Would you send baby for settle sessions at nursery when there's a d and v bug?

@nycetmz Apparently it's not, and for a rather short-sighted reason. If you get chickenpox, you have the potential to have it flare up again at an adult in the form of shingles. BUT if you are exposed to chicken pox repeatedly as an adult (via the children around you continuing to get chicken pox), you are less likely to have shingles or have a severe case of it. So some countries basically choose to allow chicken pox to thrive in order to prevent bad cases of shingles, ignoring the fact that if you vaccinated everyone for chickenpox, then they won't get shingles in the first place!

In the US, I'm part of the last generation to get chicken pox instead of the vaccine, and as much as shingles will probably suck, I'm more than happy to also be the last generation to get shingles, instead of perpetuating a virus continually (yes, I know that there are still breakthrough cases of both chicken pox and shingles, even with the vaccine, but still!)

https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/every...npox-and-why-more-countries-don’t-use-vaccine

https://www.scientificamerican.com/...pox-vaccine-lowers-shingles-risk-in-children/
 
@nycetmz In Denmark it isn't part of the programme either and parents aren't encouraged to get it for that reason. I had a difficult case of chicken pox as a child so for that reason I opted to pay the USD 283 in total for my child to have the 2 vaccines and the 2 consultation fees that went with them. So you can say it's available, but it's also costly and it's not actively recommended to the general public.
 
@tali26 I would if possible. IIRC it reduces the chances of contracting shingles as an adult. Shingles hurts and it sucks.

The reason it isn’t recommended in the UK is that people who have previously contracted chicken pox who are not continuing to be exposed to the virus are more likely to contract shingles. It’s sacrificing the younger generation to help the older generations. But the good news is there are also shingles vaccines available for the older folks. So I wouldn’t let concern about older folks trump my own child’s vaccines.
 
@nycetmz In Sweden it's available but not free like the other shots you typically give a child. They were evaluating whether to include it (and a shingles vaccine for seniors) among the free offerings, but I think the pandemic paused the process.

As for encouragement, it's … sort of neutral, I guess? It seems to be looked upon as a nice thing to have more than anything else.

(We bought the shot for ours, obviously.)
 
@tali26 It's tricky because your child will get sick no matter what. So delaying you may skip this bug, but he'll get the next. Unfortunately, that's just the nature of the beast.

With that said, I would probably delay. And look into your nurseries policy. Licensed daycares where I live must send kids home for fevers, diarrhea or vomiting. And they stay home for 24hrs. You are supposed to keep your kid home for 24hrs after illness clears too. Honestly, the policy does nothing, but I would expect a kid with vomiting is sent home.
 
@tali26 Sounds like maybe something like Norovirus is going around? It's really rough on little kids. Keeping them hydrated can be tricky. Personally I would keep them home. august 7th is only two weeks. I'd rather wait two weeks then debate with my pediatrician if my kid is sick enough to go to the ER.
 
@tali26 I think it's perfectly normal to worry - especially considering he was a preemie and started out so vulnerable.

The first few daycare plagues are not pleasant, neither for the children nor for the parents, but it does get easier! I delayed sending my child to nursery to avoid the height of RSV season as we are a lung family, but it's really difficult to avoid all illnesses and they will get sick at some point. All you can do is to try to reduce germs without going to the extent of sterilizing everything in sight.

July/August is thankfully not a bad time to start as there is going to be a bit of time for him to get used to new germs in general before the respiratory virus season starts.

In our family we have certain hygiene measures in place to try to reduce the load of viruses and bacteria that are brought home, but it cannot prevent everything.

In our nursery they request that everyone washes hands when they arrive and leave so of course we do that. However, we are also strict with handwashing when we get home (from anywhere ourside), before meals, diaper changes, wiping a nose, and if hands generally look like they could use a wash. He gets a bath when he gets home and fresh clothes every day. We flush his nose with saline at night.

It's not a perfect system. He still catches stuff and also brings it home on occasion. I had only four days back at work after maternity leave and then spent 2 weeks with flu that turned into pneumonia.

Whichever time you decide is right to take him there, consider having the liquid children's paracetamol ready at home. For some reason the first time they spike a really high fever often seems to be during the night when regular pharmacies are closed. Then you at least have it ready if you need to call a nurse hotline and give baby a bit of relief.
 
@tali26 Your child is going to be ill constantly for a year after starting daycare (or school for that matter). So will you. As annoying and unsettling it may be, it's normal. Sadly, it's unavoidable.

Our pediatrician recommended elderberry and multivitamin to help boost the immune system.
 
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