How....?

Do you decide to keep your child home from school? Are they really "sick", or do they just have a cold? Every time Alec gets a cold, he sounds a little croupy. Cole says he was the same way as a child. Yesterday morning, when I got the kids up for school, Alec's temperature was normal. He said he hadn't coughed all night, and he was FINE to go to school. I debated, but he looked fine, his breathing was good, and he had all his normal energy. So, I sent him to school, with the instructions that if he started not feeling good, to tell his teacher he was sick and needed to call his mom. When I picked the boys up yesterday, I could tell from the moment I saw Alec that he wasn't feeling good. Sure enough, when I got him home, his temp was 102, and after he was inside for awhile, his breathing was worrying me. I HATE exposing other people, but especially kids, to illness. Being a Respiratory Therapist, I know that some kids can end up in the hospital with croup, even at Alec's age and size. I feel terrible for sending him to school.

So, anyway, I tore apart my bedroom looking for my stethescope until a call to Cole reminded me that I had put it in my car so that if my MIL needed her blood pressure checked, it would be right there...I listened to him, and his lungs were fine, and he wasn't having difficulty breathing...he just had some upper airway sounds that made it sound like he was having trouble. So, I gave him motrin, and cough medicine before bedtime...he slept well, but he told me this morning he doesn't feel good enough to go to school. He looks better and sounds better to me today...but what do you do? So he's home today. Hopefully a day of laying on the couch will be enough to make him feel better.