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February 2014 Moms
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Taking a sick baby out in public

kak808kak808 member
in February 2014 Moms
LO has HFM. I know it'll last a while, so what can we do in the meantime? Is it irresponsible to take her out in public? So far she's just wanted to sleep a lot, so I don't think it would bother her to be in the stroller/car seat. What about in terms of being contagious? She shouldn't be touching anything or anybody.

One of the reasons I ask is I took a walk this evening with LO because she was fussy and wouldn't sleep. We passed a group of toddlers and two if them ran over and started touching LO. The parents were horrified and apologetic and I told then no worries...except LO had HFM. Is it my fault if they get sick because I had LO out?

The other reason I ask is because Ikea...
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Re: Taking a sick baby out in public

  • versedversed member
    From CDC: "You should stay home while you are sick with hand, foot, and mouth disease. Talk with your healthcare provider if you are not sure when you should return to work or school. The same applies to children returning to daycare."

    Sorry, know it's not what you wanted to hear!
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  • RondackHikerRondackHiker member
    Stay the heck home.


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  • TessyMessyTessyMessy member
    I would be super pissed if my children caught HFM from a child and the parent knowingly brought them out in public. The responsible thing to do is stay home! I hope your LO gets better asap!


     

     


     

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  • kak808kak808 member
    Thanks! Sorry if this was a dumb question. If she were a toddler I would not have even considered it, but not being mobile, I thought maybe she had a little self-contained sickness bubble. We will stay home!
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  • kak808kak808 member
    CiaoMama said:

    I don't think you did anything wrong by going for a walk with your LO, but knowing that she has HFM I wouldn't have let those toddlers get near her. Let alone touch her. They should be fine as long as they wash their hands and don't put them near their faces. I hope your LO is feeling better soon!

    Yah the toddler thing was weird. They were playing on the grass near the sidewalk. When we came by, two of them just ran over and started grabbing at LO. I tried to stop them, but didn't know how their parents would take me like grabbing their hands or pushing them away. I just tried to block LO, but they did get a few touches in before the parents grabbed them! I definitely didn't expect anything like that to happen.
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  • iwubroryiwubrory member
    Might be a UO but I think it's totally ok to take baby out for walks. Like you, I'd expect the baby to be isolated during that time. I would have done all I could to stop those toddlers though. My thinking is, stop them first, explain later. I know I would have appreciated you stopping my toddler from touching a contagious lo.

    Definitely don't go to any stores, restaurants, or wherever though.

     

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  • RondackHikerRondackHiker member
    Did you tell the parents?


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  • ShePersistedShePersisted member
    edited August 2014
    Does your stroller have a mosquito cover or a rain shield? Perhaps use that so that such an incident is avoided.

    As pp mention, staying home is best but I can understand the dire need for a walk. Since it's contagious, I would not remove baby from stroller, not touch any one or anything else myself and certainly keep people away no matter who they are. A mosquito cover should help you do that plus keep a bottle of sanitizer handy just in case you do land up needing to touch something else.
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  • p2k2c4bk2p2p2k2c4bk2p2 member
    Should you take her somewhere where she would be touching things or Interacting with other kids? Absolutely not. Is it irresponsible to take her for a walk? I don't think so.

    I would not take the baby somewhere like ikea though. Let her stay home and rest as much as possible.

    My older kid has been down with HFM for a few days and it looks like my baby is just coming down with it too. I know it sucks. :( they obviously caught it from somewhere so somebody sent their kid out into public with it. I'm not angry though because that's life with kids. They catch stuff.
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  • dunvillesdunvilles member
    Serious question here. I know it can take 10 days for HFM to clear.

    If my son got it, there is no way I could take 10 days off work and keep him home. (he doesn't have it!)
    #rainbows and #unicorns make any situation #cute. keithcorcoran
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  • RondackHikerRondackHiker member
    dunvilles said:

    Serious question here. I know it can take 10 days for HFM to clear.

    If my son got it, there is no way I could take 10 days off work and keep him home. (he doesn't have it!)

    Well, you have to make alternate plans.

    You can't take him to daycare. You can't bring him to work with you.


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  • dunvillesdunvilles member
    RondackHiker said:
    Serious question here. I know it can take 10 days for HFM to clear.

    If my son got it, there is no way I could take 10 days off work and keep him home. (he doesn't have it!)
    Well, you have to make alternate plans. You can't take him to daycare. You can't bring him to work with you.
    I can see how/why it is spread so quickly. There have been many cases at my school. I don't remember hearing about this many cases in years past.

    Hoping it passes by the dunvilles household and hoping those affected with it heal quickly!
    #rainbows and #unicorns make any situation #cute. keithcorcoran
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  • courtls22courtls22 member
    edited August 2014
    I'm pretty sure they're only contagious prior to the rash appearing.  A lot of the rashes are this way.  It's called the incubation period and can be 2 weeks before signs of rash.  That's what makes it so difficult to keep it from spreading because not everyone gets the fever.  The other symptoms are cold-like and most people wouldn't think to isolate for a cold.  

    ETA:  They're most contagious prior to rash but still could be contagious with rash.  I'd definitely err on the side of caution.  
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  • p2k2c4bk2p2p2k2c4bk2p2 member
    According to my online reading HFM can be contagious both before symptoms appear and after symptoms go away. So it's pretty hard not to spread it especially if your kid is in daycare.
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  • Soap1Soap1 member
    Agree with PPs that going for a walk in the neighborhood is absolutely fine if your LO is sick with HFM.  As far as in public places where they would share toys, touch other kids, etc., I would go by most day care rules.  Colds are fine, but fevers, stomach troubles, or rashes mean stay away.

    For HFM, when my kids have had it, they had to stay home until they were fever-free and the rash spots had scabbed. 
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