Conjunctivitas

[natlou82]

Hiya just after a little advice. I've just been advised baby mindee has conjunctivitis and not attending today. They are going to get drops for her, what exclusion do you guys do? I Usually follow HPA guidance which says no exclusion but I'm worried about how contagious it is due to having another baby and toddler I look after and they share the same toys!

[Maza]

I HATE the fact that there is no exclusion period for his. At least they are keeping baby off today - I know one of mine would have been sent in regardless. It depends on how brave you are feeling. Also, be prepared to discuss fees - if you ask them to stay at home do you still expect them to pay? Grey area. If they do come in ask let mum know that she needs to provide lots of cotton wool because you will need to be bathing the eyes a lot. I think the GP told me to bathe DDs eyes every four hours, but they needed doing a lot more than that and you do go through a ton of cotton wool. Everything she touches will need to be washed. Even with no exclusion period they are sometimes just not up to attending with conjunctivitis as they can just feel rubbish, poor things. Also, you need to keep their little hands busy so that they are not tempted to rub their eyes all the time. I would try and put mum off sending little one. Let us know how you get on. Good luck. x

[AliceK]

I insist on drops and exclude for 24hrs after starting drops. If it's viral conjunctivitis then drops won't make a difference as it is self limiting but it can take 2 weeks to clear. It is so contagious I hate it. That and D&V are the 2 things I dread.

xxx

[natlou82]

This one is such a grey area and annoying! Parents are taking her to the docs now and I've asked them to ring me after. She has had a cold recently so I'm wondering if it's more snot that she's been rubbing into her eyes whilst asleep? So I ll see what doc says. I am thinking along the lines of asking if they can keep her away tomorrow because I have another baby and it's going to be near on impossible to stop them touching the same toys, each other etc. I'm also considering refunding tomorrow's fee as its me asking for her to stay away rather than following official guidance - thoughts?

[natlou82]

Needless to say once I've made a decision on this I will be making changes to my sickness policy so it's clear in future!

[Maza]

If you are going to put her off coming try and do it in a way that she sees it is best for her own baby. Some parents, as awful as it sounds are not too bothered about passing things on to other children. Tell them that their baby will be better off with one on one care so that someone can continually distract her from touching her eyes and making it worse, and that they will be able to bathe her eyes more often than you would be able to which would make baby feel more comfortable and help it to clear up faster. Also, her immunity might be a bit lower than normal (maybe?) and so you wouldn't want her exposed to more germs from playgroup/library etc that you will be going to. x

[natlou82]

Thanks for your great advice. Mum agreed to keep LO off tomorrow, thankfully she is able to work from home and I'm not charging so best all round for everyone.