Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease...Take Two..Say WHAT??!

About a month ago, the day care had a case of hand, foot and mouth disease and the parent(s) who had the contagious child neglected to inform the staff of this. What is hand, foot and mouth disease you ask? Well, it is a relatively common viral infection that usually begins in the throat and spreads from person to person. Fevers develop (sometimes), it is HIGHLY contagious and one cannot be around others for 5-7 days. There is no medicine to treat this, other than a pain reliever to ease the pain. A rash develops around the mouth, the hands and sometimes the bottom. With this said, on June 20th, I received a call from the daycare that my child (Giselle) had this disease. Me, not ever hearing of this, immediately took her to the doctor because I was told she was NOT ALLOWED back in school until she received a doctor's note to come back to school. I took her to the doctor and she was at the tail end of hand, foot and mouth disease. She was not contagious at this point, as she stays home with me 4 days a week. Fast forward 1 month, not even. Today is July 18th. We receive a call from the school, yet again that Giselle is "not feeling right." "She doesn't have a fever, however she has spots on her mouth and hands, we are pretty sure she has hand, foot and mouth disease." "She is not allowed back in school for one week." When I walked into the daycare this evening, I said, what's going on with Giselle? Well, we are pretty confident that Giselle has hand, foot and mouth disease and she is not allowed back for a week. She has spots on her hands and mouth. My response...."Really?, was this a self diagnosis by one of the staff members or did a nurse or doctor confirm that Giselle in fact, has hand, foot and mouth disease? What makes it fair for you to say this when you are not licensed? My response received was, well, NO, a doctor or nurse did not confirm, however that is just what we think. At that point, another mother interrupted my conversation between the daycare staff member and for those that know me, I think this was a blessing in the sky or perhaps an angel looking out. It was confirmed by the pedi that Giselle in fact, has this disease. We went to a play zone this past

Sunday and boy, did she have a good time, especially with her cousin, however we all know that germs loom around everywhere and pass from child to child. Giselle will be out of school until next Wednesday and Bob and I will take turns staying home with her. While I appreciate concern on behalf of others, sometimes it is just how you word things. Unless you are a nurse or doctor, I don't think it is fair for you to self diagnose what you think is wrong with other people. And if you do, THAT IS OKAY, it's all how you WORD your concern. When you shove your comments down people's throats, it is not well taken or respected for that matter.