shingles & school

[geekgirl]

Ds (5) has come down with a nasty case of shingles - a bit of a surprise really as I didn't know he'd had chicken pox .
He's now on Aciclovir and the GP said he'd be fine to go back to school when he feels better as long as he wears a shirt to cover it as the only way it can transmit chicken pox is through the lesions.
I was out this morning and school rang and pestered my babysitter as to whether ds has shingles and could I please ring them back asap - they're going to tell me to keep him off until the reash is gone, aren't they? The GP said it would take several weeks...

[Seona1973]

this is what nhs direct says:

Should I keep my child off school?

If your child has shingles, you should only keep them away from school if the rash is weeping (oozing fluid) and cannot be covered or if they are feeling unwell. If the rash is only on their body and can be covered by clothing, there is little risk of your child passing on the infection.

[geekgirl]

thanks, that hat I'd read and also what my GP said. I have now spoken to the school and they said to keep him off until lesions are dried up - now this can apparently take weeks. I pointed out to the secretary that the advice sounded inaccurate and aimed at children with CP rather than shingles, and she said to ring her on Wednesday and we'd see how ds is...

They're worried because one of the teachers (not in ds's class) is pregnant. She has had CP though and I presume isn't likely to take ds's shirt off and start fiddling with his rash.

[bigstripeytiger]

I'd be annoyed that they are trying to exclude your DS from school for no good reason.
Are schools allowed to do that?

[geekgirl]

apparently that's the guideline issued by the County Council last year... I guess the secretary is just doing her job, it's hard to work out where to go with this...

Ds has to see the GP again on Wednesday anyway so I wasn't planning on sending him back before Thursday. I really hope they don't make a fuss...