Staying Healthy in Child Care - National Health and Medical ...

Watching for and recording infections in children
Checking for symptoms of illness
Because you care for the children in your group every day, you are probably used to the
way each of them looks and behaves when they are healthy. This will help you to notice
quickly when one of them is sick.
Symptoms
Be aware of symptoms of illness throughout the day. These are some of the things to look
for:
• severe, persistent or prolonged coughing (child goes red or blue in the face, and
makes a high-pitched croupy or whooping sound after coughing)
• breathing trouble (particularly in babies under 6 months old)
• yellowish skin or eyes
• conjunctivitis (tears, eyelid lining is red, irritated eyes, followed by swelling and
discharge of pus from eyes)
• unusual spots or rashes
• patch of infected skin (crusty skin or discharging yellow area of skin)
• feverish appearance
• unusual behaviour (child is cranky or less active than usual, cries more than usual,
seems uncomfortable or just seems unwell)
• frequent scratching of the scalp or skin
• grey or very pale faeces
• unusually dark, tea-coloured urine
• sore throat or difficulty in swallowing
• headache, stiff neck
• vomiting
• loss of appetite
• diarrhoea (an increase in the frequency, runniness or volume of the faeces)
• mucus discharge from the nose (thick, green or bloody)
What to do if a child seems unwell
• Tell the director and the parents
• Separate the child from the other children
• Take the child’s temperature if you think they may have a fever
• Remind a child who is coughing or sneezing to cough into their elbow. This
reduces the risk of the child then contaminating other children and their
surroundings. If the child covers their mouth with their hands, ask the child to
wash their hands afterwards
• If you wipe a child’s nose, dispose of the tissue in a plastic-lined rubbish bin, and
then wash your hands
• If you touch a child who might be sick, avoid touching other children until after
you have washed your hands
• Keep moist skin conditions and abrasions covered
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Draft for Public Consultation