First time using backbone/enforcing illness policy...

[Kindermom]

Please tell me if you think I handled this correctly (first time enforcing illness policy, so I could use some validation on my doing so!)....

About two weeks ago, DCG got dropped off with suspicious looking crusty eyes and I didn't notice until dcd was gone. For whatever reason, I didn't have her picked up, but cleaned the eyes and kept up with sanatizing and hand washing and kept an eye (haha) on it. No discharge. I got her up from her nap to go home at the end of the day and BAM- lots of very obviously pink eye discharge. Mom takes her to doc who confirms and prescribes eye drops, child returns not the following day but the day after.

Fast forward to today: same exact eye crust. Stuck in the eye lashes and all. So, I question dad at drop off (which was very awkward) and said I would have to call his wife bc he had to be at work. (I know that part could/should have been handled differently) But I call mom (teacher) to arrange for pick up, and I find myself having to defend my stance on her going home. She finds it "hard to believe" it is pink eye again so quickly, according to her conversation with the school nurse. Had to jump through hoops to get dcg picked up and I could tell mom was annoyed. Dcg's aunt ended up having to come get her.

I KNOW what pink eye looks like. Literally pink in the eyeball or not, when there is discharge matted into eye lashes, I am not dealing with it going through my house and spreading to my kids and missing school, etc. I am just so aggravated with mom who questioned me and scoffed at me and refused to even believe it and explain it away because "she doesn't have a fever, she was running around fine all weekend; when I took her to the dr last time, her eye was constantly discharging"(OK, let's wait until it gets to that point then? no...)....I waited til her aunt came before cleaning it out so she could see it and know that i wasn't trying to get a day off or anything.

Hindsight question: should I have been the one to put the drops in before she went home, or to have the aunt do it before leaving so I knew that it got done?

Did I do this right?

I have never sent anyone home sick before. Here's hoping a) I don't have to again and b) I get better at this.

[Blackcat31]

Please tell me if you think I handled this correctly (first time enforcing illness policy, so I could use some validation on my doing so!)....

About two weeks ago, DCG got dropped off with suspicious looking crusty eyes and I didn't notice until dcd was gone. For whatever reason, I didn't have her picked up, but cleaned the eyes and kept up with sanatizing and hand washing and kept an eye (haha) on it. No discharge. I got her up from her nap to go home at the end of the day and BAM- lots of very obviously pink eye discharge. Mom takes her to doc who confirms and prescribes eye drops, child returns not the following day but the day after.

Fast forward to today: same exact eye crust. Stuck in the eye lashes and all. So, I question dad at drop off (which was very awkward) and said I would have to call his wife bc he had to be at work. (I know that part could/should have been handled differently) But I call mom (teacher) to arrange for pick up, and I find myself having to defend my stance on her going home. She finds it "hard to believe" it is pink eye again so quickly, according to her conversation with the school nurse. Had to jump through hoops to get dcg picked up and I could tell mom was annoyed. Dcg's aunt ended up having to come get her.

I KNOW what pink eye looks like. Literally pink in the eyeball or not, when there is discharge matted into eye lashes, I am not dealing with it going through my house and spreading to my kids and missing school, etc. I am just so aggravated with mom who questioned me and scoffed at me and refused to even believe it and explain it away because "she doesn't have a fever, she was running around fine all weekend; when I took her to the dr last time, her eye was constantly discharging"(OK, let's wait until it gets to that point then? no...)....I waited til her aunt came before cleaning it out so she could see it and know that i wasn't trying to get a day off or anything.

Hindsight question: should I have been the one to put the drops in before she went home, or to have the aunt do it before leaving so I knew that it got done?

Did I do this right?

I have never sent anyone home sick before. Here's hoping a) I don't have to again and b) I get better at this.

You did the right thing.

You are not a Dr so you can't diagnose anyone. You can only exclude for certain symptoms and DCG had those symptoms.

Mom can be upset all she wants but its HER child.

As far as the meds (eye drops) go, I don't and wont' dispense anything like that. Parents need to take care of that kind of thing on their own.

Even meds that have a 3x's daily dosage schedule can be done outside of daycare hours easily so that I don't have to deal.

[Cradle2crayons]

You did the right thing.

You are not a Dr so you can't diagnose anyone. You can only exclude for certain symptoms and DCG had those symptoms.

Mom can be upset all she wants but its HER child.

As far as the meds (eye drops) go, I don't and wont' dispense anything like that. Parents need to take care of that kind of thing on their own.

Even meds that have a 3x's daily dosage schedule can be done outside of daycare hours easily so that I don't have to deal.

I dispense meds hat are necessary to be given while at my house. However, eye drops for pink eye don't really have to be given EXACTLY x hours apart. Mom and dad can do that at home.

[AuntTami]

Pink eye is yucky stuff.

I think you did the right thing too.

The only meds I dispense here are meds that absolutely must be given between daycare hours, and Tylenol as it relates to teething. Nothing else.

Like PP said, it's HER child. You don't have to defend your reasoning.

You exclude for certain symptoms, and her child had those symptoms.

It wouldn't be any different than if the little was puking for unknown reasons. You could SUSPECT she might have the flu, but you can't diagnose, that's up to a doctor, so therefore, you must exclude based on the SYMPTOMS you see. Same situation here. You SUSPECT it's pink eye, but you're not a doctor and can't diagnose, so therefore you must exclude based solely on the symptoms, and you did the right thing.

The drops being used or not isn't your responsibility. If her aunt can't put the drops in her eyes, then the family needs to take that up with HER. It's not up to you to make sure the drops get administered, all you can do is say "her drops are due at this time" and it's up to auntie to put them in.

Sometimes us aunties don't get enough credit that we actually DO know how to care for a child.. Oh wait, maybe that's just in my family LOL!

[daycarediva]

I exclude for symptoms. Crusty eyes=go home.

If it IS pink eye, I am assuming the parents didn't do the complete dose of antibiotic eye drops and stopped early/when the eye cleared up OR they didn't wash her bedding/pillowcases and she got reinfected.

[KiddieCahoots]

Wait....the aunt started treating dcg's pink eye with the same drops from the last occurrence of pink eye?

If I'm not mistaken, dcg is suppose to be looked at by the doctor again to be diagnosed, obtain a doctor's note for the return to daycare, with a new prescription.

[Unregistered]

Wait....the aunt started treating dcg's pink eye with the same drops from the last occurrence of pink eye?

If I'm not mistaken, dcg is suppose to be looked at by the doctor again to be diagnosed, obtain a doctor's note for the return to daycare, with a new prescription.

Not always true. The first time my son got pink eye when he was around 1 the doctor had me bring him in. All the rest of the times when I called to say my son had pink eye the doctor either had me use the meds left over (I used the same drops too at times) or called in a new script without having to see him. Here 24 hours on drops you can go back to school or daycare. My own doctor doesn't even prescribe anything for pink eye.

[daycarediva]

Not always true. The first time my son got pink eye when he was around 1 the doctor had me bring him in. All the rest of the times when I called to say my son had pink eye the doctor either had me use the meds left over (I used the same drops too at times) or called in a new script without having to see him. Here 24 hours on drops you can go back to school or daycare. My own doctor doesn't even prescribe anything for pink eye.

Here that would be unheard of. I have never even heard of a doctor authorizing a parent to use a prescription medication for a previously prescribed condition without seeing a patient first, ESPECIALLY an antibiotic.

[taylorw1210]

You did the right thing, for sure. We just had a pink eye outbreak a few weeks ago, and it is NOT fun. Sounds like the child got reinfected.

[Unregistered]

Youvdid the right thing.The only thing I would have done different is I wouldn't have let her stay.I certainly wouldn't let dad tell me what to do or have you calling around for someone to pick up.He would have left with her.
Next time refuse at the door and save yourself and all the poor kids the trouble.He knew her eye was crusty,he had to see it when he got her up and ready for the day.
Slacker parents! Gotta love 'em!
How would he like to go into work with his eye all red and crusty,oh no wait,he wouldn't! Exactly!

[Cradle2crayons]

Not always true. The first time my son got pink eye when he was around 1 the doctor had me bring him in. All the rest of the times when I called to say my son had pink eye the doctor either had me use the meds left over (I used the same drops too at times) or called in a new script without having to see him. Here 24 hours on drops you can go back to school or daycare. My own doctor doesn't even prescribe anything for pink eye.

Same here. My np will just tell me over the phone. Usually she would just call in another refill or give a refill on eye drops.