Colds from daycare

[Aloe Vera]

What is it with the colds from daycare? Are they mutant viruses? Am I getting old?

Every now and then, I catch a cold from my kid. For me, colds used to be a runny nose (watery) the first day and then the full on cold with thick mucus. 
Since having kids, my colds are absolutely miserable:

- body ache all over my body like I have the flu
- swollen throat, difficulty to swallow and pain in my throat
- muscles feeling extremely weak
- swollen membranes in my nose making it impossible to breath
- pounding headache

This will last for 2-3 days and then we're back to a regular cold. I once woke up in the middle of the night in pain. Swallowing felt like I was eating shards of glass. I went to urgent care, they tested me for Strep B (negative) and told me my throat looked normal
I am unable to function at the beginning of my cold. All I want to do it stay in bed and close my eyes. People think I am being dramatic because it's "just a cold".

What is going on? Is my immune system getting weaker ( I am 41) or are viruses from daycare mutants?

[waverly]

They probably are different viruses then you are accustomed to and you need to build up more immunity. Daycares are petri dishes. I've never been more sick in my life then winter with kids in daycare. They aren't all the common cold (rhinovirus) that you are getting. Here are some fun ones:

Enteroviruses
Adenoviruses
Roseola
5th's disease
Hand foot mouth
Influenza
Strep
Covid

Some if you had before you won't get again like Roseola, but I never had 5th disease and got that as an adult.  That was fun.  I also got HFM as an adult, more fun! Not!

[Susie]

Daycare plague is the actual worst.  I just wrapped my 8th (and final!!!) daycare winter between two kids, and it was the first one since I started this grand adventure that I wasn't basically sick for the entirety of winter.  My youngest is in pre-k, and I think I'm finally coming out the other side.  

I chalk it up to the specific mix of viruses, and being long term, chronically worn down from the physical rigors and immune system suppression of pregnancy, nursing, and lack of sleep.  I get sicker, and stay sick longer, than ever before.  It usually isn't any name brand pathogen; it isn't flu or covid or strep, it's just generic daycare plague.

Anecdotally we've seen more stomach bugs in elementary than preschool/daycare, but less respiratory illnesses.  I look forward to when the stomach bugs start to ease off.

[waverly]

Susie , yup, we had 2 stomach viruses in 2023-2024 sschool year when DD was in 5th grade. I can't remember DS bringing home any in middle school (he did bring home Covid and influenza during the tripledemic). So I am hoping when she gets to the middle school then she won't be bringing them home anymore since they move classes and aren't sitting as close to their little friends.

[thebreakfastclub]

I got hand, foot, and mouth from my toddler, which was rough, and one 24-hour virus once. Otherwise, I did not get sick from daycare, but I don't get sick much anyway.
My son was really never sick at daycare and has gone on to be the same way in elementary.

[waverly]

thebreakfastclub, You may have magical unicorn status because that is not the norm. Or maybe in small in home daycare....

[Aloe Vera]

Apr 29, 2024 9:39:46 GMT -5 waverly said:

They probably are different viruses then you are accustomed to and you need to build up more immunity. Daycares are petri dishes. I've never been more sick in my life then winter with kids in daycare. They aren't all the common cold (rhinovirus) that you are getting. Here are some fun ones:

Enteroviruses
Adenoviruses
Roseola
5th's disease
Hand foot mouth
Influenza
Strep
Covid

Some if you had before you won't get again like Roseola, but I never had 5th disease and got that as an adult.  That was fun.  I also got HFM as an adult, more fun! Not!

This makes total sense! In February I was treated for double pink eye and bronchitis which I read could be from the Adenoviruses.

[heygrey]

thebreakfastclub, same with my son. He had the odd runny nose and very occasional mild fever, but was rarely sick sick all the years he was in daycare. Last year in grade 3 he had the trifecta - covid, then RSV, then strep - all a few weeks apart. His case of covid was pretty mild, but I think it wore down his immune system because RSV was not great and strep nearly had him hospitalized. Thankfully this year we're back to only one mild fever so far.

He is 10 and he has never had a stomach bug. Someday it's going to get him and he'll have no idea what's happening.

[sdlaura]

I've had kids in daycare for 12 years now, and we have another couple years to go. I don't normally get their colds. I have had strep twice within the last year, I did get hand, foot, and mouth once, and the whole family got lice recently. So plenty of stuff is coming from preschool, but the colds only seem to impact my youngers kids who haven't yet developed an immune system of steel

[scm1011]

I will take daycare colds/viruses over this elementary school lice hell I'm living in. Discovered this morning we have it for the 4th time since August and I want to cry.

[dcn]

When my kids were in daycare my H and I got doozies of whatever they had. The first winter we each were on antibiotics twice, after not really being sick at all for years.

[ssmjlm]

Apr 29, 2024 13:38:53 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

I will take daycare colds/viruses over this elementary school lice hell I'm living in. Discovered this morning we have it for the 4th time since August and I want to cry.

OMG - there must be someone that isn't treating it and spreading it to the whole class over and over.


Yeah, daycare was colds and strep for us. Elementary is random fevers and stomach bugs. I think she gets the stomach bug once a year.

[scm1011]

Apr 29, 2024 14:20:02 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Apr 29, 2024 13:38:53 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

I will take daycare colds/viruses over this elementary school lice hell I'm living in. Discovered this morning we have it for the 4th time since August and I want to cry.

OMG - there must be someone that isn't treating it and spreading it to the whole class over and over.

Yes, there has to be!! I've already emailed the teacher. I'm hoping the nurse can check DS' class and make sure all infected kids are treated because this is insanity. 

[sdlaura]

Liking for solidarity scm1011. We had lice two weeks ago and I am pretty sure we eradicated it (following a $700 lice salon bill and me missing a work flight while trying to clean my house), but I'm dreading it happening again. I just did another full comb out of my hair this morning - I now can't not feel itchy even though I found no signs of lice!

[scm1011]

sdlaura , ugh I'm sorry. The phantom itching is the woooooorst. I hope it stays away!

[noodleoo]

Yes, daycare germs are the WORST. The first few years are awful, but I think after a while you build up immunity to it. I even remember it with my nieces and nephews before I had kids, I got a few viruses from them and I felt like I was going to die. As an adult I think I just wasn’t exposed to the new, mutated viruses that breed in daycares. My kids are almost 9 and 5.5 and I feel like it’s finally gotten a little better. Although I got the flu for the first time last year from DD2 and it took me out for a good week. It’s rough.

scm1011 OMG that’s awful! You have my sympathies.

[niq]

I think I kept getting colds until the late toddler years, and then I got exciting new colds once each kid started school.

As I get older it feels like recovering from colds takes longer. I make a point of not drinking caffeine or alcohol when I'm sick, and that seems to help.

Hang in there!

[devonpow]

Little kid illnesses are the worst. It can also be harder because we don’t have the ability to fully take care of ourselves/rest/recuperate so it’s harder for us to kick them like we used to. I mean, if I could sleep 10-12 hours at night like I used to when sick I would definitely get better faster!

[186momx]

DH is like this. I can guarantee he will get sick mid September and be off and on sick all the way until June. He has a crap immune system and does nothing to help improve it. He also loves to blame DD for getting sick and used to refuse to do daycare pick up because picking her up equaled him being sick within 24hours. DD is now 13 and very seldom gets sick and he still blames her for his colds saying she is bringing it home from school even though neither her or I get sick.

[ckay]

I work with prek through first graders in an elementary school. This is my 16th year teaching and omg I have never been sicker than this year-but like you said, nothing that’s like, testable. No strep, no flu. Just brutal colds/viruses. I have literally had some illness monthly since October (minus December, somehow). I’m just getting over a mutant cold in which I lost my voice for 5 days and had to stay home from work a few days. Our staff has been missing so many days due to illness (and students). It’s nuts.

My PCP said there’s some rough viruses going around, she’s hoping it’s everyone’s immune system getting back on track after a few years of masking and more isolation. Basically this is the first winter EVERYTHING was open without masks. We’ll see-I reallllly hope next winter is better!

[statgirl]

I teach college (aka big people who should not show up sick) and I got sick after every single test starting with winter final exams this year. Spring finals are this week so hopefully I make it through.

I allow makeups for illness—why do they have to bring their germs??? I did great from 2020 to last December and I live in Florida so it wasn’t from everyone masking (though I did from 2020 to 2022).

When my kids were daycare age, we could plan our illnesses off which one got it first and the typical spread (DS1–me—DH and then DS2—DH—me, so which kid had it determined when I would get sick).

[turboteal]

I'm currently on amoxicillin for strep for the second time so far this year (early Feb was my first time), my 5 year old has it both times as well as in December. We all had something (possibly HFM, but it was mostly diarrhea/ vomiting, I could only find one possible blister on a toe of each kid) last month. The 18mo old and I had a stomach bug three weeks ago. We also all had a stomach bug in the second half of Feb that had me lying on the floor and texting my mom to come help the next day. Aside from these high points, runny noses/coughs have been pretty much present in both kids since November, when one of them gave me a horrific cold where I lost my voice for a week straight. This winter has been insane. The 18mo old started daycare in Novermber, not coincidentally. I think he has been a major source, having less immunity and being around other younger kids with less immunity/more illnesses to share, since the 5 year old wasn't this sick last winter when she was the only one going to daycare. Hoping this ends soon, I dont want to throw up anymore 😭.

[macmars45]

Apr 29, 2024 14:40:52 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Apr 29, 2024 14:20:02 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

OMG - there must be someone that isn't treating it and spreading it to the whole class over and over.

Yes, there has to be!! I've already emailed the teacher. I'm hoping the nurse can check DS' class and make sure all infected kids are treated because this is insanity. 

They can't send kids home or make them stay home unless treated anymore. There is no recourse on the school side for the families who are unable to treat or won't treat. Unfortunately.

[scm1011]

Apr 30, 2024 8:59:35 GMT -5 macmars45 said:

Apr 29, 2024 14:40:52 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Yes, there has to be!! I've already emailed the teacher. I'm hoping the nurse can check DS' class and make sure all infected kids are treated because this is insanity. 

They can't send kids home or make them stay home unless treated anymore. There is no recourse on the school side for the families who are unable to treat or won't treat. Unfortunately.

Oh I get that. I'm more hoping they can help if its an "unable to treat" situation. Those kits aren't cheap and we have a large population of low-income families. I could see that being a gating factor. 

[rhian]

How is your sleep? I teach college students so pre-kids (and pre-pandemic/masking), I would typically get one mild cold a semester. I get them much more frequently from my son, and they seem to last longer and hit me harder. I suspect that my ongoing sleep deprivation has affected my immune system. It was especially bad this past winter, when I was also pregnant (I think I had cold symptoms for like 4 straight months).

[pandorica]

Apr 29, 2024 11:16:34 GMT -5 waverly said:

thebreakfastclub, You may have magical unicorn status because that is not the norm. Or maybe in small in home daycare....

Can confirm that even small in home daycares are awful. This winter has been the worst! And I've gotten strep and pinkeye both for the first time in my life. Plus the constant never ending colds.

[osulori]

scm1011, nooooo! I'll be over here itching in solidarity.

And ditto the small in home daycares...In addition to the colds, kid #2 has brought both strep and Covid home from the sitter's. (not at the same time). Kid #1 had a harder time with illnesses earlier in the school year for preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade but it's gotten a lot better. Their colds generally don't get me (almost 20 years as a pediatric speech pathologist will do that for your immune system) but their stomach bugs will. And Covid, I got that from #2 when she brought it home from the sitter's.

[Jalapeñomel]

My son hardly ever got sick 10 years ago.

My daughter gets sick all the time now, although it's gotten better this year from last.


I'm a teacher and around gross students all the time, and I hardly ever get sick. 

[pinkdutchtulips]

Apr 29, 2024 11:16:34 GMT -5 waverly said:

thebreakfastclub , You may have magical unicorn status because that is not the norm. Or maybe in small in home daycare....

Small in home daycares are NOT immune. Miss R was in one and i was never so sick in my life than her first winter in daycare!