The Old 24-Hour-Rule? Not for Swine Flu!

November 4th, 2009

Every parent knows the rule. Fever-free without medication for 24 hours. That’s the period of time during which a parent is supposed to wait before sending Junior back to regularly scheduled activities after a bout with a fever. And the Centers for Disease Control reaffirmed that recommendation less than two weeks ago.

That’s the rule we followed. After running a temperature over the weekend,  Boo seemed fine by Tuesday. Heck, he had spent most of Monday fighting over Legos with his Big Brother, chasing him up and down the stairs…full of energy and spunk.

But then today, Wednesday,  – when of course, I was traveling back from a conference in Virginia –  – I got the call: a fever of 103.5 degrees.

DH was home fighting the flu too. And the traffic lights in all of Montgomery County were malfunctioning, putting the entire County in traffic gridlock – the worst I’ve seen in a decade here in the DC area.  Needless to say, it was quite an adventure making it up the clogged arteries to the pediatrician’s office.

By the time I made it to the pharmacy at 8:30 p.m., I picked up an email from my son’s child care center, asking parents to make sure their children were fever-free for 48 hours before returning to school.  Apparently my son was not the only child to have a sudden reoccurrence of high fever, more than a day after going fever-free for 24 hours without meds.  But actually, we would have needed a 72-hour rule in his case.

So that old 24-hour rule?  It doesn’t apply with swine flu. I didn’t know that. But now you do. Stay well.

— Lynn


9 Responses to “The Old 24-Hour-Rule? Not for Swine Flu!”

  1. Lisa @ Retro Housewife Goes Green on November 5, 2009 8:44 am

    Lovely. My husband is a public school teacher so worried about him getting it but he doesn’t get sick much at all so crossing fingers.
    .-= Lisa @ Retro Housewife Goes Green´s last blog ..Product Review: The Cardboard Tree =-.

  2. Lisa @ Retro Housewife Goes Green on November 5, 2009 8:45 am

    OH and feel better! The homeopathic medicine oscillococcinum seems to be working very well for H1N1. I have had a few friends use it for it and get better very fast.
    .-= Lisa @ Retro Housewife Goes Green´s last blog ..Product Review: The Cardboard Tree =-.

  3. Mindful Momma on November 5, 2009 8:46 am

    At my son’s preschool they have a 5 day rule. If your child has the flu, they have to stay home for 5 days or 24 hours after fever – whichever is LONGER. But the elementary school is still using the traditional 24 hour rule. It will be interesting to see if official guidelines change.
    .-= Mindful Momma´s last blog ..Think Baby – For Babies And Beyond (P.S. It’s a Giveaway!!) =-.

  4. Lynn on November 5, 2009 11:56 am

    Hi Micaela,

    Yes, it will be interesting to see…Dr. Greene has a chat about swine flu today, I didn’t have a chance to catch it, but I’m wondering if the topic came up, and what he would say about it! — Lynn

  5. Lynn on November 5, 2009 12:01 pm

    I thought oscilloococcinum only worked BEFORE you got sick…at least that’s the way it’s advertised. Thanks for your well wishes and hope your hubby stays well!

  6. crunchy domestic goddess (amy) on November 5, 2009 1:07 pm

    I hope you all are feeling better soon.

    I encourage anyone who has or had H1N1 to fill out the H1N1 survey I wrote: http://bit.ly/1Q5QA I’m using the data I collect to write a blog post about people’s experiences w/ this flu. Thanks!

  7. Lynn on November 5, 2009 1:53 pm

    Thanks, Amy, and you are amazing…what a survey! You put the journalists to shame!

  8. mcmilker on November 6, 2009 8:29 am

    Oh dear – what a bad bout! I hope all are better in your house now!

  9. Organic and Green Mom Blog | Easy Green Weekend Project: National Recycling Day Events Saturday AND Sunday! at Organic Mania on November 13, 2009 8:17 pm

    […] love to say I’d join you, but that Swine Flu I last blogged about? It ran through the house, and then the nasty germs turned into bronchitis and […]

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