dejags

My eldest son (8yrs old) has/d :

Fever since last Thursday broke on Sunday
Chesty disgusting cough
Sore eyes
Terrible sore stomach
The squits
Fatigue of the highest order

I took him to the doctor on Saturday who was totally blase about it. He said it could be swine flu but it could be a number of other viral infections.

So what should I do - DS is better in himself but he still very pale and tired (slept till 1pm today). He still has a cough, but no fever or diahorrea (sp).

Anybody out there in the know - can he go to school tomorrow?

Pollyana

Forget the fact he may have swine flu, and just think about whether he is actually well enough to go to school.....

dejags

Obviously there is that. He will be ok to go to school (if not tomorrow then the day after). I am also worried about him spreading it around.

Last term we were told a 7 day exclusion by the school - this seems a bit excessive for normal flu. So I just wanted to check what current advice is - doctors' advice aside.

Juliecabs

My 20 year old daughter has swine flu. She went down with it last Wednesday - v. high temperature, sweats and goosebumps at the same time, throbbing headache, hacking cough and aching all over. She took herself off to the docs who diagnosed swine flu. They wouldn't let her go out back through the surgery - she had to go out via the fire exit!!! They prescibed Tamiflu and told her to stay indoors for 5 days. Her work want her to stay away for 7 days though.
If the doc hasn't prescribed anything, then maybe it isn't swine flu.
Best thing to do is to either phone your equivalent of NHS Direct or the doctor again and get their advice just to make sure.

Julie. x

dejags

Hi Julie,

I did call 13 HEALTH. They said it was probably swine flu and advised me to go straight to the GP with a request for him to be excluded from the waiting room (which I did).

They are not routinely prescribing ARV's in QLD at this stage for healthy people (if you are vulnerable then you get it).

The doc said it could be Swine Flue, but as they are also not routinely swabbing for it anymore either we just have to treat the symptoms and get on with it.

This is why I am confused.

busterboy

He should not go back to school until Thrursday, if he is well enough.

dejags

Thank you. A sensible short answer.

Tooterelli

Yes send him to school. He's only acting up. FFS.

Scarey when people ask questions like this.

jad n rich

He sounds too ill to be honest. Besides Coughing etc is how a virus is spread, why put others at risk?

Last term many schools closed,all it needed was just one pupil with swine flu.

I imagine if the education department has any brains they will be on the lookout for kids with flu symptoms. I know sons school let some kids in for exams and any with flu symptoms were out again.

I dont know why they didnt do that in the first place, exclude those who are ill, rather than lets all manner of sick kids in then close the schools if one case of swine flu is confirmed.

If the system last term continues ( school closed for a week with every case of swine flu ) I imagine we will all have kids back at school for a few days then schools closed again ....... that or strikes

dejags

Thanks all for your comments. I have spoken to the head this morning and this is the advice from Qld Gov't.

1. Any child with flu-like symptoms to be excluded from school
2. Return to school is permitted as soon as child is no longer infectious (no coughing/sneezing etc)
3. As the government has implemented the "Protect" phase, School closure is unlikely but may be reinstated if the Department deems it necessary.

DS is much better today. He still has a sporadic chesty cough and is tired. I will keep him home today and see how he is tomorrow.

In summary, I think the advice can pretty much be translated as - "play it by ear".

jad n rich

Yes I just had a look at the education qld website, seems to be different to last term, exclude sick kids from school, but not automatic school closures.

I guess they realised with last terms scheme, most schools in qld would be closed for most of the term. Cant have that now, it would bugger up the strikes

Term 3 lets see how much school there is this term

Pollyana

The rules were relaxed at the end of last term when the Phase level changed - hence, as above, schools will now only be closed in exceptional cicumstances, rather than as a rule.

dejags

Very constructive. Please read the entire thread for context.

I know how ill my child is and am perfectly capable of making the decision about his readiness to return to school. I have never once said that I think he is acting up - on the contrary I have been very concerned about, hence multiple calls to 13 HEALTH, visit to the GP, calls to the school and posting on here.

This thread is not so much about my son, but my concerns about the community at large.

Family of 3

Hope your son feels better soon.

We're in Singapore where there is huge paranoia about this. We went on holiday to the UK and when we returned our son could not attend pre-school for 7 days (Govt requirement) and my husband could not go to his office for 5 days (Company requirement) just because we'd visited an infected country.

Still, it hasn't reached the paranoia of the SARS days. I remember going to Vietnam on a business trip and looking round at immigration. About 50% of the people were wearing masks, and one guy had tied a bra over his face

dejags