To ask you how literally you take the 48 hr rule?

[lougle]

So if your child is sick, how literally do you apply the 48hr rule?


If they were sick in the afternoon of Saturday, would you say 'no school on Sunday, back on Monday' or '48 hours after sickness is Monday afternoon, so back on Tuesday'?

If they are sick at 3am do you count that as 'Tuesday night' or 'Wednesday morning'?

etc.

[lougle]

You don't mind giving other children the sickness bug your child has just had then, LifeofPo? I wonder if that's why my dd had had two sickness bugs in just over one week...

[Panzee]

I do the nearest session after the 48 hours, so if the 48 hours is up sometime in the morning, I'll probably send them in that afternoon.

[chocoluvva]

My sympathies lougle.

[TheGreatWizardQuiQuaeQuod]

You mean the vomiting bug? I'd err on the side of caution. So last episode of vomiting saturday afternoon - 1 day sunday afternoon, 2 days monday afternoon, back to school tuesday.

3 am I would count as wednesday morning.

I think it's better to give a bit more time than is needed than a bit less.

[RandomMess]

It would in part depend whether they definitely had a D&V or puking bug or it was some sort of random throwing up - my youngest has form for this for no apparant reason, although sometimes due to over eating!

If they've def had a bug then yes the session after 48 hours.

[mrscog]

It would depend a bit on the situation. If they'd clearly had a bug and needed to recover I'd definitely err on the side of caution. If the cause of the sickness was more dubious - ie over indulgence on party food/over excitement/slight cold and they were back to normal after 24 hours I think I'd err on the sending back to school after 40 hours or whatever if that makes sense - especially if we were talking about an older DC who knows how to be hygienic.

[Madmammy83]

Mother of god OP put your claws back in. Bugs spread like wildfire, and there are different types of viral infections. Some take a hell of a lot longer than 48 hours to stop being contagious, while others may have been festering for over a week before the symptoms became apparent, by which time it's pointless keeping them home because they've already spread it. How do you know your little darlings haven't infected others? Here's my rule - if you're well enough to request the playstation and want chocolate spread sandwiches for dinner, you're well enough to go to school. I've probably single handedly put half the houses in the country under quarantine going by your logic...

[DoItTooJulia]

I work in environmental health. I wish people would apply it properly, especially in places such as nurseries, schools, hospitals and food businesses.

It's the very best way to prevent it spreading.

And yes, lougle, it is most likely why your dc have had it twice.

[HouseOfGingerbread]

I wait 48 hours. Generally, when my daughter has a bug she goes right off her food, so as well as the infection risk, she needs that time to get back to normal.

[shushpenfold]

The full 48 hours….having had a child who started to vomit again after 44 hours clear I don't mess about.

[3bunnies]

I agree if it seems like a proper bug then minimum 48hrs. If it was a random one off and they seem otherwise perfectly fine then I would maybe send them in mon if they had been sick on Sat. Dd2 was sick and in retrospect I think it was maybe just a coughing fit which turned into vomiting but I had to make that decision at 8:15 on Mon am. You don't know if it will develop into something worse so I kept her off, but she clearly wasn't ill later on. The school still didn't want her back.

[randomquicknamechange]

48 clear hours, so sick monday morning back to school Wednesday morning assuming full health Monday and Tuesday.

[lljkk]

Sheesh, Lougle. Bug scan come from almost anywhere.
I think 45 is as good as 48; 36 is probably too far for my liking from 48. I'm not even sure what rule our school employs, the last official edict said 72 hours (many yrs ago) but I've been told 24 since verbally by school staff.

[LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot]

We have to take it seriously at DD's school, theres a kid with low immunity, and they asked parents to adhere to the rule, so the child doesnt get sick.

[3bunnies]

Surely it doesn't matter if you count 3am as Tues pm or Wed am unless school starts before 3am?

[Snog]

Hospital workers are under pressure to keep their sickness absence down which means they go back to work once they feel up to it!

[LuciusMalfoyisSmokingHot]

My DD's dad and I where banned from hospital because of D and V virus, we couldnt visit poorly DD, my word, did i feel like the worlds worst mother.

[nextphase]

I've pushed it back to 47 something- so sick at 9 on Sun morning, I've sent in to nursery at 8.30 on Tues. We both desperately needed to be in work for the sake of those 30 mins, and it was one episode.

But DS2 last threw up around 10am today. We've already discussed who's having Monday off. Assuming everything else stays in. Two sets of sheets last night, and a couple of times this morning. Not worth it.

[catkind]

Depends. If they're clearly sick/have diarrhoea, then yes 48 hrs.
But...
Toddler DD sometimes makes herself sick by swallowing too much catarrh when she has a cough. If I'm sure it wasn't actually a bug I would take the 48hrs with a pinch of salt.
And also, she sometimes takes weeks to get her poos back to normal after a bug. It's only 2 or so a day and she waits till she gets to the loo. I think if a 1 yr old can wait for the toilet it's not what I'd call diarhhoea. I'm never sure what to do then.

[Pooka]

If sick on Saturday afternoon the dc would not go to school on Monday. Would return on Tuesday so long as no other d&v since the Saturday.

If sick at 3am on Monday and no more incidents would send back to school on Wednesday (more than 48 hours).

[Taz1212]

If a vomiting bug I do 48 hours from the last sickness. If anything else I use my judgement- e.g. DS threw up on the school bus one afternoon but it was clearly from travel sickness not a big so he went to school the next day.

[Madmammy83]

I completely retract what I said, I didn't realise there was a vomiting bug going, I'm sorry OP. I thought you meant standard sniffles, bugs, colds, etc. I'd never let my kids around others if they had a vomiting bug, would definitely keep them in a full two days, so yes, the full 48 hours.

[Sunnymeg]

I apply it rigidly and consistently if it is obviously a d&v bug. DS has the constitution of an elephant so if he is sick it is normally quite serious.

It isn't just whether they affect other children at school, as it can impact on other family members who may be having chemotherapy, or have immunity problems. I have a friend with Addison's disease and d&v can be literally life threatening for him.

[Wellthen]

If 'looking fine' was the best measure of no longer being a carrier then there wouldn't be a rule would there. Obviously you send your child back to school when they look well enough.

However, with vomiting bugs and some colds this isn't enough. You need to keep them home past the point of looking well. God it annoys me when parents say 'I know about the rule but he looks fine' which I always hear as 'I know about the rule but don't actually understand the science behind it so I just ignore it.'