Woke with pink eye!!

[Dreamalittledream]

I woke this morning with the dreaded Pink Eye...lovely gift from DCK. How do you handle things as far as daycare closure if you have Pink Eye? Today, I simply washed my hands a zillion times and did not go even remotely near my eye.

[Cadillac]

Get the over the counter medicine . . . you can open again the next day . . . not biggie

No judgement: Buuuuuuuuuuuuut . . . . . don't touch your eye after wiping butts anymore . . . . .

[Momof4]

Oh noooooo! Why did you allow a child with pink eye into the daycare? No, no, no!!!!! Do you have a sick policy in your contract?

Here are my sickness policies from my contract and I'm happy to share:


Illness Policy for Caregiver__________

If I am ill I will make every attempt to give parents/guardians 12 hours notice so they may find alternate care for the day. If I am feeling under the weather but not ill I will advise parents at arrival time. I reserve the right to use a paid sick day if I have become ill because the children have come to daycare with a contagion that has made me ill.


Illness Policy for Children__________

If a child is not able to participate in the daily routine of my program due to illness the child should be at home or at alternate care until they are well. Please do not bring children to daycare if they have been ill in the previous 24 hours. Please do not medicate your child to reduce a fever of 101 F or higher in the morning because when the fever returns you will be required to pick up your child. In cases where I cannot locate the parent I will call the emergency contact, but in all cases the welfare of the children in my care is my first consideration.

I will ask that children go home if I notice any of the following:
 Fever of 101 F degrees or more
 Vomiting or abnormal diarrhea
 Pink eye or sore or discharging eyes or ears
 Contagious diseases (ie. flu, lice, strept throat, croup, chicken pox, measles/mumps)
 Colds with any of the above and a serious green or yellow nasal discharge

[Dreamalittledream]

Momof4: I sure do have a policy on that...unfortunately , a little guy had a really crusty eye when I woke him from nap time on Friday. I washed it with a warm cloth and really thought nothing of it until next morning when I got the email from parents...it sure was pink eye.

[Dreamalittledream]

Get the over the counter medicine . . . you can open again the next day . . . not biggie

No judgement: Buuuuuuuuuuuuut . . . . . don't touch your eye after wiping butts anymore . . . . .. You made me chuckle:)

[Inspired by Reggio]

I would want to know if the DCB's case was bacteria or viral ... although my guess is that the Dr just treated it is 'bacteria' cause it is cheaper and easier than growing the culture to confirm but I personally hate giving an antibiotic unnecessarily :(

For children I find it easy to just require 'minimum 24 hour exclusion with treatment and no visible discharge during awake times before return'

For myself anytime the children have given this to me - I just went to the pharmacy got the drops and started treatment right away and do not take time off work ... exclusion is only for CHILDREN in this case because unlike a child we are capable of not touching our eyes and refraining from scratching at them and washing hands promptly if we do need to touch them so therefore not pass this on to others ... for adults the most common form of spreading this is shared FACE TOWELS so make sure you get everyone in your house a 'fresh' towel daily until it is passed.

If you have not already I would also do a good 'bleach' clean off all common surface DCB might have touched on Friday - I do not usually advocate bleach but pink eye is an insidious bacteria or virus and you will never get rid of it if you do not kill ALL of it off on surfaces :(


What is Pink Eye?

Pink Eye is redness and swelling of the lining of the eyelid and eye surface. It is usually caused by a virus or bacteria. Allergies or chemical irritants in the environment can also cause Pink Eye.

Pink Eye caused by viruses and bacteria are highly contagious and are common in childcare centres and schools.

What are the symptoms?

Pink Eye usually starts with the white of the eye turning pink or red. The eye is often itchy and can appear swollen.

There may be a lot of watery discharge or pus discharge from the eye. After sleeping, thick yellow discharge may be present and even stick the eyelids together.

It can take 24 to 72 hours for symptoms to appear after coming in contact with infectious Pink Eye.

How is it spread?

Pink Eye is spread by contact with the eye discharge of someone who is infected. It may also be spread through contact with items soiled with the eye discharge, like toys, tissues and towels.

Classmates are at risk of infection by coming in contact with the infected person or anything that they have touched.

What to do?

If you think you have Pink Eye, call your doctor to find out the best way to treat it. A doctor can usually diagnose Pink Eye with an eye examination and by asking questions about your symptoms.

Treatment

If your doctor thinks the Pink Eye is caused by bacteria, antibiotic eyedrops may be prescribed. With antibiotic treatment, symptoms usually go away in 2 to 3 days. Antibiotics only work for Pink Eye caused by bacteria.
Cases of Pink Eye caused by viruses must run their course. Viral Pink Eye is infectious for a few days and clears in about 7 to 10 days.
Pink Eye caused by an allergy or chemical will not go away until you avoid whatever is causing it. Use allergy eyedrops and medicines to reduce symptoms.

Do children with Pink Eye need to be excluded from childcare or school?

If the infected eye has yellow or green coloured discharge, the child should be excluded. S/he can return after they have complete 24 hours of antibiotic treatment.

Prevention

Thorough handwashing is the way to prevent the spread of infection. Wash hand carefully after touching the eyes.

The best handwashing technique includes 6 steps:
- Wet hands with warm running water
- Apply liquid soap
- Lather hands and scrub for 20 seconds
- Rinse under running water
- Dry your hands with paper towels
- Use the towel to turn off the taps

An alcohol-based hand rub can be added to your hand hygiene routine:
- Apply the sanitizer to your hands. About a thumbnail size amount is sufficient.
- Rub your hands together until the alcohol has evaporated. Hands will feel dry in about 15 seconds.

Ensure all infected persons are appropriately treated.
Avoid contact sports, activities that share equipment and swimming until the infection has been treated to prevent spread to others.
Avoid sharing personal items such as face cloths, towels, pillowcases or make-up.

Launder any linens that come into contact with infected eyes and discard any make-up that may have touched infected eyes.

Toys can be washed using a mild disinfectant such as a 1:500 household bleach and water solution (approximately 100 ppm). This can be made by mixing 20 ml (4 teaspoons) household bleach with 10 L (40 cups) water.

Clean and sanitize common use areas, especially in schools and child care centres. Follow the disinfectant manufacturer’s instructions carefully, and leave the disinfectant on the surface for the minimum amount of time the label advises.

http://www.healthunit.com/article.aspx?ID=1401 0

[Sandbox Sally]

Bummer! Speaking of bums, contracting pink eye has nothing to do with touching your eyes after changing diapers. ;)

[sunnydays]

I wouldn't close if I had pink eye either...just use polysporin eye drops and it clears up right away. I've also had good luck with simply using a hot wash cloth on the closed eye several times a day...pink eye is killed by heat. And of course, wash your hands a lot and don't touch your eyes. When I've had it before I have never spread it to anyone, not even family. Kids rub their eyes and pass it around so it's different.

[Momof4]

The difference between bacteria and viral infections are usually easy to decipher. Green is bacterial and clear is viral. This goes for any mucous so you know when you really need a doctor.

[mom-in-alberta]

Oh, yuck... hope this clears up FAST!!
As the others have said, I don't believe you have to close, as you have the wherewithall to NOT be touching your eye, unlike a toddler. However, I would definitely let all the parents know, so that they can assess whether they want to bring their child(ren).

[Inspired by Reggio]

The difference between bacteria and viral infections are usually easy to decipher. Green is bacterial and clear is viral. This goes for any mucous so you know when you really need a doctor.

Not picking a fight here but for some interesting reading try googling 'fact or myth green mucus equals bacterial infection' ... some articles coming out of the UK and other countries with more and more research over the past decade showing that the color of your mucus has nothing to do if it is bacteria or viral or a need for Dr visit. There is a real attempt to 'reeducate' the medical community to stop doling out antibiotics based on this because they are often not needed as the cold is 'viral' and creating that 'antibiotic resistant viruses' out there as a result and if they would just TEST sputum they would be able to know for sure if bacterial or viral.... the problem in CANADA is that with our FREE health care system they will not TEST people to determine one way or the other and just give the prescription to appease parents and big pharm.

This is an excerpt from one site on new research into colds and treatments


GREEN MUCUS ISN'T A SIGN OF BACTERIAL INFECTION

Contrary to popular belief, green mucus is not a sign of bacterial infection, but a sign the immune system is working properly.

As the body recruits more and more virus-fighting white blood cells to the nose, the colour of the mucus changes from clear to *yellow to green. This is because these cells carry green iron-containing enzymes. The greener the colour, the more robust the immune response.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1319698/Cold-cures-Why-thought-knew-wrong.html#ixzz1qPWT UDae

[Dreamalittledream]

Thanks everyone! I fired off a warning e-mail to parents yesterday and everyone came this morning:). Of course, they are all elementary teachers and understand;)

[Momof4]

Reggio, not everything on the internet is correct and not all medical people agree on everything. I'm speaking from 37 years of experience as a Mom/Grandma/daycare provider and I worked 10 years at a medical lab, so had schooling for that of course. I stick by what I said, sorry. The green colour is because they are dead white blood cells and macrophages in the mucous that have been attacking the bacteria.

Trust me, the doctors in our city along swab 1000's of throats and noses and other places daily and send them to the lab for testing. I do agree with you that they dole out antibiotics when they should not and when the results come back to them as viral, not bacterial I bet they aren't calling their patients and telling them to stop taking the antibiotics because it might make them look like idiots.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup - gonna have to agree to disagree on the color of green snot = bacteria infection needing medical treatment ;)

My understanding that white blood cells attack both viral viruses and bacteria ones in the body ... again not a Dr or trained in medical background .... just from stuff I have been told or read with relation to my own shitty health ... for example eating gluten causes an increased white blood cell count in a Celiac cause the body views it as virus and attacks it ... so if the reason for the 'mucus' to turn green is in relation to the 'white blood cells' being present than ANY of those conditions can result in a 'green mucus' discharge and skew the cause ... specially without any other symptoms ... if it is just a green mucus discharge without a fever, cough, chills and so forth it could just be 'allergies' at the route.

[Momof4]

Yes, we can agree to disagree because a viral infection causes a drop in white blood cells and therefore a drop in temperature. That's another indication of a bacterial infection, a high temperature, but a high temp can also occur with certain viruses, they are very tricky. That's why they have survived since the beginning of time.