Wednesday, November 29, 2006
About Sickness and Kids
So, we're in week 3 of sickness (which I just misspelled suckness, and I'm not sure why I changed!!) We've had a few bouts of "okay", but we're now in full-blown yucky over here! Parker still has a bad cough (though it gets better every day), Jeff is so miserable he's staying home tomorrow (all the better to try and get ME sick, I believe), and Kira is snotty and sweaty, and just ... blech! I really can't wait for wellness to come back. I am just hoping that we can all stay well for the week of/after Christmas when we're at Disney!!! I'm longing to be back in the "land of the living".
For those of you whose children are in school, how much time have they had to be out because of sickness? What are your school's policies on NOT coming to school? I honestly can't imagine if Parker were in school ... he'd have missed 1/4 to 1/3 of all classes so far!!
And the thought that being in a school setting builds one's immune system is valid, unless you have an underlying issue, like asthma, that means repeated ER trips, steroids, breathing up to 60 times a minute, etc. Every time someone around Parker gets sick, he does, and it is 50 times worse. He's been sick plenty and should have an awesome immune system, but his lungs protest.
Kira has rarely been sick, in fact when she gets sick it is so minor in comparison to Parker, that Jeff and I honestly are amazed each and every time.
In terms of this time, no, we haven't taken him in, but we've been in contact with the doctor's office, and it hasn't been for three weeks straight. It was for 3 days, 4 days well (Thurs thru Sun) -- Week 1. Starting to get sick for 1.5 days, then lethargy and illness for .5 day with high fever, and then 2 days of recovery (and to make sure he wasn't still contagious, and wasn't compromised immune to immediately catch something else), and three days of well (Fri thru Sun) -- Week 2. Then, well-ish for 2 days (occasional cough/sneeze), then moderate fever end of day 3, sick day 4 (Thanksgiving) including a 3-hour nap, cough for the rest of that week and into this one -- Week 3/4.
In terms of possible allergens, we do have many potential allergens (cats, carpets, stuffed animals), but the only thing that triggers him is getting sick. He always has the cold first. Once his coughing starts, it quickly progresses to rapid breathing that often won't calm down. He's never had issues with anything else, and the one time we thought he was having an issue with running around in the cold here (it was in the lower 50s), he was sick with fever the next day, so it was more than likely the combination of already having a virus along with the activity and cold. Our pediatrician considers him to have mild intermittent asthma, and doesn't feel it would be in his best interest, or proactive to have him on any maintenance medications. He actually said the best thing to do is try to keep him away from other sick kids! Like that is possible!!
Labels: health, homeschooling, Jeff, Kira, Parker
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