strep throat & sending to school

blue72 wrote: Kyle came down with a sore throat last Wed. He missed Thursday and Friday and I took him to urgent care on Saturday because he just couldn't shake the sore throat. They told me it was a virus, not strep throat. We received a call from the Dr. today stating it is strep throat. He's been attending school this week because I thought it was a nasty cold. He has his X-mas party tomorrow. He is still sick but no sicker than he has been for past couple of days. It is a short day. I'm thinking I should let him attend. But part of me says I should keep him home.

cameragirl21 replied: idk, it sounds like he is probably contagious and i'd be inclined to keep him home just out of respect for the other children who obviously don't want to get sick over their holiday break. on the other hand, if he feels well enough to attend and you still don't know what he has and he has no fever then maybe send him.
how is it that docs can't determine if it's viral or bacterial? if it's strep he is highly contagious and needs to get on antibiotics asap and if it's viral he's probably still contagious and needs to rest. being around other kids can expose him to more germs and make him sicker too. maybe consider just bringing him in for the party instead of the entire half day? i know it's awkward to bring him just for that but if he's sick but really wants to have that party....

sparkys2boys replied: ya know what, if he was there all along, the other kids have either gotten it or not by now. If he wants to go I would let him IMO

CantWait replied: You never know when one kid is going to get to close or when accidently Kyle sneezes and doesn't quite cover his mouth in time and germs are spread. I understand that you think it's unfair that he misses the party, however I think for all the other kids concerned, it would be more unfair, and not very courteous on your part sending him when he's contagious with something as daunting as strep throat.

C&K*s Mommie replied: I would have to agree with some of the above. I would keep him home, there will be other parties to attend throughout the year.

Hope he feels better soon.

MommyToAshley replied: I have to agree with those that say keep him home. Strep is very contagious and I am sure the other parents would hate for their kids to be sick over the break. There was a little girl in Ashley's class that came in sick for just for pictures on picture day. She was there for a total of maybe 30 minutes, and the following two weeks kids were out of class with the exact same thing.

It sucks that he would miss his party, but maybe you two can do something special to take his mind off it.

Poor guy -- hope he feels better soon!

blue72 replied: [QUOTE]ya know what, if he was there all along, the other kids have either gotten it or not by now. If he wants to go I would let him IMO

That is what I was thinking as well. I'm going to let him attend. He thinks I'm a mean mom already for not letting him attend things over the weekend and I still am not allowing friends after school. His biggest symptom at this point is that heis tired. I'm going to let him have a little fun today. He was probably most contagious when he had the fever. I think his body has pretty much licked it anyway. He seemed much better yesterday.

gr33n3y3z replied: if he's been on the antibiotics for 2 days full and NO fever he can go back to school bc he is no longer contagious at least thats what the Dr always told us and the school nurse.

skinkybaby replied: I'd keep him home unless the doctor specifically said he could go back. Its not fair to the other kids in his class if they get sick, especially over their break.

Kaitlin'smom replied: what did the doctor say? I have to agree if he can still pass it on then he should be at home, its not fair to his class mates to expose them and possibly end up sick over christmas, I was last year and it SUCKED

MyBrownEyedBoy replied:
A quick strep test can come up negative. For a negative quick strep, a culture is plated just to be sure it's not strep throat. Sometimes, the culture will grow even if the initial strep test was negative. I'd probably let him go, he's already exposed his classmates.

lisar replied: If he has been on antibiotics for I think its 24hours then he is no longer contagious. But I dont know if he was on them. Personally if it was my kid I wouldnt send them. However if he has strep and went to school this week then he has already exposed everyone to it because you didnt know that what he had. So its not your fault. But like I said if he has already exposed everyone to it, then I would send him cause it wouldnt matter at this point.

jcc64 replied: Have to be on the antibiotics a minimum of 24 hrs to eliminate the possibility of being contagious.

Boo&BugsMom replied: If he is on antibiotics then he should be on them for at least 24 hours. If he is not, then I would keep him home. Strep is nasty and highly contagious. I know many people say he's already exposed them, but why increase the risk? Doesn't make sense to me. IMHO, it does not aid in the cause when you keep exposing them. What if one of the kids had not been exposed enough to catch it until tomorrow? Exposing the kids more only increases their chances of getting it. Personally, I'd be upset if another parent let their child go and let my child become more exposed, knowing he is not well. In any case, call his doctor and ask him. On another note though, I have found that with working with children, there are many doctors who do not understand why teachers/schools/daycares take the necessary precautions. JMO.

holley79 replied: Tough one but if he's been on antibiotics and no fever then he should be able to go. If he was newly sick and hasn't taken anything and feverish then I would say no. I hope he gets better soon.

skinkybaby replied:

I agree with everything you said!

C&K*s Mommie replied:

If you could have helped it, I would never have sent him to school with a nasty cold to begin with. Even if you did not know it was strep at the time.

blue72 replied: The Dr. told me Saturday it was ok for him to attend functions/school. I didn't let him attend anything on Saturday or Sunday. I must say he was jubulent that he didn't have to go to church. He took his 1st dose of antibiotics today. I'll give him the full course but I think his body has already taken care of it. He is doing much better. He hasn't had a fever since last Thursday.

Cece00 replied: Well, think about it this way- if another parent did that and your son got sick with strep- how would YOU feel about it? Act accordingly.

CantWait replied:
To late

Cece00 replied:
Well thats a shame. I have to say, my kids and I have gotten sick at LEAST 4 times this year from ppl who have sent their kids to school when they were sick. In fact, my youngest 2 caught chicken pox that way, and the baby was THREE weeks old. Nice. I'm adamant about keeping my kid home when he's sick. He missed 4 days this month for illness and the school wanted a Dr's note (even though I didnt take him any of the 4 times- there is nothing they can do for colds at the ped's office that we cant do at home...) because he missed 'so many days'. I explained to the woman that I dont send him to school when he is sick because its not fair to other people, not to mention I dont think its best that he run around outside when he is so congested he can barely breathe and is running a fever I always think about how *I* feel when we get sick b/c ppl thoughtlessly sent their kids to school sick (and while I know you are contagious many times before you show symptoms, people still can catch illness when you DO have symptoms, it just increases the amt of ppl who will get sick...) so I dont send my kids to school when they are ill, out of respect.