To think that if your child has croup they might be contagious?

(34 Posts)
birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 18:07:23

We nanny share. Friend's DD got croup this week, on ABs, off school. The DD was then dumped on our nanny, & brought to our house, meaning my youngest spent two days with the ill child, & my eldest after school. Both my kids now have croup & I'm have to take time off work to look after them- which for me means losing £ as I'm self employed, not to mention the fact that my kids are ill. AIBU in thinking friend shld have stayed at home with her poorly kids? Argh!

TheBakeryQueen Sun 13-Oct-13 18:08:13

Yanbu. I would be annoyed.

CrohnicallyLurking Sun 13-Oct-13 18:11:02

YANBU. Maybe you need to have something in the nanny share contract that says nanny will not be responsible for looking after I'll children, to make sure nothing similar happens again. Although as your friend's DD gave your children the croup, does that mean she can't reconstruct it so soon and your nanny could actually look after your children while they're ill? Or could the children's dad look after them, by taking annual leave, or unpaid emergency leave if it would make you less out of pocket?

PinkPepper Sun 13-Oct-13 18:12:23

Have you previously discussed what happens in this kind of case? I have heard of some nanny share arrangements working on a 'treat as siblings' basis if needed where children were still kept together.

I don't think croups always contagious either?

I'd have kept my son with me but then I think I'd be able to get my work covered so maybe it's an easy choice

loveisagirlnameddaisy Sun 13-Oct-13 18:12:39

AFAIK, croup isn't contagious. Its a condition brought on by colds etc that cause swelling of the airwaves.

kiriwawa Sun 13-Oct-13 18:15:50

Can't your nanny look after them in that case?

And do what Crohn suggests - have an add on in the contract stating no ill children.

Apart from anything else, some illnesses can be really serious in some children and/or mean that you can't do planned activities. Nanny shares need to be treated like any other form of group childcare when it comes to illness ie you have to stay home with your sick child

Luna13 Sun 13-Oct-13 18:17:47

I also am pretty sure that croup is not contagious. DS had it 4 times, every time at night, 3 times was taken to hospital (we called ambulance, got steroids to open up airwaves), every time was fine just a bit tired by the morning.

spanky2 Sun 13-Oct-13 18:20:57

Croup isn't catching. It is caused by the body's response to a cold.

babybythesea Sun 13-Oct-13 18:23:11

DD had croup when she was 1. She was hospitalised with it too, for 2 days. And we were put in a side-room and not allowed out. She wasn't allowed to go and get toys from the playroom or anything. It was so much fun, confined to a tiny room with a newly-walking toddler for 2 days...
So I assumed it was indeed contagious.
In which case, no I'd not be happy about having other children round mine if they had it.

fishybits Sun 13-Oct-13 18:23:26

It is contagious to children who haven't had it before . Rare in under 6 months and over 6 years old.

TrueStory Sun 13-Oct-13 18:28:05

Another one who thinks its not contageous either. Think of it as being like pneumonia. i.e. to do with complications later on.

birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 18:28:48

It's viral croup so yes it's contagious. And our contract states she won't look after ill children but was clearly put under pressure. I feel sorry for my friend as it's a nightmare to juggle work and sick kids, but she's just passed that on to me. I'll have to have a word with our nanny.

phantomnamechanger Sun 13-Oct-13 18:30:56

I would class croup as a symptom or complication, rather than an illness in itself - so what they have actually caught is a cold, and have unfortunately reacted in the same way to it.

MoominsYonisAreScary Sun 13-Oct-13 18:32:18

Someone I knows friend had viral croup last week, she wanted to take her to playgroup and insisted it wasnt contagious hmm

Now 2 of her other dc have it too. I wouldnt be happy tbh

birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 18:33:10

Have checked on NHS website: it's contagious. There are two kinds which may be why people are confused. My niece had it as a baby and she and SIL were basically locked in a side ward, all toys washed etc like the poster above, as it's so contagious.

kelda Sun 13-Oct-13 18:34:21

Did the child have a temperature? If she had already been on anitbiotics for a few days, she might not have been contagious anymore.

To be hones, there is a lot of croup around at the moment. Your children could have picked it up from anywhere. All my children have had it this last month, and my dh had the same virus but not the croup - for him, it developed into laryngitis needing antibiotics. I just experienced it as a normal cold.

kelda Sun 13-Oct-13 18:35:09

The virus itself is contagious but not all people will develop it as croup. They might just get a cold.

My DD has Croup ATM.

It is bloody contagious,despite what a lot of people think.
She's been off school for an entire week and is desperate to go back,I won't send her until its cleared up completely,one reason is because she wouldn't cope with a whole day at school,but mainly because I don't want her infecting an entire class of DC.

I would be annoyed in your shoes OP,but I expect the mother was another of those who is sure Croup isn't contagious. hmm

DanglingChillis Sun 13-Oct-13 18:40:14

I would think that since the nanny looked after your friends kids when they were poorly she should do the same for you (even though the contract says otherwise), I would think that was an advantage of a nanny over other childcare is that you can leave the kids there when poorly. Although since I've sent DD1 to school with a cold this week maybe I'm not the best person to ask!

Thatsinteresting Sun 13-Oct-13 18:45:09

I have 2 dc who have both had croup on numerous occasions often leading to hospital stays. They have never had it at the same time, thankfully and it's not lasted more than 2 days but when one has it the other will often hace a cough or cold. We've never been offered antibiotics, I didn't think they were prescribed for viruses.

I think your friend should have stayed at home but only because I think children like to be with parents when ill. Obviously you need to talk to your friend to stop this happening again. For now though as everyone has had the same but would you leave your children with the nanny?

birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 18:46:41

I just think it's really horrible: I saw this poor little girl being dragged around last week when she clearly should have been in bed. She didn't get the ABs until after she'd been to the GP for the second time & she'd got worse, so clearly she was a ball of poorliness earlier in the week at mine. She should have been at home , in bed. Sure, my two could have caught it elsewhere but no one else at school in their year has it... So it's pretty bloody unlikely.

birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 18:48:07

That's a good point, they wouldn't reinfect anyone I suppose. It's more the fact that they should be at home rather than being dragged around on the school run etc.

kelda Sun 13-Oct-13 18:48:30

Croup is usually caused by a virus but can sometimes be caused by bacteria (more likely in adults).

It's unusual for a child to have antibiotics for croup but not unheard of. If they had had the antibiotics for a few days, and the termperature was gone, they are probably are no longer contagious. They may have a residual cough which stays for ages.

kelda Sun 13-Oct-13 18:49:40

You sound very angry about this, perhaps this shared nanny thing just isn't working?

birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 19:45:56

Kelda, I'm annoyed that someone has been a wee bit selfish. I'm also annoyed as I'm on deadline with a project and will now probably miss that deadline. I'm exhausted as ive worked all weekend & am now picking up the childcare slack from DH. Not "angry", but pissed off, there is a difference.

christine44 Sun 13-Oct-13 21:08:24

Croup is not contagious . My daughter was a regular sufferer when little and when hospitalised was always treated with steroids not antibiotics. Some children have narrower air ways which make them more prone to it according to A and E Dr.

BIWI Sun 13-Oct-13 21:12:49

You should be having a word with your friend, not your nanny. It's not fair to make your nanny responsible for this.

bluestar2 Sun 13-Oct-13 21:13:11

Croup is contagious and bl

MoominsYonisAreScary Sun 13-Oct-13 21:15:23

The nhs website states that croup is spread in the same way as the common cold so difficult to prevent

Spasmodic croup is usually treated with steroids to reduce swelling in the throat

BrokenSunglasses Sun 13-Oct-13 21:15:52

Your friends mistake was signing a contract with a nanny that won't look after sick children.

I could understand someone employing a nanny because they need someone that is able to look after children when they are ill, but if your nanny has a contract that states she won't look after sick children then the nanny should have stuck to that, and she shouldn't have been asked to take the child in the first place.

bluestar2 Sun 13-Oct-13 21:15:53

Argh! Stupid phone. It is contagious and bloody nasty. My ds had it recently the cough is still there. He was lucky and didn't need hospitalisation so no the nanny should have said no. My ds doctor also told me to inform nursery where he caught it and keep him away. Another child was diagnosed a couple of days later. Hope they get well soon

birdsnotbees Sun 13-Oct-13 21:24:26

BIWI I'm not blaming our nanny.

And the NHS website states that it is contagious. I've already said it but I'll say it again: there are two kinds of croup. One is contagious. The poorly DD had ABs several days after originally being diagnosed, so it had presumably turned into a chest infection by that point.

And as it's a nanny share, I think it's standard not to accept kids who are ill - as well as us two families she also does school pick up and drop offs for others so it's really not in her interest to take on an ill child.

Anyway, DD is really ill tonight so school's off by the looks of it. Poor wee thing, she's been up twice already. And it could well have been avoided.

maddening Sun 13-Oct-13 21:36:22

croup is the symptom - it could be from any type of infection - it is when it (as in the infection- either bacterial or viral ) affects the voice box causing the barking cough.

whether you will mix your dc during illnesses - which let's face it - is going to happen - is something you should have established when setting up a nanny share. In most non exclusive daycare settings eg nursery/preschool/childminders - the general consensus is that colds etc are fine - most colds and similar such as croup as considered fine to send in dc as long as the dc is generally well in themselves - so playing, alert etc and not overly impacted and needing bed and parents iyswim.

and your elder dc is likely mixing with all sorts of germs at school anyway.

Patienceisapparentlyavirtue Wed 22-Oct-14 13:04:20

YAB (a bit) U. As people have said... Croup is not contagious, but the virus that causes it (and in most though not all cases it is viral) is. However in all nanny shares I know of, the share goes on despite colds, and ultimately this is probably what caused it. Unless you had another arrangement?

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