A Message from the School Nurse
Throughout the school year, the nurse and staff will be reinforcing with students proper hand washing, playground safety, allergies and THE SEVEN B’S. The most common reasons to come see the nurse fit under this heading.
- Bleeding:more than one Band-Aid can cover.
- Breathing Bad
- Broken Bone
- Barfing (yucky word, but it fits under the B’s)
- Burning Up
- Bee or insect sting
- Big Bump/Bumped head
First-aid and medical care provided by the school nurse is mainly for illnesses or injuries that occur at school during the school day. The Health Office is not a primary care facility like a doctor’s office. The nurse is qualified to collaborate with you and your child's physician to provide an educational environment in which your child can learn and thrive.
Illness/Communicable Disease Control
1. School is no place for a sick child. Please do not send your children to school if:
• they have a fever
• have vomited (more than one episode or associated with fever or diarrhea)
• have any diarrhea in the last 12 hours
• Children should be free of fever for 24 hours before returning to school, regardless of how they feel. If your child has been diagnosed with a communicable disease such as strep throat or pink eye, s/he must have been on antibiotic treatment (and free of fever) for 24 hours prior to returning to school. Please provide a doctor’s note regarding such treatment. Also, please notify the school office or school nurse of any diagnosed communicable disease so that other parents can be notified.
Signs/symptoms of illness:
- Fever (oral temp of 100.0 or more)
- Diarrhea, any loose stools
- Red, watery eyes, pus in corners
- Constant sneezing and/or deep cough, constant runny nose
- Unexplained rash
- Headache
- Nausea or vomiting
- Swelling of the neck or face
- Flushed face or paleness
- Very sore throat
- Painful earache
2. Please do not send a sick child to school for the school nurse to decide whether s/he should be in school. If in doubt, call your family physician. School nurses can assess and refer, but cannot diagnose, and will always refer to your physician if in doubt.
3. If your child sustains an injury at home, please provide care and treatment before sending your child back to school. The school nurse is more than happy to take care of injuries that happen during school hours, but cannot take the place of your primary physician's evaluation and treatment.
4. If your child becomes ill enough to be dismissed from school, has more than a minor injury, or has an emergency, you will be notified. Students are not permitted to walk home during school hours. Please make sure there are up-to-date phone numbers on your child's emergency sheet.
5. If your child has a temperature in the health office of 100 degrees or greater, s/he will be sent home. Any child with an undiagnosed rash will be sent home and should remain out of school until symptom-free or a physician verifies (with a written note) that the child is not contagious and may to return to school. If your child is sent home by the school nurse due to fever, s/he may not return to school for at least 24 hours even if s/he is feeling better.
If every parent follows these procedures, it will prevent the spread of contagious diseases, some which may be life threatening.
AS ALWAYS, hand washing is the best defense against the spread of disease and should be done frequently, and:
- Before eating or drinking
- If visibly soiled
- Before and after using the bathroom
- After contact with body secretions and excretions, i.e., blood, mucous, saliva, drainage from wounds