…look it wasn’t really a hidden tax. We were definitely told about the Germs and the Illness, in fact my friend said to me when I told them we were sending Row to daycare was ‘welcome to the sickness’.

Not gonna lie though, I was hoping it wouldn’t happen to us.

LOL.

Anyway, a couple weeks ago Row started having random really high fevers, I’m talking like 41.5 degrees (106.7 for my friends who use Fahrenheit). No other symptoms. We thought she had a UTI (cried when she did a wee and would tap her nappy all the time), so we took her down to the doctor and he thought it was the flu. Which seemed like a stretch (no respiratory symptoms), but he did a swab up her nose (which she really appreciated) and gave us a doohickey to collect a wee sample. Wee sample was clear and the nose swab came back positive for rhinovirus.

Rhinovirus: is a virus that can cause the common cold. Usually just has mild cold/flu symptoms (sneezing/coughing/runny nose). Generally treatable at home. See end of blog post for when to go to a doctor or hospital.

So the fevers stopped a few days later, we were fine for a day or so after that then she got a rash ALL OVER HER BODY. My wife did some googling (we are nurses, it’s allowed) and it sounds like Row had roseola infantum. (I say ‘sounds like’ because I cannot diagnose under my registration, especially my own child).

Roseola infantum: so common most kids have been infected by age 2. Symptoms mild and last about 4 days. Starts with high temperatures, and when the temperatures go back to normal a blanching (turns white and returns to pink when pressed) rash may appear. Sometimes, the sudden high fever can cause convulsions in the child (febrile convulsions) which aren’t usually serious but can be scary. See end of post of when to go to a doctor, hospital, or call an ambulance.

Fast forward a week and now we are all sick and symptomatic. Green snot, congestion, sinus inflammation, sore throat, cough, misery. Jas had to call in sick for a Saturday shift, I had to cancel a rare Sunday shift I booked (hardly ever get Sundays as a casual, we are too expensive) and I’m not going to work out how much $$ we lost because I’ll cry, which will make the congestion WORSE.

Also when Row coughs, it triggers her gag reflex and she spews which is like 0 out of 10 fun.

What do I mean by the Daycare Tax?

Lost wages from parent who stays home with the child (worse if you don’t get paid carers leave)
Disruption to the child’s routine (by keeping them home from daycare we are almost reversing the progress they’ve made with getting used to other children and adult carers - especially Row as she currently only goes once a week).
More lost wages from both parents when they inevitably also get sick (worse if you don’t get paid sick leave, or you’ve already used it by staying home with the sick child).
The family finally feels healthy again, the child goes back to daycare and another child sneezes directly into their eyeballs then they bring home some other plague, and the cycle begins again.

How did I cope with it?

By feeling sorry for myself and screen time. Screen time is a TOOL and Row loves an animal documentary.

A lineup of my medicine cabinet.

(The blacked out one I didn’t use so ignore it).

Treatment:

Paracetamol and ibuprofen regularly for fever and pain/discomfort
Demazin we got to try and relieve the nasal congestion - it’s not medicated as such, it’s elder flower and zinc.
And, not pictured, but Vicks vaporub on her chest (she loved it haha).

We also used non-pharmaceutical treatment:

Utilised our Snotty Boss (snot sucker) and saline spray to attempt to control the huge amount of snot (there was so much).
We bought a steam vaporiser but to be honest we hated it because of the stuff you add to it. It caught in mine and Jas’ throat - unsure if it did the same to Row because she can’t tell us. We ended up just using it as steam with no additives.
Damp flannels to wipe her face overnight and cool her down, also physically cooled her down with room temp showers and taking her clothes off, putting a fan on etc.
Low-stimulus screen time for distraction from the misery (mostly my misery).
Fresh air and sunshine.

So what the floop is the silver lining here?

It sucks being sick, yeah, it sucks losing money, but we were able to spend a solid week together as a family. All three of us, every day. We’ve done heaps of (slow) gardening, hung out outside in the sun together, watched koala documentaries together, read lots of books and had a lot of cuddles.

A vege garden with sunflowers and beans and flowers — It’s really made us slow down and appreciate time, and now we have flowers everywhere!

Every day we go outside and there’s a new flower to look at and enjoy. We might still be digging holes if we didn’t have that week ‘off’ together.

When to see a doctor:

Fever not reducing with paracetamol
Fever lasting more than a few days
Chest tightness, shortness of breath (hard to tell if a toddler’s chest is tight but you can see and hear shortness of breath)
Can’t keep fluids down/vomiting
Reduced wet nappies
When you are worried about your child

(We took her to the doc because of the massive fevers and also if it was a UTI like we suspected, she’d need antibiotics).

Go to the emergency department if:

Your child is under 3 months old and has a fever above 38 degrees C/100.4 degrees F

Call 000 / your country’s ambulance service immediately if:

Your child is pale, floppy, difficulty breathing, difficult to wake up/can’t stay away

Convulsions last more than 5 mins or your child doesn’t wake up after a convulsion (this is advice from the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. My personal opinion on this is ring 000 asap after the convulsion starts and let the call taker walk you through the first aid for it).

Sources:

Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. Kids Health Info: Roseola infantum

https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/roseola_infantum/

Healthdirect. Rhinovirus - symptoms and treatment. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/rhinovirus