When a fever breaks in the middle of the night

[okinawama]

Do you send your child to school the next day?

I know the rule is 24 hours fever free, and I really really try hard to stick to that, but I wonder what others *really* do. When you're standing in the kitchen arguing about who has to take the day off, deal with the stress of rescheduling meetings, chipping away at the limited sick days....do you always wait the 24 hours?

Here's the back story for today and why I'm here asking.

DS had a fever yesterday, rested a lot, but was otherwise symptom free. He went to bed at 5pm with a fever of 101.5, and it broke at some point after 9p.m but before 11:00 p.m(when I went to check on him in the middle of the night, he was fever free). He woke up after 13 hours of sleep, and ate breakfast and appeared to be fine. DH and I struggled with whether or not to send him to school. DH couldn't take the day off, so it was up to me. I was really close to sending DS to school ( although DH thought that I should keep him home), but in the end, I kept him home. He is of course acting like his normal self and begging to go back to school. Part of me is kicking myself as I only get 4 paid days off during the year, and this sick day feels "wasted."

[Philly Mom]

I believe our school changed the rules because the AMA no longer requires 24 hours after a fever. Now, so long as fever free you can go to school.

[o_mom]

I would not send to school in that situation.

[Kindra178]

I believe our school changed the rules because the AMA no longer requires 24 hours after a fever. Now, so long as fever free you can go to school.

Really?

[gymnbomb]

Our daycare has the 24 hour rule, and I will send him after 20 hours or so without feeling too bad about it (as long as he isn't still miserable), but I don't think I'd do it if he still had a fever at bedtime. My exception would be something like an ear infection when I knew the fever wasn't caused by something contagious. Then I would probably send him as long as he seemed to be feeling ok and didn't currently have a fever.

[georgiegirl]

I would not have sent him. Sometimes fevers reappear in the afternoon. I would be okay if the fever broke 12 hours before than...like in the late morning...so not exactly 24 hours but pretty close. In his case, it's not even 12 hours.

ETA: I had a similar situation where DS1 was sent home with a fever at 3PM. Had a fever at bedtime, but it broke at some point around midnight. I didn't send him to school the next day. He was totally fine.


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[RiverRat]

I would have sent him. If they are acting like their normal selves I send them all the time.

I need to save my sick days for when they are really sick. Single working mom here, so they have to suck it up buttercup and go. I can lose my job if I take too many days off.


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[Pennylane]

Nope , wouldn't have sent him. Too many times they act fine in the morning and then start feeling worse hours later .

Ann


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[Philly Mom]

Really?

I am pretty sure. I haven't needed to try the new policy but I know others who have.


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[Kindra178]

I have two kids with flu a right now (yes, they are on Tamiflu) and the ped made it very clear that they have to be 24 hour free before returning to school.

[specialp]

If they are fever free by 2 pm and remain that way, I would probably be okay sending the next day. In your situation, I would keep home. Mine always get a higher fever in the afternoon.

[doberbrat]

No way would I send him. He had not even been fever free for 12h.

[bisous]

That's so tough for two working parents. I always think the fever free rule is about what is good for the child, as much as it is about keeping germs away, but that's just my theory. My kids will sometimes be ALMOST better but might spike a fever in the afternoon for a couple days in a row. If we hit 24 hours fever free usually means they're past the worst of it. For me, I'm a SAHM, so if there is potential that my kid feels crummy, I'll keep him home. I think I'd feel differently about the rules in your case (with few sick days) or in a school district with strict attendance laws (like I've read about here) or even a child in HS who is very negatively impacted by missing time at school. I'd be really curious about whether medical advice no longer requires 24 hours to be fever free!

Oh, and I have one DS who I swear gets a fever when he's completely over tired. I know that sounds crazy but it has happened more than once! On the other hand, DS1 can have double ear infections and have no fever. Such a strange and seemingly personalized thing!

[firstbaby]

I would not have sent him either.

I'm really not saying this harshly or directed at OP at all. I do understand how hard it is to scramble when the day doesn't go as planned, but schools as child care is not their first responsibility. Our schools deserve to have their rules followed. It is unfair to the child who has been sick to send them back before they are fever free for 24 hours and it is unfair to those around them who are exposed and then could potentially get sick themselves.

[hillview]

I follow the 24 hour rule regardless, I might maybe do 23 hours but really if a kid has a fever at 11 am on Sunday and nothing after they they don't go to school on Monday.

[essnce629]

I would not have sent him in your situation. But I'm also a SAHM so I know the choice is way easier for me as DH has never had to miss a day of work ever due to a sick kid. My personal rule is no fever at bedtime and they can go to school in the morning (as long as they are feeling and acting fine).

[JamiMac]

No, I wouldn't have sent him. I know that must be hard though! Fevers can come and go, especially when they break the first time, they often return. Waiting a full day gives rest and the time needed for the fever to completely go away. I'm truly surprised about the AMA guideline change if that is true. As quickly as illnesses have spread this year, I hope it's not due to that. Our school still requires 24 hours fever free.


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[candaceb]

I faced this question last week. DS came home from school on Tuesday and collapsed on the couch. I took his temp and he had a fever of about 103. Didn't eat dinner, slept pretty much from 5PM to 6AM. The fever broke some time during the night, but was back when he woke up so I kept him home. He laid around all day, perking up only after I gave him Tylenol. He was OK for most of the afternoon but had a fever again by evening. Thursday morning, he came leaping into my room at 6:45, no fever, and back to his normal self. I went ahead and sent him and told him that if he didn't feel good, he should tell his teacher and she would call me to come get him.

I came down with the same illness yesterday. I had a fever around noon, I was completely out of it most of the day, slept from 6PM to 6AM. My fever broke sometime during the night, and I have been 100% OK today.

Here is an NPR article on the topic, with a link to the AAP guidelines. The first Dr. quoted in the article is from our local children's hospital.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/18/510407767/should-my-slightly-sick-child-stay-home-the-rules-often-conflict

[PZMommy]

I would have kept him home. My pedi still follows the 24 hour rule, as does my kids' school.

[Kindra178]

That article doesn't address the 24 rule.


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[Philly Mom]

That article doesn't address the 24 rule.


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The AAP guidelines linked in the article discusses it.


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[specialp]

That article doesn't address the 24 rule.


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Here is a direct link (http://cfoc.nrckids.org/StandardView/3.6.1.1). It's fever without any other signs of illness and otherwise acting normally. That's different than just had the flu. Our schools still follow the 24 hour rule and we've always followed it, but we have had a couple of times with an unexplained fever that lasted a couple of hours, too.

[Momit]

Our school has the 24 hour policy, I have never heard of anything else. We have a couple of immunoconpromised kids at our school and they really ask that parents keep sick/possibly contagious kids home. I would not have sent my DS.

[ckso]

Nope , wouldn't have sent him. Too many times they act fine in the morning and then start feeling worse hours later .

Ann


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Ditto. I wouldn't send him either. A lot of times I think the fever broke, only to find the fever came back in the afternoon. If the fever broke
Earlier in the day, say around noon and the child has been acting normal with no fever, I would consider sending him to school even if it's less than 24 hrs but when it broke at bedtime

I empathize with the issue of taking time off when both parents are working. But it's really best for the child to rest. Plus he might get other kids sick, who also have parents where both parents also work.


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[bisous]

Here is a direct link (http://cfoc.nrckids.org/StandardView/3.6.1.1). It's fever without any other signs of illness and otherwise acting normally. That's different than just had the flu. Our schools still follow the 24 hour rule and we've always followed it, but we have had a couple of times with an unexplained fever that lasted a couple of hours, too.

This was helpful. Thank you.

[klwa]

Here is a direct link (http://cfoc.nrckids.org/StandardView/3.6.1.1). It's fever without any other signs of illness and otherwise acting normally. That's different than just had the flu. Our schools still follow the 24 hour rule and we've always followed it, but we have had a couple of times with an unexplained fever that lasted a couple of hours, too.

In this situation, I've sent the kids in no question. But only when their only symptom was a fever that lasted a very short duration. (1-2 hours) In OP's situation, I'd err on the side of keeping them home an extra day.

[mackmama]

I would have kept him home for sure. Fevers come and go and often return in afternoon/evening. Our pedi and school still require 24 hours fever free. I don't think it's fair to potentially infect others.

[smilequeen]

We generally follow the 24 hour rule. Fevers can come back so I err on the side of caution. Now, if a fever broke at 10AM and never came back, I would probably send them the next day but the middle of the night or late evening, no way.

[ged]

Well...single working mom here, and I also would have tried to keep child at home. And that's what I did two weeks ago. But, that was also because my mother was able to watch my daughter. That being said, I am rather certain that many would have sent their child in (not necessarily on this board, but still).

[123LuckyMom]

Here is an NPR article on the topic, with a link to the AAP guidelines. The first Dr. quoted in the article is from our local children's hospital.
http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/01/18/510407767/should-my-slightly-sick-child-stay-home-the-rules-often-conflict

This is a good article!

I'll be the dissenter. The truth of the matter is that if my child gets sick, it's almost always because the germs are already circulating, so unless we'd just returned from a vacation or something, I wouldn't really consider my child a risk for spreading germs. The germs are already there, which is how my child caught them and got sick in the first place. Also, with almost all viruses, people are contagious before they get symptoms and not once the symptoms are lingering or gone. My main criteria for deciding about school is whether I think my child will feel sick during the school day. It's very true that fever is often gone in the morning and recurs in the afternoon, but I'm a pretty good judge of whether my kids are truly better or just having a reprieve, or even whether they might be fine for the day and only start to feel bad after the end of the school day. In your case, OP, I might have risked it. It would depend, too, on why my child had the fever in the first place. Was it from an infection, a virus, or some other cause? I'd be most cautious with fever from a virus. The only time I absolutely always keep my kids home is if they've vomited or had diarrhea. I'll make sure they're truly well for at least a whole day before sending them to school.


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[scrooks]

I thought of this thread this morning when talking to a friend. Her Dd threw up once last night and her stomach still hurt a bit this morning. She was thinking of taking her to school this morning around 10:30... I was honest with her and told her I would not .... l told her to let her rest!

[jren]

This was a timely thread! My DS came home from school yesterday with a headache and fever. Motrin knocked the fever out right away and he was fine the rest of the day, fever never returned and no other symptoms. I sent him today.


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