Winter is Coming: A Quick Guide to the Common Cold and Other Child Illness

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We pride ourselves on keeping each of our Kindertown classrooms clean and spotless, however, the spread of icky germs is almost always bound to happen. Beyond our daily and weekly scrub-downs, Kindertown also has a health and wellness policy in place that asks parents to keep children with any type of symptoms at home for at least twenty-four hours.

 Here is a list of some common illnesses and symptoms to help you catch that darn cold before it catches you or your child!

 Chicken Pox

  • Begins with a fever, aches and pains

  • Children should stay home for at least 5 days after the rash appears

  • Contagious from 1 to 2 days before rash appears, and most infectious from 12 to 24 hours before the rash appears

Hand Foot and Mouth

  • Begins with a fever, skin rash, mouth ulcers and vomiting/diarrhea

  • Spread through contact with an infected persons saliva or stool

  • Handwashing is best prevention

  • No treatment for this infection, can last between 7 and 10 days

Head Lice

  • Head lice do not spread, and does not mean a scalp is unclean

  • They spread through direct hair-to-hair contact, possible by sharing hats and hairbrushes

  • This usually begins with an itchy scale, but the scalp must be checked periodically to make sure

  • There are a variety of ways to treat head lice, consult a doctor for the best solution

Slight colds with nasal secretions

  • Begins with runny or stuffed up nose, coughing and fatigue

  • Can spread from both direct and indirect contact with infected person or through the air

  • Colds usually last about 1 week, but can linger for as long as 2 weeks

Pink-Eye

  • Usually begins with a ‘scratchy feeling’, lots of tearing, discharge and a pink eye

  • It spreads through direct contact of discharge, or indirect contact with an item that has touched the infected eye

  • Cleanliness is imperative to prevent pink eye, but if infected best to consult a doctor for antibiotic eye drops

Slapped Cheek Syndrome

  • Begins with mild-cold symptoms and after 1-4 days a red rash on cheeks, torso, arms and rest of body

  • It spreads in the same way that a cold virus spreads

  • Though highly contagious in the first stages, once the rash appears, it can no longer spread.

  • Best prevention are clean hands, there are no vaccine to prevent the illness

Roseola

  • Most common between 6 months and 2 years of age, it usually occurs when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s saliva or runny nose. It is also possible to be affected through the air.

  • Roseola usually begins as a high fever that last between 3-5 days, once the fever ends, small pinkish red spots develop over your child’s face and body. Though not itchy, it can last up to 2 days.

Diarrhea

  • Diarrhea usually lasts less than one week, and no longer than 2

  • This spreads from child to child, and usually amongst children whom have yet to learn how to use the toilet

  • The most common causes of diarrhea are viral infections, which can be prevented with proper hand washing and safe food handling

 

ANGELA RUSSUMANNO