With cold? and flu season in full swing, the Catharine Blaine?community was hit hard in the month of January. Blaine’s school nurse writes:
We have had several students and staff members out with illness and request you keep your child home if they are ill.??It is our goal for students to attend classes every day school is in session. However, there are times when students need to stay home for their own health and/or the health and safety of others. Below are some guidelines to help families decide when to keep students at home:
- Diagnosed Strep Throat or Bacterial Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye):
- Must stay home 24 hours after first dose of antibiotics.
- Diarrhea:
- Three or more loose or watery stools in a 24-hour period, especially if the student feels ill. Students should stay home for 24 hours after the last watery stool.
- Eyes:
- Draining mucus or pus or that have unusual redness, itchiness or pain not due to injury or allergy.
- Fatigue:
- Students who are unusually tired, pale, lack appetite, or who are difficult to wake, confused, or unusually irritable.
- Fever:
- Temperature 100 degrees Fahrenheit or over. Students need to stay home for 24 hours after their temperature has returned to normal without the help of fever-reducing medications such as Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen.
- Live Lice:
- Students may return to school once treatment has begun.
- Persistent Coughing:
- Students who are unable to participate in classroom activities due to persistent coughing should stay home.
- Rash:
- Unknown origin or those known to be contagious such as ringworm, impetigo or scabies. Students may return to school as soon as treatment has begun.
- Vomiting:
- Two or more times during the last 24 hours, especially if the student feels ill. Students should stay home for 24 hours after the last time they vomited.
If your student shows any of the above symptoms at school you may be called to pick him/her up. We suggest that you also consult your health care provider. Please consult your school nurse or health care provider if you are unsure whether or not your student should miss school due to health conditions. Remember to report the reason for your student?s absence to the office staff or school nurse according to your school?s official policies/procedures.
The same guidelines could be applied to the?workplace. The Center for Disease Control?writes
Stay home when you are sick. If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
Some of these recommendations run contrary to our pediatrician’s advice. For instance, diarrhea can take weeks to run its course, but as long as a child has good toileting habits, they are fine to return to school.
Although, I must say, the policy on live lice might explain why it’s such a rampant problem at that school.
I really am grateful as a blaine mom that they put this out. I think it’s selfish to always send your ill child to school and it’s a regular problem. Look, we all need to work but be responsible, it’s part of parenting. We don’t all want to get your diarrhea bug my friends and listen to the advice regarding fever! No wonder everyone is sick as a dog. The lice thing is out of control. Parents need to do the work for two weeks where that is concerned and understand the life cycle of these bugs. Just shampooing with lice stuff isn’t enough.