Pink eye

One of my dcks showed up today with pink eye. At first, we just thought it was sleep in his eyes but then his eyes looked so tired. And his eye lashes are wet, the corner of one of his eyes' is red and it's leaky. I called mom to come pick him up.

I know pink eye can be really contagious and I'm worried about my son getting it. If my son were to get it, what is your suggestion as for running the daycare? Should I close? Is it one of those things that keeps going around until it's gone, or is it like a cold where you can't technically catch the same one twice?

I have a new kid starting today...great! I'm wondering if I should call and tell them not to come today....

??

Pink eye comes and goes so often I wouldnt' worry too much about it. Now that you know be extra vigilent about hand washing for everyone and especially yourself as you move from child to child. It is spread by direct contact so limit if you can access to the eyes - a good day to play games together that keep the kids busy but far enough apart like dancing to music. Yes the ill child should go home till he can start meds.

Think about what the child has done since he got to your house and try to set aside any toys he touched so they can be washed.

I take a relaxed approach to most illnesses in the sense of the stuff is out there and goes through any group no matter where you are. It isn't even safe walking through the mall or riding on a bus. The ill child goes home and to the doctor for confirmation and advice. 48 hours on meds and they can usually come back provided eyes have stopped leaking but watch the other eye since it often travels back and forth. When you know what it is for sure then mention to the other parents that one of the kids has it and letting the parents know what to look for in their own kids and then just carry on with fingers crossed.

If you want to be prepared for your own family you can buy drops at the drug store = polysporin makes one that is good for eyes and ears and is great to have on hand for use at the first sign of infection. Then if that doesn't stop it you will need to do the doctor for something stronger.

How long was the child there ? It doesn't seem like he was there that long .... Wash everything that he touched and wash your hands well ..... It's only contagious by touching the eye and touching your eye so if he touched his eye and then touched a toy and then another kids touched the sane toy and then touched his eye .... You see what I'm saying ... So if he wasn't rubbing his eye ( cause pink eye is itchy) and if you didn't touch it then you should be good .... It is the kind of thing that can keep going around .... You can get over the counter drops for pink eye and I think 24 hours after dosage should be good ....

I would close only because, I put ALOT of effort into not spreading illness, and want respect from all my parents so, I would have to set a good example. not to mention, although pinkeye is fairly simple and has no real dangers, it is uncomfortable and I wouldnt want to be responsible for spreading it!

Ugh, pink eye. It's really not so bad. I wouldn't close and haven't in the past. For me, it depends on how bad it is really. Lots of hand washing, maybe an extra disinfect of toys and diligence in keeping kids from 'getting in eachother's faces should be good enough. If the child's eyes are super gooey and he's constantly rubbing at them, then he's really going to pass it around on toys, etc and shouldn't be there. If it's just starting, I leave it. I text Mom to give her a heads up and discuss the need for meds when she picks up. Having been through it several times with my own three when they were younger, I discovered the awesomeness of Polysporin drops and ALWAYS have some on hand. If caught early enough, pink eye can be resolved with that. I always tell parents that as well and offer to do the drops during daycare hours too. That stuff is GREAT and has saved me and some daycare parents many hours of sitting in clinic waiting rooms :)

Disinfect everything and good luck!