DD has had a cough for almost a month now. Originally I chalked it up to daycare being daycare. It's been the start of an ear infection to now, two weeks after that, negative RSV and flu tests and given a Nebulizer to try and help the cough. DD's teacher mentioned on a couple of occasions about another baby whose had a cough but was told by his pediatrician that some babies just have permanent coughs they outgrow by age one. Aside from the obvious WTF... Is there anything I can do? DD is home today and tomorrow because of her cough and I worry this boy has RSV or something and is just sitting at daycare spreading it around. I don't want her getting healthy and going back just to get whatever he has again. I called the director today to let her know DD would be home until Monday and told her why, also mentioning the cougher in the room. They're also about the same age which means they'll likely be in the same class always and if his parents just let him be sick, I fear she'll always be sick too now. Paranoia? Anything I can say/do?
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What's this day cares policy on sick kids? Are they just not that strict and let all sick kids attend? I would be pissed if that were the case.
What illnesses did your LO actually catch? I didn't quite understand. 1 month long cough plus ear infection plus RSV plus Flu??
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@gracecat: I'm trying to double check. I know they call for fever, vomiting and diarrhea and have policies about when to return. But what about chronic other things? After DD started with the cough, she ended up with an ear infection. No RSV or flu - I edited my post because I see how I wrote it wrong! But yeah she's been coughing almost a month now. I've done all I can doctor-wise but there's no way of knowing if this other boy has or is just hanging around every day coughing.
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I think coughs (especially in the winter)are pretty common at our center and kids can attend if they don't have a fever/vomit/diarrhea. I don't think there is much you can do minus pulling her out completely.
The first year was so rough on our family health wise! Hope your LO feels better soon.
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I've found coughing is one of those things that lasts forever
this fall, she had a cough that lasted a good 2 months - we had to get her on a nebulizer and get an X-ray for pneumonia (which was negative). It just tends to linger for us. And I'm like that too - when I worked, I had a cough for about 4 months straight one winter. Not sure if there's anything that can be done or if it's something that just needs to be ridden out
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Sounds pretty typical for winter at daycare. If the kid doesn't have a fever then I don't think there's anything that can really be done. It sucks, but I know DD was pretty much sick 3 out of 4 weeks a month when she was in daycare last winter. Most of the time it was just getting over something and having residual symptoms before picking up a new bug. I don't think it's reasonable to expect parents to keep their kids home until all symptoms disappear.
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My kid has had a cough all fall/winter. No fever, and we have been to the doc multiple times and she's negative for everything, she just has a lingering cough. I can't keep her out of school all the time because of it. I wouldn't assume that the other child's parents haven't taken him to the doctor just because his cough isn't going away.
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RSV is typically more than a cough. It will often present with a fever (though not always). The real issue we experienced with RSV is respiratory distress. The child will likely be wheezing and having chest retractions due to the narrowing of the airways. I would be shocked if the child has RSV and the teachers and parents aren't aware.
Our daughter had at 9 weeks, it's scary business.
Unfortunately, daycare kiddos tend to get colds (darn germs!) and I believe the number is something like 10+/year statistically. It's often hard to tell when one ends and another begins.
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@Truth Bombs: ditto. My kid has a cough that lasts all winter. Tested negative for everything. Is on a nebulizer to help it. He still goes to school - I can't keep him home from Oct- Mar because of a cough!
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This seems standard. My kid had a cough for weeks and other kids in her class have had coughs for a long time. As long as there's no diarrhea, fever, or vomit it's cool.
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I'd chalk this up to FTM paranoia and move on.
My LO has confirmed allergies to dust, dust mites, mold, mildew, ragweed, I could go on and on and we only did a limited allergy panel. He is on allergy medication but still has a cough and runny nose 99% of the time.
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I taught 4K at a preschool and the kids were always sick. I was always sick because of them. Kids are constantly coming in sick and we were only allowed to send them home if they had a very high fever. They would literally couch in my mouth and sneeze sinus infections into my mouth.
@LindsayInNY: sorry for your experience! I would be frustrated!
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Coughs don't always mean that the child has some kind of contagious sickness. You can be over a cold and the cough can linger for a month or more! My daughter has had a cough and a clear runny nose since the 26th. I had no issues sending her, not because I'm an irresponsible parent. Because a cough with no other symptom usually means nothing. And is very common in the winter.
We are actually pretty vigilant about keeping our kids home if there's an inkling of a contagious sickness and will always keep home an extra day just to be safe. One is not to get others sick and two not to put them into a germ infested environment when their immune system is still weak.
There are plenty of parents who send their kids back when they shouldn't, I'm sure. But I wouldn't automatically assume that's the case here. I can't imagine any parent not getting a month longer cough checked out.
My daughter is 3.5 and we are vigilant about telling her to cough into her elbows. Her teachers have even mentioned how good she is about it. Obviously she doesn't do it 100% of the time but for a 3 yo pretty good! I've also taught her to tell her friends to cough into their elbows. LOl
this fall, she had a cough that lasted a good 2 months - we had to get her on a nebulizer and get an X-ray for pneumonia (which was negative). It just tends to linger for us. And I'm like that too - when I worked, I had a cough for about 4 months straight one winter. 
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