Covid school rant/advice needed?

[k3am]

CDC/CDPH/CountyPH all state that kids can return to school with a negative test, 24 hours after fever free without meds and with improving symptoms. 

Our school attendance office is insisting that he be SYMPTOM free. 

We've had somewhat shitty air quality from the fires. DS came down with allergies Friday/Saturday, and a cough Saturday night. Covid tested him on Sunday, which came back negative. But his awful cough has remained, so we've kept him home this week. We are trying to be respectful of the rules and honestly, if he were someone else's kid and I heard him cough, I wouldn't want my kids around him. 

We speculate that the lingering cough is allergy and potentially adenoid related, but it's just speculation. 

The office now says that because we've kept him home for more than 4 consecutive days, he can't return until he has a doctor's note that explains WHY his cough is lingering. We can't even get a video appointment until next Thursday (9/9), and I'm not sure how they can even determine WHY a cough is lingering without some serious testing that they're unlikely to do in a timely fashion, and certainly not over a video appointment. 

The school also says that if the doctor writes that he gets a cough because of allergies, they wouldn't have to send him home for covid testing. That seems... unwise. 

At this point I feel like I'm being scolded for keeping my kid home and doing the "right" thing. My oldest rarely ever gets sick, but I'm seriously wondering do I have the only kid in the world whose coughs last for more than 1 day? 

[statgirl]

Post-Hurricane, my then 3 year old had a cough for months. It lasted so long that my father taught him to say “I’ve got to give up the cigs” every time he coughed.

I would get the note from the doctor that it is allergy-induced. I would also test when I felt was necessary even if the school didn’t warrant it. Related, I would be aware that there are a lot of these excuse notes floating around and be wary about claims that my kid was not exposed.

I found that liquid zyrtec helped the most for my son. I start it when the cough seems to be building and we haven’t had such a long stretch any more. After seeing how we administer it, my father taught the kid to ask me to do shots with him. (Because, yes, he looks like he is doing shots at a bar with the medicine cup). I swear my 6 yo doesn’t smoke or drink.

[k3am]

statgirl, we've been doing liquid Zyrtec same as you, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. And we totally tell him it's practice for college.

[sonrisa]

It sounds like your kid is coughing because of air quality and smoke issues. That happens with my kid and lingers for a few weeks. Medications don't do much. Our solution: We close up the house if it's over 60or 70 AQI. I run the air filter.  We stop outdoor sports and physical activities at 100 and pull them from school at 150 (I don't explicitly say "smoke levels" because they want a doctor's note. I just say "sick"). We haven't had coughing problems since we started that three or four years ago.

[Deleted]

Our pediatrician has always said a cough can last for 2weeks or more.

You did the right thing to keep him home, and you shouldn't feel guilty for doing so. While I understand their concerns, if I were you I would find out what their backup plan is for students who have this issue - unable to go back to school without a doctors note and the doc isn't available until 9/9. Is the teacher allowed to provide homework to send home so he doesn't fall behind his peers?

[k3am]

We were able to get him in for a phone appointment with a doctor in another city, so that box is checked..

The doctor said that they don't ever issue notes like what the school nurse was requesting (essentially to opt out of covid protocol) for stuff like this because a cough can't be excluded as an allergy vs. covid... I was glad to hear this!

sonrisa, what type of air filter do you have? Is it a whole house type thing or do you need one for each room?

[mae0111]

DD1 (almost 12) typically gets a cough in late November that lasts until mid-June. Cold, super dry heat in schools, then heat turns off and allergies kick in.

The only thing that calms it down is a steroid inhaler, which we started at age 8. She doesn’t use it consistently- just for a few days in a row and that can calm things for weeks. Then she might have to use again for a few days. She has mild asthma, but the cough is a dry, hacking cough - not wheezy.

So maybe ask your doctor if something like that might help? I think she used Flovent. Albuteral is her rescue inhaler - needed if she’s really sick. She had 3 bouts of pneumonia when she was 3-5 years old so she does get wheezy when she gets sick. But then the wheezy cough goes away and this awful hack replaces it.

Good luck…

[maudefindlay]

DD had an RT-PCR this AM and just got results which say "not detected, inconclusive". That's a retest right? How long do people wait to retest? I have a call in to the hospital, but I'm antsy.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I know it may feel icky, but if he has allergies, get him a dr. note that says he has allergies. Then I'd use common sense...if he starts coughing/having symptoms more intense than 'usual', get him tested. If he's negative, chalk it up to allergies and send him back.

[sandandsea]

Can you take him to an urgent care to get the dr note you need?

Nm. I see I’m late to the party.

[sonrisa]

Sept 3, 2021 15:11:29 GMT -5 k3am said:

sonrisa , what type of air filter do you have? Is it a whole house type thing or do you need one for each room?

During smoke season, we use the highest grade filter we can get on the furnace intake and run it on "fan" (not heat or cool). That makes a big difference. We also have a Blueair purifier in the living room (near the intake) and a second Honeywell purifier in our room (which is the point furthest from that). Closing up the house can make things humid so we also have a two dehumidifiers staged around the house to keep it pleasant. I know that probably sounds insane all together but it's been cobbled together over five smoke seasons. lol.

[k3am]

Sept 3, 2021 17:41:18 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

I know it may feel icky, but if he has allergies, get him a dr. note that says he has allergies. Then I'd use common sense...if he starts coughing/having symptoms more intense than 'usual', get him tested. If he's negative, chalk it up to allergies and send him back.

I did ask for this (because the school nurse told me to), and Kaiser said nope. Too much overlap between allergy symptoms and covid.

It’s going to be a looooong year.

[k3am]

We also will be sending him KF94 masks on Smokey days vs the cloth masks and surgical masks we’ve been alternating between