Friendly Reminder from The Health Room
This is the time of the year when many viruses and germs are prevalent. Keeping your ill child at home is an important way to limit the spread of germs at school. Sometimes knowing when to keep your child at home is a difficult decision for parents. Unnecessary absences interfere with learning, time off from work can be a problem and childcare issues can be inconvenient. However, little learning takes place for the child when sent to school sick. Illnesses can be spread quickly in a classroom; classmates and staff are at risk for illness when a sick child is sent to school.
Here are some guidelines that are meant to be helpful when making the decision about sending your child to school:
Fever free for 24 hours without medication (Fever is defined as 100.4F or higher)
Children awaiting results from a throat culture must remain at home until a negative result is known or
Children with a positive strep culture must be treated with prescribed antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school
Children that have been vomiting or have had diarrhea must remain home until the vomiting or diarrhea has stopped for 24 hours
Children recovering from an illness who are still too ill to participate in typical school activities, such as gym or recess, should remain home until able to resume school activities, or may return to school with a physician’s note indicating activity limitations - if applicable.
Please do not send your child to school if your child:
· Complains of a severe headache
· Has a fever of 100.4 or higher
· Vomits during the evening or night and still doesn't feel well in the morning
· Has thick yellow or green nasal discharge
· Has inflamed eyes or thick, sticky yellow or white eye drainage
· Has any skin rash unless it has been diagnosed by a physician as non-infectious
Sincerely,
Denise Morgan, RN
Ridgefield District Nurse
(360)759-7256