New nursery, how long until DD stops being ill?

wannabehermit

Just another thing to make you feel guilty .

DD (15 mths) started nursery in Jan when I started my new job, she's there 3 days a week and has settled in really quickly. We knew that to start with she'd pick up all sorts of bugs but there just seems to be no let up, it seems to be getting worse, not better.

In her 1st year she was very very healthy, only ever at the gp for routine appointments but since starting there we're down there pretty much twice a week every week for one thing or another - d&v, constant runny nose, ear infection, this week it's been conjunctivitus and a cough.

I really thought she'd have got the worst of it out of the way by now but clearly not. My other 2 didn't do day nursery they just went to preschools when they were older so while they did pick things up in the early days it wasn't to this extent.

Just how long is this going to go on for? If it's not bad enough dumping her in a nursery while I swan off to work the poor little thing is full of it with illness :(:(.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

They tend to stop being constantly filled with snot and illegal aliens in their hair at around the age of 8-10 normally - it's a bit earlier when they go to nursery first - about 7 is the last time I can remember DD2 having anything.


It's one of the joys of working parenthood, knowing you have a small locus of disease trailing after you everywhere you go.

Sorry - nobody told you that one, did they?

mildred1978

My LO (21 months) isn't at nursery, but is ill again (about the 4th time in the last 3 months). We have a weekly class which some of his friends attend - one of whom goes to really cheap softplay all the time, picks up all manner of bugs and then brings the germs to the class we all attend. It's getting beyond a joke now to be honest but I don't know what to do about it. I take LO to softplay when he's well enough, and antibac his hands before and after (its the only place where I do that) and he's never picked anything up there at all. It's getting on my nerves.

I thought with me being home and LO not going to nursery I'd not have so much of this to deal with!

cyclingyorkie

my kids have always been ill whenever someone in the family went into a new germ pool.... so when DD1 started school/went to secondary, when DS went to college and when DD2 started working in a primary school.

We have had an AWFUL winter - since mid-December we've all had colds, 3 of us have had tonsilitis and 4 have had a virulent stomach bug! We're now on a second round of colds....

So - you are not alone, although it may feel like it! Your daughter will develop immunity as she grows up - but the way we develop immunity is by beingexposed to the bugs...

Roll on spring!

wannabehermit

Oh I knew she'd be ill when she started. Just as I know she'll pick up everything going when she starts preschool & then again when she starts infants, just wasn't expecting it to still be going strong after a few months. Took her to GP earlier for the latest 'viral' infection, he reckons between 6-12 months before she gets a break between all this. Great. Really thought it would be only 6-8 weeks before she'd built up immunity to it all.

I've got a 10 year old who is never ill. I can count on one hand the times he's been sick, and most of those have been when the whole family has whatever wonderful bug is doing the rounds. He has honestly never been to our GP since we registered there over 4 years ago. I also have a 6 year old who has a fair few colds and is ill a fair bit, but he suffers with migraines so not bug-induced, but still even when he started at preschool the only things he really brought home were headlice, chicken pox & threadworm (that was pretty regular at his preschool, thankfully not had it since starting school). They were both under the weather when starting at new schools and that but nothing like this at all, just runny noses for a few weeks really, but then they weren't as young as she is so I guess they'd already had more of a chance to build up an immune system. Plus I think 3rd time round I've realised toddler groups are not for me so maybe they gradually got bits from those that I never really noticed as it was more spread out.

Hopefully long term she'll be as healthy as ds1 is and we'll forget what the dr looks like .

Metranil_Vavin

My DS has just had a nasty bout of conjunctivitus over the weekend. My friend who's LO attends the same nursery as my son, was sent home last week and they refused to take him the rest of the week as he had it.

They seem very vigilant and will send any child with c'itus or any kind of tummy bug home immediately. Unfortunately my DS had obviously caught the wretched thing.

He goes to nursery 2 days a week and to a childminder for one day, and touch wood doesn't seem to have been too bad so far. He gets the odd cold, but he was getting those pre-nursery anyway.

jenniewb

I remember this alot growing up with my sister (who is younger then me) and now her daughter/my neice who is coming up to 8. They just got ill over and over...I could swear I never got ill as much myself! (though probably did).

Kids get ill for a reason: because they have healthy developing immune systems. Symptoms of being ill are not the illness themselves in most cases but the bodies way of getting rid of a virus which is trapped in the body. If you have a cold for example a virus is inside you and your body is trying to get rid of this virus through bodily fluids such as sneezing, coughing, blowing your nose, streaming eyes.... its all signs that your immune system is working and doing its job.

Its when people get ill and they don't have any of these symptoms and the problem worsens: when their body doesn't get rid of the virus, thats when you need to worry!

When someone is ill normal rules apply. Keep rested, keep fluids up and nutrition OK and be patient. The theory goes that the more illnesses you get as a child the stronger the immune system gets.