Pinkeye - ventish

pitterpatter129 · April 2012

My kid has viral pink eye. Again. This is the FOURTH time in one school year. I can't miss any more work and the doctor will just say it's viral (he has a cold and it goes to his eyes every single time.) I've used all my sick days due to Nate's germs already this year so I'm crossing my fingers that daycare will not make him leave in the morning. (DH working nights and also out of sick days.) The paper the doctor has given us the other three times has always said there is no need to stay out of school or daycare because it can take up to seven days to run its course. Am I terrible for trying to send him? Should I just call in and hope they don't fire me? *sigh*

dee12807 · April 2012

I can never remeber - is viral contagious?

If LO is contagious, I would not let him go to school. But if there's no risk of infecting others, I'd say send him! GL and I hope LO feels better.

jarebearsmom · April 2012

dee12807:
I can never remeber - is viral contagious?
If LO is contagious, I would not let him go to school. But if there's no risk of infecting others, I'd say send him! GL and I hope LO feels better.

This. T&Ps. Hope he feels better soon!

lrn327 · April 2012

Is today the first day it's looked that way? If so, I'm really hoping for you that it looks better in the AM. Viral pink eye is literally just a cold in the eye. C has one tear duct that doesn't drain fully (but is not quite bad enough for surgery) so it always goes straight to his eye. Each time I've taken him to the pedi, we get drops and the pedi tells me to try for 24 hours. If it doesn't get clear then it's not bacterial and there's not much you can do about it. He definitely doesn't expect me to keep him home for seven days. I think he pretty much concurs with your pedi that there's just not a lot you can do. There was someone on the 12-24 board that posted something a while about about some important medical group (AAP?, CDC?) stating that viral pink eye is not a public health emergency and therefore children with it should not be kept from school.

lrn327 · April 2012

lrn327:
Is today the first day it's looked that way? If so, I'm really hoping for you that it looks better in the AM. Viral pink eye is literally just a cold in the eye. C has one tear duct that doesn't drain fully (but is not quite bad enough for surgery) so it always goes straight to his eye. Each time I've taken him to the pedi, we get drops and the pedi tells me to try for 24 hours. If it doesn't get clear then it's not bacterial and there's not much you can do about it. He definitely doesn't expect me to keep him home for seven days. I think he pretty much concurs with your pedi that there's just not a lot you can do. There was someone on the 12-24 board that posted something a while about about some important medical group (AAP?, CDC?) stating that viral pink eye is not a public health emergency and therefore children with it should not be kept from school.

::: puts on flame retardant suit ::: I guess all that to say that if it looks pretty good and they have good handwashing procedures in his class then I'd send him. I know that I wouldn't keep him home if he just had a typical cold so the mere fact that it presents in his eye wouldn't necessarily make me keep him home either.

pitterpatter129 · April 2012

lrn327:

lrn327:
Is today the first day it's looked that way? If so, I'm really hoping for you that it looks better in the AM. Viral pink eye is literally just a cold in the eye. C has one tear duct that doesn't drain fully (but is not quite bad enough for surgery) so it always goes straight to his eye. Each time I've taken him to the pedi, we get drops and the pedi tells me to try for 24 hours. If it doesn't get clear then it's not bacterial and there's not much you can do about it. He definitely doesn't expect me to keep him home for seven days. I think he pretty much concurs with your pedi that there's just not a lot you can do. There was someone on the 12-24 board that posted something a while about about some important medical group (AAP?, CDC?) stating that viral pink eye is not a public health emergency and therefore children with it should not be kept from school.

::: puts on flame retardant suit ::: I guess all that to say that if it looks pretty good and they have good handwashing procedures in his class then I'd send him. I know that I wouldn't keep him home if he just had a typical cold so the mere fact that it presents in his eye wouldn't necessarily make me keep him home either.

Right. I can't keep my kid home every time he has a cold. And yes, viruses are contagious, but colds last up to two weeks! Nobody has that much vacation time. I wouldn't ever be at work. I know the daycare though and they are going to call me in the middle of the day to tell me to come get him because it will look horrible and will be all matted (because they won't wipe it all day.) I'll take him to the doctor, who will give me a release to daycare and directions to keep it wiped off. I'm just annoyed that I will miss work again. I have a 1/2 day of sick leave left and one personal day and that's it! He needs to stay well just three more weeks and then we can be sick all summer if we want. I feel bad for him though having to stay at daycare with a goopy eye and knowing they will just watch it get goopy, where at home we would wipe it every ten minutes. Soooo, I'll probably take my last personal day and pay fifty bucks to take him to the doctor for a note. At least we get to snuggle another day.

lrn327 · April 2012

pitterpatter129:
lrn327:

lrn327:
Is today the first day it's looked that way? If so, I'm really hoping for you that it looks better in the AM. Viral pink eye is literally just a cold in the eye. C has one tear duct that doesn't drain fully (but is not quite bad enough for surgery) so it always goes straight to his eye. Each time I've taken him to the pedi, we get drops and the pedi tells me to try for 24 hours. If it doesn't get clear then it's not bacterial and there's not much you can do about it. He definitely doesn't expect me to keep him home for seven days. I think he pretty much concurs with your pedi that there's just not a lot you can do. There was someone on the 12-24 board that posted something a while about about some important medical group (AAP?, CDC?) stating that viral pink eye is not a public health emergency and therefore children with it should not be kept from school.

::: puts on flame retardant suit ::: I guess all that to say that if it looks pretty good and they have good handwashing procedures in his class then I'd send him. I know that I wouldn't keep him home if he just had a typical cold so the mere fact that it presents in his eye wouldn't necessarily make me keep him home either.

Right. I can't keep my kid home every time he has a cold. And yes, viruses are contagious, but colds last up to two weeks! Nobody has that much vacation time. I wouldn't ever be at work. I know the daycare though and they are going to call me in the middle of the day to tell me to come get him because it will look horrible and will be all matted (because they won't wipe it all day.) I'll take him to the doctor, who will give me a release to daycare and directions to keep it wiped off. I'm just annoyed that I will miss work again. I have a 1/2 day of sick leave left and one personal day and that's it! He needs to stay well just three more weeks and then we can be sick all summer if we want. I feel bad for him though having to stay at daycare with a goopy eye and knowing they will just watch it get goopy, where at home we would wipe it every ten minutes. Soooo, I'll probably take my last personal day and pay fifty bucks to take him to the doctor for a note. At least we get to snuggle another day.

Ughhh, I'm sorry you're DC won't help take care of his eye though. That really does nothing to help keep the virus from spreading! If there is a lot of gunk then maybe it really is bacterial in which case it's good you're going to the pedi. And at least if you have to stay home then it's good he's not really sick so will still have lots of fun with mom tomorrow.

pitterpatter129 · April 2012

Yep, I called in. I wouldn't want someone else's kid giving my kid pink-eye, so it's better to be on the safe side. We'll visit the doctor and go the park. I guess it's like having an extra weekend day!! Maybe next year I can keep some sick days. I don't think I'll ever get enough again for another maternity leave though!

OhSewCrafty · April 2012

C was getting a gunky eye thing on and off throughout a few colds he had this winter and his pedi finally just gave us an extra bottle of the anti-inflammatory drops. Now, whenever he's getting gunky, we can just put in some drops and send him to school. Maybe your pedi could do something similar? It helps it to not turn into full on pink eye.

Pinkeye - ventish

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