WWYD? Child with Fever

[lindysmiles]

Alright all. Newish provider needs advice. I sent a 2 yo DCB home today with fever 101.6, listlessness, no appetite whatsoever at noon. Mom just texted that his fever immediately broke this afternoon with 1 dose of motrin, and hasn't come back. No other symptoms, eating, playing, acting normal. Mom wants to drop him off in the a.m., my policy states 24 hours fever free. Do I allow his return? Are fevers ever just a fluke, or should I stick to my policy? TIA!

Also should add, my house has been hit with the stomach virus this week. DCG 18 mos came in on Monday with diarrhea, parents SWEAR they didn't know she was ill. She was picked up by 2:30 pm that day. Her mom and dad were both sick by that night, and I bleached and cleaned like my life depended on it Monday evening. She still hasn't returned to care. Everyone else has been good until today - I sent home a 7 mo DCG by 9:30 a.m. with vomiting and diarrhea, and then 2 yo DCK I'm speaking of above with fever and no appetite by noon. Again I cleaned and sanitized EVERYTHING trying to kill this bug. So far my 2 DS's, DH and myself have not gotten it, but I know it's too early to consider us "safe" from it. WWYD? Thanks!

[momofboys]

Alright all. Newish provider needs advice. I sent a 2 yo DCB home today with fever 101.6, listlessness, no appetite whatsoever at noon. Mom just texted that his fever immediately broke this afternoon with 1 dose of motrin, and hasn't come back. No other symptoms, eating, playing, acting normal. Mom wants to drop him off in the a.m., my policy states 24 hours fever free. Do I allow his return? Are fevers ever just a fluke, or should I stick to my policy? TIA!

Also should add, my house has been hit with the stomach virus this week. DCG 18 mos came in on Monday with diarrhea, parents SWEAR they didn't know she was ill. She was picked up by 2:30 pm that day. Her mom and dad were both sick by that night, and I bleached and cleaned like my life depended on it Monday evening. She still hasn't returned to care. Everyone else has been good until today - I sent home a 7 mo DCG by 9:30 a.m. with vomiting and diarrhea, and then 2 yo DCK I'm speaking of above with fever and no appetite by noon. Again I cleaned and sanitized EVERYTHING trying to kill this bug. So far my 2 DS's, DH and myself have not gotten it, but I know it's too early to consider us "safe" from it. WWYD? Thanks!

Well naturally his fever "broke" - he was on Advil/Motrin which typically holds a fever off for 6-8 hrs! I would strongly say the child can't return until Monday - one afternoon fever-free doesn't mean he will remain fever-free, plus he was medicated so of course he didn't have a fever::. Good luck, stand your ground but I would tell the DCM 24 hrs is your rule!

[TheGoodLife]

I'd stick to the contract. If you make an exception now, you'll be asked to do it again... plus you don't want to have to worry about it coming back again tomorrow and having to re-sanitize everything as much Plus it's great that it's on a Thursday so they'll have the whole weekend to recuperate!

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Well naturally his fever "broke" - he was on Advil/Motrin which typically holds a fever off for 6-8 hrs! I would strongly say the child can't return until Monday - one afternoon fever-free doesn't mean he will remain fever-free, plus he was medicated so of course he didn't have a fever::. Good luck, stand your ground but I would tell the DCM 24 hrs is your rule!

I agree.

"I'm so glad he is feeling better on the Motrin! Thank you for keeping him home for the required 24 hour isolation period after the fever ending (riiiight....LOL). I look forward to seeing him again on Monday! "

[lindysmiles]

Thank you, that's exactly what I was thinking. Glad to know I'm not off base! I had the same gut reaction - of course there is no fever while on motrin - but with no other symptoms I started to doubt myself. I appreciate knowing y'all 'got my back' as I could tell DCM was kind of annoyed with me about the 24 hr rule. I'm still learning, so wanted to make sure I wasn't out of line. lovethis Have a great weekend, all!

[CrackerJacks]

My policy states the child must be fever free for 24hrs without the use of fever reducing medications. I would not allow them to come back

[AnneCordelia]

I have had this happen and it's hard when they ask. I specifically say, at pickup when the child is ill, "This fever means that he will not be able to return to daycare until he has been free from motrin/tylenol for 24 hours and also has no fever. With my policy in mind, he can return Monday. See you Monday, Tommy! Hope you feel better."

[KnoxMom]

Stick with your policy. Your health and the health of the kids depends on it! I would refer her to a place that take sick drop in care. We have two places in my city that offer that service if she just doesn't want to miss work.

[Springdaze]

I vote for stick to it! I know I keep my SA kids home because I know the mean nurse will just send them home anyway! Be the mean nurse!

[snbauser]

Definately stick with it. Especially with children there are many illnesses that the rest of the symptoms don't appear until AFTER the fever breaks - hand foot and mouth comes to mind as does roseola. My policy is 24 hours medication free without a fever or symptoms. So if they had a fever at 8:00 and gave motrin, then the 24 hours doesn't start until at least 2:00 since that is when the motrin would start wearing off.

[JenNJ]

NO! Any fever excludes from care. If you are questioning your OWN policy, the answer is always NO!

[LittleD]

Just happened to me last week I believe. Sent home with fever before lunch. They said she woke up from nap fine, came back next day (fever present but bellow required pick up 99 F) as she was leaving for the day threw up twice.

Nope, stay home and make sure no other symptoms develop, especially with the stomach bug thats going around at your place!!