How long can a kid's nose run with thick mucus...1 month?!

Hoping I could get some good feedback/advice from all of you.

I have a 22 month old dcc who for the past month has had a thick nasal discharge that goes from greenish/clean/yellow.. It runs past his chin most days. I'm constantatly soping him up with tissues. sorry for the graphic description. :blink:

I have expressed to his mum in the first week of his discharge and his mum hands me some sanitizer and a box of kleenex. Seriously?? I have mentioned it to his dad the other day, how his nose won't stop running. This while I'm chasing him down to wipe his nose for the 35th time so that he won't wipe it on one of the other kids he's chasing in the backyard. His dad shrugs it off. :no:

So tonight when mum/dad comes. I'm going to have a word with them. Basically mention that however every kid gets a runny nose, I do not make a big deal of it, if it is clear and not constant and clears up in relatively normal timeframe. But...this is really unhygenic for my other daycare kids/babies. I'm constantly wiping down toys, his arms (ugh). Today there was snot on another child's back after they were playing together on the carpet and hugging/rolling around.

So...I was going to suggest they take him to see a doctor ASAP. And not to come back until it's cleared up. However, I was going to NOT charge them. Don't think I can. My contract does not state Thick Discharge Flem from nose for extended period".. Although I'm going to revise very soon :mad:

Feedback??

I don't know, but personally I would not require a child to stay home for this. I might suggest they talk to their doctor about it, but the doctor will probably just say it's a cold and not do much. Some kids just seem to have runny noses all the time. There's been some really nasty bugs going around and most of my daycare kids had runny noses for more than a month (although thankfully they are all fine now). I think as long as there is no fever and the child is not acting sick, there's not much you can do. I think of it as just one of the unpleasant parts of the job, wiping noses and cleaning bums go hand in hand.

How long can a kid's nose run with thick mucus...1 month?!

Hummmmm let's see, my 2 X 2 yo started here in october 2011 with a runny nose, and guess what, they still have runny noses today! I chase them with tissues, I try my best to protect the toys, the other kids ans my couch hahaha! But doesn't always work!

There's not much a doctor can do!

Ya - that is a tough one if there are not any other symptoms to his nose it could be so many things causing extra sinus discharge .... specially this year when our weather has been so WEIRD this winter and not have had enough below freezing for long enough periods to actually 'kill off' the spores and crap outside as a result many people are experiencing their worst 'allergy season' in their life time as it is starting earlier and way more concentrated :(

Children who are teething also have runny nose syndrome as well and while normally 'clear' it too can change color for seemingly benign reasons.

The color of your mucus can change for various reasons ... while yellow and green mucus is typically stated to be indication of 'cold' or 'infection' in the absense of any 'other' symptoms of infection the cause my not be infection at all - I have read online that the processing too many environmental toxins and allergens through your sinus can cause changes in the color of our boogers in a perfectly 'healthy' person so in the absence of any other symptoms to indicate 'cold' I would assume this is just an allergen and poses no contagious issue to the others.

However that said would still suggest that the child's DR follow up with WHY the excessive drippage...if it is allergies perhaps allergy tests to identify WHAT so if possible it can be eliminated from his diet or environment and if not able to omit exposure allergen medication to reduce the symptoms for him?

Hi! Sorry to say that I agree with the other posters.....I have a boy who has been with me for over a year and has had a revolting, spread all over his face, runny nose the entire time I have known him!!!! He also has long hair which gets stuck to his face with snot....just to give you a lovely picture, tee hee! He is otherwise fine with no illness at all. Guess it's just one of the joys of working with kids!

I would not say that he couldn't come to daycare but I would ask his parents to take him to the doctor to check his ears for an infection. In my vast experience as a Mom, clear is viral and green is bacterial. We cannot SEE an ear infection! Only a doctor can diagnose that so that's my greatest fear and the tubes between the nose/throat/ears are all connected so green mucous discharge from the nose is an indicator.

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Originally Posted by Momof4

I would not say that he couldn't come to daycare but I would ask his parents to take him to the doctor to check......

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.....him out ASAP! I too have a girl who has had a runny nose since birth (according to the parents) she's always runny or stuffed up. She's been with me for over a month and at times its quite annoying.....she can only breathe out of her mouth so she makes that deep-breath-out sound ALL-DAY-LONG....ughh LOL

Eeeeeww Ahhhhhhhh Eeeeeew Ahhhhh Just messing with you MammaMia. I had a girl in care who breathed like that and I seriously got into the habit of leaving the room for quiet time because she snored like an old man and I really needed the break from it. 3 years of that, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. She was also super intelligent but a super tattletale.

Some really good feedback, I spoke with the mum at pick up time. I asked if she would consider seeing his doctor as he also snores quite loudly when he's asleep at nap time. I mentioned how his arms get slimed and how the older kids are noticing and not wanting to hold his hand during our walks thru the park. (buddy system). We will see. How another child was slimed down his back earlier. I know if it was one of my children, I'd be following up with their pediatrician and not just shrug and give it the old "oh well..." But at least it got the mum thinking and I'm sure she's getting tired of me mentioning it at pick up...so we will see. Keep you all updated :)

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Originally Posted by Other Mummy

Some really good feedback, I spoke with the mum at pick up time. I asked if she would consider seeing his doctor as he also snores quite loudly when he's asleep at nap time. I mentioned how his arms get slimed and how the older kids are noticing and not wanting to hold his hand during our walks thru the park. (buddy system). We will see. How another child was slimed down his back earlier. I know if it was one of my children, I'd be following up with their pediatrician and not just shrug and give it the old "oh well..." But at least it got the mum thinking and I'm sure she's getting tired of me mentioning it at pick up...so we will see. Keep you all updated :)

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You know, now that you mention it, that's how I got through to the parents of the baby here who turns out has a milk allergy. I think the Dad got tired of me telling him every day that those newbornish yellow poops were not normal for a 1 year old and they really needed to address his pain and nonstop crying. I think when I started getting to the point that I was handing him to his Dad really fast at the end of the day, with a sort of OMG attitude, that's when he talked his wife into trying non dairy foods. Surprise, surprise, it worked and he stopped screaming all day and his poops firmed up.

Why are we smarter than the parents? In your case, it could cause lifetime sinus or adenaid or ear infection problems for this little guy and that's just child abuse!

Ugh.... as I have said before; boogers are my downfall. I literally gag while wiping noses, and right now, just thinking about it, my gag reflex is kicking in!!! **blechhhh!!!**
But, some kids really are more goober-y than others, and aside from "asking" them to go to the doc, which you did, I don't know that there is much else. Just keep an eye out for any other symptoms or issues, I guess?
If he snores really badly, it's entirely possible that his adenoids are too large, which may account for the snot (because it can't "drain" properly down the throat, so it comes out the front). My son just had his out in Sept, and he snored from the time he was a little baby.

I have 2 experiences with this - one was my own son who also turned out to have adenoid issues and when he was 2 had them removed and then he was fine and at 17 he never gets sick - not a sick day from school ever!
Now in daycare I had a girl who was constantly snotty - really gross - they finally figured out it was an allergy and started her on some puffer - they tried to not use them because they don't approve of them - but found that when they did she was so much better that they are actually using the puffer. Again - several Dr. visits and me mentioning every day that she was really clogged and could barely breathe.

My thoughts were adnoids as well. Mum dropped him off yesterday morning and claimed he was "dry" for the whole weekend. And they took him to the doc. It's just a cold. Yes. I figured that's what the doc would say. But seriously?? That's it....I'd investigate furter if I was a parent.. Guess who was wearing a snot goatee ?? Oh and now he's biting my daycare kids and my own 15 month old. But that's a whole otha thread....sigh.

Is there any chance he could be allergic to something in your home (since the parents said he was dry at home over the weekend)? Do you have any pets? Just a thought...

Hon IME a great way to approach the constantly snotty nose that is not being seen as an 'issue' is to remind parents that when a child cannot breath fully due to congestion it reduces the OXYGEN getting to the BRAIN and therefore could affect their long term brain development if their oxygen saturation is constantly 'low' having to struggle through snot to get air into the lungs ... that usually sends most parents running for a solution to 'full oxygen access' for their child ... be it addressing the allergy through testing and finding the 'cause', going to an ENT specialist to rule out adenoids and so forth but they tend to suddenly want a 'solution' ;)

Come at things as a sincere desire for their child's long term well being but than accept that there is only so much WE can do cause they are not our children no matter how much we grow to love and care about them..... if the parents get the answer they want from a Dr - aka their kid is normal and fine - they are going to hold onto that for dear life even in face of increasing evidence of a problem ... I have an almost 5 year old whose language development is on par with a TWO year old because he obviously has some central auditory processing issue but the parents will not 'hear it' because they took him for a hearing test at 18 months and Dr said he was 'fine' ... I am not saying he cannot HEAR I am suggesting he is not properly processing what he HEARS cause he talks like his is underwater and no one can understand him unless they KNOW him and what his 'sounds' mean! ... even his teacher has said there is an issue but even she is a ding bat cause she thinks it is a 'behaviour issue' and is 'failing' him in kindergarten rather than advocating for HELP for him :(