in one day and told me that little Brutus had a rash but the doctor said not to worry about it ... it was most likely an allergic reaction to something.

So I get a load of the rash and I'm like... wait a minute. That looks an awful lot like impetigo to me. Being a school nurse for three years.. I had seen my fair share of it.

So I say... What doctor do you guys go to? Did it look like THIS when you went in?
She said: oh it wasn't a DOCTOR it was a Nurse.
I said: So it was a nurse practicioner in their office? Did it look like THIS when you went in?
She said: Oh well we didn't GO to the Dr. I called and talked to a Nurse.
I said: So you talked to a Nurse at your Dr's office? Did they ask you to bring him in?
She said: No I just called the Nurse help hotline Mercy Nurse (one of our hospitals has a free nurse you can call about health stuff and she routes the caller to THEIR hospitals and clinics.

Anyway... so it went from "The Dr. said he must have an allergy" to "I called a nurse hotline" all in about two minutes of conversation.

Off they went out the door and to the real doctor in real life. Impetigo it was.

Lesson learned from Nan. Get the diagnosis in writing.

I have very strict rules for pink eye: Pink Eye and Conjunctivitis: Children are not allowed to attend day care with eyes that are red and/or eyes that are weeping with clear or cloudy drainage. They must be completely free of drainage both running and dried drainage around their eyes before they can return to day care. We do not accept Dr's notes allowing children to return to day care after treating conjunctivitis if the redness and drainage are still present.

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That is what me and my husband thought also!!!!

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I have switched docs for much less, believe me! there are plenty of them around,.. no sense staying with one you have if they arent working for you. I think people forget sometimes that the doc is working FOR you. you hire him to help FIX the problem, not tell you what it is and send you on your merry way.

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Thank You!! I'm in the process of changing my handbook now and I think that I'm going to add this to my list of changes.

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I have never heard of a Dr. not treating pink eye. It's a miserable thing to have and can be cleared up so easily with drops. Plus, if it's the viral or bacterial variety (vs. the one caused by allergies) then it is HIGHLY contagious! I wouldn't allow a child with pink eye to return unless they've been treated.

I'm with laundrymom...they need a new Dr.!

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I have heard of it actually. My sisters doctor is the same way. I do not allow kids with pink eye or any symptoms of it. Doesn't it take 7-10 days for it to clear even if it's bacterial? That to me means a week+ home if they don't treat it.

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There's a major misconception floating around on this thread. Most pink eye cases, especially in preschoolers, are viral. Antibiotics drops do absolutely nothing for those cases. The antibiotics only help bacterial infections. That is why doctors won't always treat. The doctors are acting appropriately here.

Also, viral pink eye typically clears up on its own in a few days. So you may think that the antibiotic treatments are making a difference, but in reality the disease may just be running its normal course.

If a kid seems miserable with pink eye, he or she may also have an ear infection -- they commonly come together. Pink eye is not always miserable -- none have my kids have been particularly bothered by it. One time I got it as an adult (before I had kids), it was very unpleasant. But the cases I have caught from the kids have been barely noticeable. No unpleasantness other that waking up crusty.

Mother of three

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anything that is this contagious, I always require a doc note allowing the child back into care..some parents will lie about it....

dont feel bad. you are doing what you have to, to keep everyone else safe and healthy/

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I don't do "return to day care" notes from doctors. Just diagnosis notes and I'll take it from there.

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why is this? Is this because if the doc says yes but they are still cranky and so forth you feel you have to allow them to stay???

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Are you asking me this?

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yes sorry....I guess maybe I should explained better....

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I don't need the doctors opinion of whether or not the child can be in care. They couldn't possibly know my populaton of kids the child is returning to. All I need is a diagnosis and then I can decide if the child can return to my group of kids, to me, my son, and my staff assistant.

There's a LOT of pressure on Doctors to give return statements. They receive a lot of the "history" of the illness from the parents who have a vested interest in getting the note. This can lead to parents declaring a history that isn't complete, minimized, or is an all out lie. It's best for me to just get a diagnosis and then follow my policies regarding exclusion.

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Good for you nannyde!

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Wow so happy I ran into this posting of yours about the difference of return note verses a diagnosis. Very very smart on your behalf. So I guess maybe I should change my PHB. Mine currently states doc return note and that I have the last say if they are comfortable enough to return to care.... I think that if a parent has a note from a doc saying that they are well enough then there should be no reason why I can't take them back correct?? I guess becuase I have not had this issue yet, I didn't know how to deal with this situation......

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I'm the same as NannyDe. The doc doesn't dictate who may or may not be in care. He can tell me what they have, but only I know if I can provide the extra care and attention the child needs,know wether or not there are children in my care with compromised immune systems, requiring sick children to stay away, etc.

And, pink-eye....a doctor's note would mean nothing to me. I am the one who has to clean like crazy, make sure the child with pink eye doesn't rub the eye then touch her friends, etc. to prevent the spread. I don't have time for that. No meds, no return until ALL symptoms have subsided. With meds, they can return after 24 hours, but I ask parents to keep them for 48, just in case.

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perfect timing I ran into you two..I am in the process of rewriting my PHB. Can you tell me how you worded this in your PHB?.

thanks so much guys.........")

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• If your child requires medical attention due to illness, a note from the doctor will be required for child to return to daycare. Please note that although your child’s pediatrician may state that child is allowed to return to care, provider reserves the right to refuse care based on provider’s assessment of child’s needs and the provider’s ability to adequately care for all of the children in care.

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I am going to adopt this phrasing.... Awesome... Thank you!!

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I know we wrote about this before in length. Here are some other pick eye threads: https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=pink+eye

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