On Wednesday, Yu as usual struggled in the morning as he didn't want to go to school. He wanted to be home like his brothers. His argument? He was sniffling so he could not go. I sent him in knowing it was only allergy.
On Thursday evening when I went to fetch him, his teacher told me they couldn't take him if he kept sniffling. If I must send him, they might have to just keep him in the sick bay. They would need a doctor's letter for him to go to school.
During this COVID time, I really wondered which doctor would certify a child fit for school without a negative swab test??? I'm certainly not going to subject Yu to a swab test!
That evening, I asked the K1 parents and friends with doctor friends. I realised I don't have a single doctor friend; later I learnt that Sito has but he was cooped up in his room working and I didn't even have much chance to speak with him.
A K1 parent said her friend in polyclinic said they could still issue fit-for-school letters. JY's PD said they no longer did that due to COVID.
I also googled madly. But I should know myself - there is no single diagnostic tool to confirm a person has allergic rhinitis. All the skin prick tests and whatever tests can say is that a person is allergic to the specific stuff being tested. JY said a heightened level of eosinophil could indicate allergy so a blood test was a possibility. But again, allergy is only one possible reason for high eosinophil. Further, neither can tell us how the allergy is manifested, e.g. through sniffling and running nose.
So I sent a long email detailing allergic rhinitis to the principal and the various tests available, and ask for what exactly they needed. I was half thinking I would pull Yu out of preschool if nothing worked - after all, the compulsory education act does not extend to preschool. I also include circumstantial evidence of his allergy - family history (me, Kai, Yang) and Yu has no other symptoms indicating other reasons.
I continued to send Yu in. I told him he might have to stay in the sick bay. He was so sweet. He could tell that I was unhappy after his teacher spoke with me on Thursday, and he said he would go to school; he wanted me to be happy :))))
When his principal replied, she said Yu told her that he would go behind her office, i.e. where the sick bay is. Awww.... So she wanted a letter stating his condition. I wondered whether that was possible. But I had to try.
So after settling Kai and Yang's work for the day, I fetched Yu early to go to the clinic. Thankfully, it was pretty much deserted so less chance of catching something when he was not even ill in the first place.
We were lucky to get the more experienced doctor there. He said he couldn't issue fit-for-school at this time but he could indicate that Yu has allergic rhinitis, woohoo!
Happily watching TV outside from inside the clinic
He also recommends using nasal spray but I'm still hesitant due to possible side effects on growth. That night, I read clinical research until I dozed off - dreary reads haha! But what I read wasn't terribly informative. Couldn't find long-term studies on the growth of children who took nasal sprays. I don't quite buy short-term studies when this nasal spray is a long-term thing. And every child can grow differently so it's hard to pinpoint the cause. Who knows, the allergy itself could be a cause of slow growth! :(
Eh wait, I'm pretty tall. Sighs... Wait a few more years and send them to TCM.
Si Xuan has a sinus issue too! Thanks to mask wearing. She's on nose spray, but also doing a nose wash thing which is not medicated. So the plan is for her to get into the routine of the wash, and then stop the spray. Coz the wash can be a long term thing with no side effects. (It's really just water to wash the mucus out) Maybe you can consider that too. Jia you!
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