IS YOUR CHILD SICK ENOUGH TO STAY HOME?

The general guidelines are to keep your child home if your child has a fever of 100 or more, is coughing or sneezing nonstop (unless related to asthma or allergy), is vomiting, has diarrhea, or has an unidentified rash.

If your child is missing more than 10% of the school days (this is the maximum allowed by AZ state law), then you should be suspicious of vague symptoms. Headaches and stomach aches without fever, vomiting or any other sign of illness should not keep your child out of school.

school nurse

COMMON COLD

The common cold generally lasts a week to ten days. If your child’s nasal secretions are clear and watery, if he/she is playful, happy and fever-free there is no need to keep him/her at home. Teach your child to cover his/her nose and mouth (with a tissue, sleeve or shirt) when coughing or sneezing. Your child needs to wash his/her hands often throughout the day with soap and water and use hand sanitizer between washes. Your child will be better able to fight off the virus if he/she goes to sleep early, drinks plenty of fluids and eats a healthy diet. If your child has nasal secretions, which are thick yellow or green or blood streaked, accompanied by a fever, headache or earache he/she should stay home and you should call the doctor.

COUGHS

Colds can turn into a cough. An occasional dry, hacking cough can often linger for a week or more after a cold. If the cough doesn’t keep your child up at night, and is not accompanied by fever, pain or difficulty in breathing, you can send him/her to school. Coughing is the body’s way of clearing excess secretions, irritants and foreign bodies from the lungs and upper respiratory system. A cough isn’t necessarily bad, if your child is coughing up secretions, it is called a productive cough. You can help loosen these secretions by using a cool or warm mist vaporizer and encouraging plenty of liquids. If you use cough medicine for a productive cough, use one with an expectorant, as this helps to thin and loosen mucus, making it easier to cough up. If your child’s cough is dry, repetitive, or hacking, you may want to use a cough suppressant especially at night so your child can sleep. The child who coughs at night, but seems well during the day, except for a sore throat, probably has post-nasal drip and can be helped by an over-the-counter decongestant. A child who has a non-stop cough, not relieved by cough medicine, should be kept home. A doctor should check any child who has a persistent 1-2 week cough.

SORE THROATS

What about the child who wakes up with a sore throat (often associated with a cold or allergies) but has no fever, no rash and doesn’t act sick? Send him/her to school, but be alert for symptoms especially if your child has had strep throat previously without a fever. Keep your child home and call the doctor if he/she has a high fever, painful or “cottony” swallowing or feels really miserable. Get the flashlight and be concerned if you see a fiery red, raw roof of the mouth or throat, white spots on the tonsils or tonsils of unequal size. Run your fingers beneath his/her jawbone, if this causes pain due to swollen, tender glands, call the doctor.

ITCHY EYES

Watery, itchy, mildly bloodshot eyes can be caused by a viral infection or even an allergy which may not need treatment. However, conjunctivitis (pinkeye) is a very contagious bacterial infection. If your child wakes up with eyes matted closed, gently wipe away the drainage with warm water. Do the eyes look bloodshot? Are they itchy, irritated and watery? If so, you will need to keep him/her home and make a doctor’s appointment. With a doctor’s permission, your child may return to school once medication (antibiotic eye ointment or drops) has begun.