ChildCare Careers Newsletter - February 2018 | ||||||||||||
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"Happy Valentine's Day!"
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Mar. 7 |
Santa Ana College 3rd Annual Early Childhood Conference Santa Ana, CA www.sac.edu |
Mar. 9-10 |
ACSI - Southern CA Early Education Conference La Mirada, CA www.acsi.org |
Apr. 5-9 |
CAAEYC - 2018 Annual Conference Pasadena, CA www.caeyc.org |
The common cold is the most typical cause of a runny nose and chronic runny nose. This is generally a mild illness, and the child feels and looks well otherwise. The child usually gets better on his/her own within a week. The runny nose is usually accompanied by a mild fever. There may also be other symptoms such as headache, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, and fatigue.
Allergies can also cause a runny nose. They usually occur after two years of age and after the child has had plenty of exposure to allergens. They might occur during a specific season or after a particular exposure—for example, after being around grass or animals. The child may also have watery and itchy eyes, sneezing, asthma, rubbing of the nose and a lot of clear mucus. With allergies, the runny nose may last for weeks or months, but there is no fever or spread of disease to others.
Bacterial infection (sinus infection) may occasionally develop and contribute to the continuation of illness. This additional infection of the common cold tends to cause yellow-greenish mucus and sometimes pain that continues for more than 10 days. Remember that yellow or green mucus does not always mean that a child has a bacterial infection. It is normal for the mucus to get thick and change color as common viral cold progresses.
The amount of virus present is usually highest two to three days before a person develops symptoms of the illness and continues to be present for two to three days after symptoms begin. As a result, infected children have already spread viruses before they begin to feel ill. Germs may be spread to others by:
To prevent the spread of infection from respiratory illnesses and runny noses, follow routine healthy practices:
Exclusion policies should be based on your general illness policies, not merely the color of the mucus. For example, you might decide to exclude any child who is too sick to participate, no matter what the cause or color of the discharge. Excluding children with runny noses and mild respiratory infections and colds is generally not recommended. As long as the child feels well, can participate comfortably and does not require a level of care that would jeopardize the health and safety of other children, he or she can be included. Exclusion is of little benefit since viruses are likely to be spread even before symptoms have appeared.
* Excerpts from Health and Safety Notes California Childcare Health Program
www.cchp.ucsf.edu