Symptoms & School

[lilac05]

We stayed home & did virtual school last year, so I’m new to this new layer of MORE decisions. This time, it’s: Send them to school or keep them home?

I’d love to hear the process you use to decide whether you send the kids to school. I want to be cautious and not take the chance of passing something on to others, especially Covid, but I feel like if they stay home for every single cold/allergy type symptom, they’ll never be in school.

Today’s scenario: Runny nose. No fever. No other symptoms. He does have some seasonal allergies and takes OTC medication for that from time to time. Allergy symptom is usually just a runny nose.

[ssmjlm]

This might be UO, but we live in a huge allergy area from Feb to June with pollen. My husband and my kid get seasonal allergies. Last year she had a slightly stuffy nose, nothing else. OTC meds and nose spray cleared it mostly up. I sent her.

If she had any other changes and/or said she wasn't feeling herself, I would have kept her home, but allergies are a known issue and something we all complain about every year.

[lilac05]

Aug 31, 2021 7:38:29 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

This might be UO, but we live in a huge allergy area from Feb to June with pollen. My husband and my kid get seasonal allergies. Last year she had a slightly stuffy nose, nothing else. OTC meds and nose spray cleared it mostly up. I sent her.

If she had any other changes and/or said she wasn't feeling herself, I would have kept her home, but allergies are a known issue and something we all complain about every year.

I think that’s what makes it hard. People have been complaining lately about their allergies. I think it’s ragweed season? Plus we got some rain last week, so everyone mowed yesterday. I don’t have allergies, though, so I have no idea when it’s “bad” and can’t just say, “Oh, yeah…my allergies are bad right now, too.”

I sent him, but I have no idea if I did the right thing. If I keep them home for every little thing, I feel like they’ll never be in school…but I don’t want to be THAT mom, either. (Though 3/4 of his class isn’t wearing a mask, so at least those parents aren’t apparently worried about a cold OR Covid.)

[dcn]

I might keep a home covid test on hand for stuff like this.

[formerlyak]

I got a call from the school nurse last week because DS (7 yo) had an upset stomach. I told her we were moving to our new house that day, and I suspected it was nerves. She said in talking with him before she called me, she figured the same thing. I asked her what protocol is since anything can be a Covid symptom. She said they aren’t sending kids home for things that can logically be explained as something else or that isn’t a long standing issue. I thought that was a good tule of thumb. My older son, for example, has seasonal allergies. We have had him tested and know his triggers and what time of year he has issues. This is on record with school because of his asthma. So normal allergy symptoms at that time of year wouldn’t send him home. But when he had allergy symptoms last month - a time of year that is unusual for him - we tested him (negative).

If it’s outside of “normal”, I’d keep him home.

[lilac05]

Aug 31, 2021 8:05:53 GMT -5 dcn said:

I might keep a home covid test on hand for stuff like this.

That’s a good idea. Thanks. I hadn’t thought to get those yet, but I’ll see if I can pick up a box today. I wish they weren’t so expensive.

One of the school board members mentioned something about tests and the school, but I haven’t heard anything about if they actually have them and how/when they will be used.

[abs]

Aug 31, 2021 8:05:53 GMT -5 dcn said:

I might keep a home covid test on hand for stuff like this.

This.  I have several boxes of the Binax tests on hand.  

DD has terrible allergies.  Fall is generally a bad time for her so it will be interesting.  For me if she develops anything like her usual runny nose or cough after being in the wind I'll use the home test.  If it's negative I'll consider her good to go.  Anything out of the ordinary I'd keep her home.

I can not wait for the day we no longer have to play allergies or plague.

[redpenmama]

I just bought a couple boxes of the Binax tests for this reason. But, they are expensive, so it's not realistic to test my allergy-prone 10-year-old daily for the next couple of months when her allergies are flaring up. (rant over) That said, for an occasional random symptom, I think it's useful to have them on hand.

For me, since my kid has allergies that can mimic COVID symptoms, we are just keeping her on allergy meds to minimize them and doing a home test if any unusual-for-her symptoms flare up.

[gardengal]

My school system says if you have fever, loss of smell/taste, cough, or difficulty breathing to keep your child home & test. If you have only *one* of the following they may come to school: chills, muscle aches, runny nose/congestion, sore throat, etc.

But if they have 2, they need to stay home & test. The school is fairly covid conservative with measures: universal masking, teachers have required vaccination, opt-in in-school testing (which seems popular), required testing for sports & band, required vaccination for athletes that are old enough, outside lunch, etc. so I feel like this is a good compromise on keeping kids in school & stopping spread.

ETA: Personally, I have a child that has had alternating congestion & runny nose for most of the summer. We've done 2 PCRs & like 4 Binax tests. All negative. Allergy meds don't really seem to affect it so who knows what's going on?

[tarajane]

I also have some at home tests. I follow our county health dept which says this:

"COVID-19 symptoms to watch for include:

Any of the following: sudden onset of cough, sudden onset of shortness of breath, or
sudden loss of taste or smell, OR

Two or more of the following symptoms: a fever of 100.4 or above, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, or fatigue.

[plutosmoon]

My DD's school wouldn't exclude with only a runny nose in a kid with an allergy history, she would need a second symptom. We have a helpful list of primary and secondary symptoms to help us decide for the upcoming year. Similar to what others have posted. So I think you are fine to send. I can also call the school and speak to a school nurse if I am uncertain about a symptom.

My DD and I take otc meds for our seasonal allergies, for her it works very well and quickly. We take our meds first thing in the morning, if the runny nose resolves, it's allergies, so far all runny noses have been allergy related.

[lilac05]

Thanks to those who posted the one symptom/two symptom info. That makes sense, and I think we will follow that.

We hadn’t gotten that info from school…until this AM when I got notification from transportation that someone on my older kid’s bus tested positive. That info was included as a “reminder” of how to decide if/when kids should stay home. Masks are “required” but the driver told the kids they’re not required and he’s not going to police it.

No mandatory quarantines. It’s up to us to decide what to do. So now I get to decide that, too. No idea if it was the driver or a student or where the student sits (or if they wear a mask).

We made it 6 days.

I hate everything right now. I’m exhausted.

[erbear]

My kid has allergies so I send with a runny nose when I know it’s allergies. Our screening tool says no school when they have two symptoms that mimic colds. Fever, cough, and shortness of breath are nos on their own.

[Poppy]

I just want to say that this is really hard. We were remote last year so it's all new to us, too. And right now we are dealing with smoke, too, which is giving me a sore throat. I took a home test this weekend out of paranoia (negative).

Colorado's department of public health has a flow chart for students: drive.google.com/file/d/1nhgGIbakyAJY3XJ2TW44sw7btXXqISBR/view?usp=drivesdk

It's going to be a long semester... Sigh.

[magpie]

My school follows the one primary symptom and/or two or more secondary symptoms, so we follow that. I also have home tests and have used them in this situation exactly.

[longtimenopost]

Another one for the Binax at home tests. We've done this a couple of times over the last 3 weeks since school started. Beware it's not as accurate as the PCR test for non-symptomatic cases, but if they have multiple symptoms, it should come back positive if it's covid.

[lilac05]

Ugh. $13 every time someone sniffles will add up FAST. And it’s really only an option for a small group of people.

I was able to request free tests from the state testing program, but they aren’t rapid tests. There’s a local drop-off location, but it’s still 24 hours after it gets to the lab.

[jewel]

Aug 31, 2021 11:52:08 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Ugh. $13 every time someone sniffles will add up FAST. And it’s really only an option for a small group of people.

I was able to request free tests from the state testing program, but they aren’t rapid tests. There’s a local drop-off location, but it’s still 24 hours after it gets to the lab.

I know it’s not a huge savings, but if you have a membership - Sams Club has them for $10 each. They’ve been pretty well stocked on the website.

[lilac05]

Aug 31, 2021 12:02:02 GMT -5 jewel said:

Aug 31, 2021 11:52:08 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Ugh. $13 every time someone sniffles will add up FAST. And it’s really only an option for a small group of people.

I was able to request free tests from the state testing program, but they aren’t rapid tests. There’s a local drop-off location, but it’s still 24 hours after it gets to the lab.

I know it’s not a huge savings, but if you have a membership - Sams Club has them for $10 each. They’ve been pretty well stocked on the website.

Thanks! I hadn’t thought to check there! Unfortunately, they’re out of stock right now in store and online…but I’ll keep checking.

[niq]

Aug 31, 2021 7:12:47 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

We stayed home & did virtual school last year, so I’m new to this new layer of MORE decisions. This time, it’s: Send them to school or keep them home?

I’d love to hear the process you use to decide whether you send the kids to school. I want to be cautious and not take the chance of passing something on to others, especially Covid, but I feel like if they stay home for every single cold/allergy type symptom, they’ll never be in school.

Today’s scenario: Runny nose. No fever. No other symptoms. He does have some seasonal allergies and takes OTC medication for that from time to time. Allergy symptom is usually just a runny nose.

The standard here is:

(1) if you are sent home for a single cold/covid symptom, and it resolves in < 24 hours, you can come back to school. Kids are going to fake covid symptoms; vomiting and diarrhea are on the list and sometimes those resolve quickly; etc etc.

(2) if you have multiple symptoms or it takes more than 24 hours to resolve, you need
Negative test AND
No fever AND
No close contact with a recent confirmed case AND
Other symptoms are improving

There was some back and forth at our virtual town hall over whether a negative on a rapid tests should count. But they have testing on site, and turnaround time for PCR tests here is almost always < 48 hours. "Other symptoms are improving" is a judgement call at the family level. So it just means there will be some 1-day colds that turn into 2-day colds, and 2-day colds that turn into 3-day, etc.

This is a little more cautious than my personal preferences -- I would say "negative test plus feeling better" is enough, it's Seattle, the kids are going to have the sniffles for six months -- but it's not crazy.

[jewel]

Aug 31, 2021 12:04:18 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Aug 31, 2021 12:02:02 GMT -5 jewel said:

I know it’s not a huge savings, but if you have a membership - Sams Club has them for $10 each. They’ve been pretty well stocked on the website.

Thanks! I hadn’t thought to check there! Unfortunately, they’re out of stock right now in store and online…but I’ll keep checking.

Keep an eye on it! I bought 5 boxes online last week, because our store didn’t have any. Then they got a huge shipment this week and have had them in stock for at least a week now. If you see that your store gets them, you can buy them immediately for order pickup, if you can’t get out there to get them in person right away.

My kids are in 1st grade and preschool. I have a feeling we will be using quite a few this year. If you have an HSA or FSA, they are covered.

[cherry1111]

Aug 31, 2021 12:04:18 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Aug 31, 2021 12:02:02 GMT -5 jewel said:

I know it’s not a huge savings, but if you have a membership - Sams Club has them for $10 each. They’ve been pretty well stocked on the website.

Thanks! I hadn’t thought to check there! Unfortunately, they’re out of stock right now in store and online…but I’ll keep checking.

Our wal-mart is selling at the same price as Sams. Also you can use FSA and HSA if you choose. I know this whole thing still sucks.

[starlily]

Our district distributed what's basically a full page, extremely detailed decision tree about when to send/not send kids in. Using their guide, your kid would be cleared for in person attendance because there's only a single symptom that falls under what they categorize as "low risk."

[DarcyLongfellow]

I'm still using the criteria our public school issued last year. (This year there seem to be no rules, which is why I'm following last year's.)

Obviously don't send with a fever. Otherwise, a child needed to have 2 symptoms before they had to stay at home. So if it's just a runny nose, you can send them. Same if it's just a sore throat, just coughing, just a headache, etc. If they have 2 or more symptoms, you keep them home.

DD2 had a sore throat for 2 days last week, but no other symptoms, so I sent her. Then she woke up with a runny nose and still had the sore throat, so I kept her home. She ended up having to quarantine because a kid in her class tested positive, so she was home for 5 days (including a weekend). But I'm not sure I would have sent her back any earlier because she had those symptoms that whole time (plus 3 negative tests on various days).

[mrsGreeko]

I just ordered Binax tests online from Walgreens. They are physically out of stock in all the stores near me. I don’t think you need to test for symptoms that are always present, most wording around covid says “new or worsening symptoms.” If your kid usually has a runny nose then that isn’t new.

My kids will be going to school unless they have a fever or vomiting like usual. If they have a cough, I would probably do the at hone test real quick to rule out covid. My vaxxed kid will be treated differently than my vaxxed kid that already had covid will be treated differently than my unvaxxed kid. Like I’m more likely to be more cautious with unvaxxed, less cautious with vaxxed kid who had it and middle with just vaxxed kid. So the same symptoms might get different treatment. If they look sick or are acting sick they are going to stay home. If they tell me their throat is sore in the morning but they seem otherwise fine they are going to school (maybe after a rapid test depending which kid) because the dry air makes their throats scratchy in the morning a lot.

[krystee]

My son has constant allergy symptoms. His school and daycare agreed that we’d test him only with worsened symptoms—so runny nose isn’t a test, but congestion or cough is. Daycare will accept the Binax home tests, but school requires PCR.

If he didn’t usually have runny nose, I’d probably plan to do home tests and build like three a month into the budget. Blah.

[arehopsveggies]

My kid has bad allergies, asthma, and has always had a chronic cough

The 1.5 year we were home - his asthma and cough seems magically gone. Still did zyrtec but way lower dose

Back in school. Inhaler several times, cough is back. I think dusty old school building just doesn’t work for him. But I teach and so he’s been going. This is exactly how he was before covid, I can’t keep him home every day he’s coughing or he would NEVER GO

Chronic coughs are part of why we didn’t do in person last year though. This year there is more leniency as long as there’s no fever

[jewel]

Aug 31, 2021 12:04:18 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Aug 31, 2021 12:02:02 GMT -5 jewel said:

I know it’s not a huge savings, but if you have a membership - Sams Club has them for $10 each. They’ve been pretty well stocked on the website.

Thanks! I hadn’t thought to check there! Unfortunately, they’re out of stock right now in store and online…but I’ll keep checking.

If you haven't gotten them already, Sams is back in stock online!

[SusanBAnthony]

My kids will be getting up at 6:30 and leaving at ~7:15. The hardest part for me is that we have 45 minutes to make the call. A lot of times if they have a very minor cold they'll perk up after being up for a bit and maybe taking a shower. But it's so hard to make a fast decision.

We have 3 Binax tests on hand and I suspect we will use them pretty much to decide for some of these. I can't just keep them home all year.

Last year our school nurse pretty much said all the same things you all are about primary and secondary symptoms.

[lilac05]

Sept 4, 2021 1:12:25 GMT -5 jewel said:

Aug 31, 2021 12:04:18 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

Thanks! I hadn’t thought to check there! Unfortunately, they’re out of stock right now in store and online…but I’ll keep checking.

If you haven't gotten them already, Sams is back in stock online!

I got some yesterday! Thank you!