Looking for a particular post or topic? Search here!

Where My Readers Are From

Flag Counter

Who's Reading HFM Life

Saturday, June 27, 2009

H1N1 Precautionary Measure By The Gals' Pre-school




Aly and Sher's pre-school has taken precautionary measures in view of the Influenza A virus. But what if your child has only slight cough or runny nose? Would you still keep your child at home? What would you do? Would love to read your views.

Sher had a mild runny nose and nose blocked early this week. I still sent her to pre-school and that was before I received the notice from her pre-school. What about parents who are working and have to send their kids to daycare? Who will look after their kids if they can't go to pre-school/daycare? Does that mean that the parents have to take leave for as long as the child has runny nose/cough? Some kids seem to have slight runny nose / cough for prolonged periods.

10 comments:

Merryn said...

i know of one school where the teacher stands at the gate with a thermometer at hand to take the temperature of each coming kid and then another teaching sanitizing the hands of all children before entering the school, class etc. many measures are being taken. hopefully, we will win the battle! of coz, at times like this, the slightest flu n cough will trigger the alert button.. cant help it, paranoia.. :(

Charmaine said...

Shireen, you pose all the right questions? What should we do if our child has a slight cough or cold? Do we get all paranoid and keep them at home? It's a tough decision esp when both parents work. These precautionary measures seems to be taken by all schools around the world. At Caitlin's daycare, they have taught the children a song to sing when washing their hands (to the tune of Twinkle Little Star).

mommy to chumsy said...

Hmm...I would keep Ashley home I guess. I hope other parents would do the same too because you just don't know where the kids got the sniffles from :)

mott said...

The general gist is (for my kids' school..since melbourne is a real hot spot for H1N1), if the kid has yellowish/greenish phlegm, coughing, fever, sneezing and general malaise.. stay away for 1 week.

If the child still has a runny nose (but it's clear), then it's ok.

The school also teaches the kids when they sneeze, to sneeze into their elbows. If they cough into their hands, they should sanitise them immediately. They should also have their own pencils.

It's so wide-spread here already. But it's considered quite a mild flu. Only to those who have pre-existing ailments (esp respiratory) are given more attention.

All in All... keep those sanitisers around, but not around baby C. It's very dangerous for them to inhale them.

slavemom said...

My girl was having runny nose early this wk, but is still active n doesn't have fever. So I let her go to sch.

coffeesncookies said...

Runny nose and cough is fine. Nothing serious and most kids get caught in the flu bug quite frequently. Of course the ideal solution is stay home but what about working parents ? We do not have that many annual leave to stay home for 1 week or 2 to take care of our kids. A tough decision !

Chris said...

It is a very tough call to keep kids at home esp. for working parents. Lord knows I don't miss those days. My daughter's high school has one confirmed case, no big deal, just the usual sanitary precautions which everyone should be practising anyway. However, a healthy 6 yr old girl died abt 24 hours after falling ill. Experts are saying older children and adults seem to have resistance.

amanda yno said...

That's a tough question. My daughter had mild flu n i brought her to see doctor on the 3rd day. Doctor told me that if she gets high fever, I better bring her to the hospital. But as i am aware of, not all H1N1 cases will cause high fever. She's now recovering..

Normally, my daughter would get sick once every month, it's quite unavoidable since she's attending kindy classes.

From SARS, DENGUE, and now H1N1.. what else?

Hoping Cod Liver Oil and some multivitamins help to build her immune system.. Do you think Apple cider vinegar is helpful for children? It has been working for me to prevent mild cough n flu from getting worse.

Health Freak Mommy said...

Mott... tks for the handy tips!

Amanda... I guess giving 1/2 a teaspoon to a teaspoon to your kid with honey or other fruit juices shd be ok provided he/she drinks it coz it's really hard to swallow it down your throat. Even I find it yucky. I dont think my gals will ever want to drink it. The best is to check with your child's paed if it's ok for kids to drink ACV.

Lil' Monsters, Inc. said...

My 2 boys also always have cough on & off. Its tough when they don't want to stay away from phlegm-generating food (Chinese belief). I still send them to school - agak-agak sud be ok unless it's together with fever.

So above tips are very useful. Thanks for bringing it up.