I recently reconnected with an old friend, and we went to their house for a playdate yesterday. She mentioned how her son has been having a lot of diarrhea and we discussed a food journal. But then, a few hours after being home, my son had diarrhea. It dawned on me that they were playing in a sandbox that I don't think gets covered. They didn't play inside, just in the sandbox all morning.
I would think the sandbox might be one cause of my friend's son's problem. Do I mention it to her?
I emailed her about it. I guess I was hesitant because we don't' have a sandbox for the very reason that it is a disease pit, and my friend just made her sandbox 3x bigger! She is proud of it, and I genuinely think it might be the cause of her son's problems.
I wonder if it's something in their water (?) We had a large outdoor, uncovered sandbox for years and never had any problems.
I have to say that almost all child care centers have sand in their playgrounds and they don't have kids that have diarrhea every day. Our "sandbox" had 3 climbing toys, swings, and some riding toys in it.
When it was time to go outside one of my staff walked around to check for friendly deposits and we hardly ever found anything. Not to say that we never did. But we checked before the kids came outside.
In our local parks they have sand in the whole play area under the tall structures the kids climb on. I always make the kids leave their shoes on because these areas are often where drug users congregate after dark. They leave needles, razor blades, baggies, and drug remnants in the sand.
I do think you could test this. Take your son over to the same little boy but don't let them go outside, maybe on a rainy day. If you son has diarrhea later then the little boy has a stomach virus and it's not the playground.
There are several different illnesses going around in Oklahoma right now, several are stomach trouble ones. Diarrhea and nausea are the symptoms of most of them.
So, I'd like to suggest your son came in contact with a stomach virus instead of handling cat poop in the sand. This is testable by seeing if playing in the sandbox doesn't make him sick next time too.
It sounds like a virus to me. Certainly, sandboxes need to be covered to prevent cat feces and urine, but as quickly as your son got sick? That, to me, sounds like a fast-acting bug, or maybe something your son was already exposed to before you went there. A few hours later sounds like a food-borne illness or that he was exposed earlier.
Absolutely mention it to her.
Just say what you said here - your son seems to be having the same trouble as her son after playing in the sandbox and you wonder if the sand might have had some animal get into it.
Why not mention it?
Could be a virus passed from her son to yours, too.
Stomach virus is more likely.
I would mention it to her as that could very well be the culprit ! You don't know what's getting in there when it's not being played in ! Cats are notorious ,they use it like a litter box. Suggest that she not let him play in it for a few days and see if the diarrhea doesn't improve or stop altogether.
She has nothing to lose by trying it.
C. S.
Sure. It might be something she hasn't thought about.
I'd be really surprised if the sand box had anything to do with this. Just about every family I knew growing up had sandboxes in the back yard. These were sandboxes made by nailing together 4 pieces of wood. No one covered them, and we certainly didn't have stomach issues all summer long.
I'd be leaning towards a bug. It's possible there's something in the water or something he ate, but more often than not, it's a bug.
J., you did the right thing to let her know. Cats often use uncovered sandboxes as litterboxes and cat diseases can transfer to humans that way -- look it up online; this isn't an "old wives' tale" but for real, so anyone with a sandbox should cover it well enough that animals cannot get into it, and should keep it covered all the time when it's not in use.
Meanwhile, if your kids want to see each other, suggest your house or a place like a park. I would not have the kids at her house again or if I did, I would find ways to keep them out of the sandbox, but that would be hard if her kids are in it all the time. She's really asking for trouble by not covering it.
I'm thinking it might be water related. Did your son drink water from the tap? I'm thinking coliform bacteria or something. That will definitely cause stomach issues and diarrhea.
I would, just kind of FYI.
absolutely. i would want to be approached with kindness and consideration, not in a confrontational way, with this sort of thing. we all have to have those mom to mom talks sometimes and this would be one i would want you to have with me. treat her like you would want to be treated and get the message across. i would be grateful. good luck!! S.
I think it's really good that you told her. Now she knows that it is likely NOT a matter of what foods he eats but a potential problem with something in her home - the sandbox, the water, etc. I hope she figures it out soon.
It could be that or something at her house is causing it.. Water, food, sandbox.. If he has been sick all summer, it is something that is causing a reaction that he is still in contact with.
Hope both kids feel better fast.
