Unfortunately, illnesses tend to be rampant in places where there is a close grouping of children. Many children pick up illnesses at the childcare facility they attend on a regular basis. While there are many illnesses that a child can contract, the top five most common contagious illnesses include upper respiratory infections (such as the common cold), the stomach flu (or gastroenteritis), pink eye (or conjunctivitis), strep throat and chicken pox.

Upper respiratory infections are the most common of all childhood ailments. These fall under the category of viruses and include colds and other health problems that routinely affect the nose, sinuses and the throat. Many children develop the common cold from being in close contact with other children in a variety of child care facilities. A virus called rhinovirus causes a head cold and there are over a hundred or more different types of this virus in circulation. Due to the fact that children have not developed immunity yet, they tend to get more colds a year than the average adult. In fact studies show that the average child comes down with six to 10 colds on an annual basis while most adults only suffer with two to four.

The stomach flu or gastroenteritis is spread very easily from child to child. The two main symptoms of this health problem are diarrhea and vomiting, which can range from mild to severe. It is very important that a child with the stomach flu keep drinking fluids as dehydration can result if fluids are discontinued. The signs that dehydration has set in include a dry mouth, an excessive thirst for water, tremendous weakness in the body and/or a feeling of lethargy, a decrease in the amount of tears and finally a limited amount of urine and/or urine that is very concentrated and darkish yellow in color. Be aware that sometimes stomach upset is not caused by genuine stomach flu but instead by constipation, indigestion or simple worry.

Pink eye (or conjunctivitis) is extremely contagious and can be spread easily by simple physical contact between children. A virus causes some forms of pink eye while others are bacterial in nature. Pink eye is “an inflammation of the clear membrane that covers the white part of the eye and lines the inner surface of the eyelids.” A warm or cold compress can often ease physical discomfort for the sufferer while the condition is easily treated with a special ointment or antibiotic eye drops.

A child who is suffering from an uncomfortably sore throat as well as a high fever is likely to have a 15 percent chance of having caught strep throat from another child. In fact this condition is more common in school age children and those who attend childcare facilities than in any other age group. Fevers above 101 F are commonplace where strep throat is concerned, as are a painful time attempting to swallow. Often both the back of the throat as well as the tonsils takes on a red, puffy appearance and may be speckled with either white or yellow areas of pus. Step throat must be treated with antibiotics and if left unchecked can do damage to the heart, kidneys and joints.

Chicken pox is highly contagious and is covered by a red rash that itches terribly. Often, a high fever and a feeling of excessive tiredness or weakness accompany chicken pox. One of the reasons why children can easily infect others with this disease is that a child often has become contagious for a timeframe of 24 to 48 hours before the first spot on her skin shows itself. Once it has made itself known a child with chicken pox must avoid others. In fact the danger of passing the disease to others continues until at least two days after no new chicken pox marks have begun to appear on the skin.

Other common illnesses that children in child care facilities often pass onto one another include viral diarrhea, skin infections (such as ringworm which is a fungal infection and impetigo which is caused by a bacteria as well as many others), cold sores (Herpes simplex virus, type one), fifth disease (which is a viral infection) and roseola (which is also a viral type of infection).