As the weather has gotten colder and we are spending more time inside, our community is seeing an increase in illness. It seems as though “everyone is sick” in one way or the other. Please remember if your student is ill, keep them home until they have been fever free for at least 24 hours without medication and their symptoms are improving. Please click this link to help guide you in determining what type of medical care you should seek during an illness.
Illnesses that we are seeing within our South Lyon community include the following:
Conjunctivitis or Pink Eye: Pink Eye is commonly caused by a bacterial or viral infection, but it can also be from an allergic reaction. If caused by a bacterial or viral infection it is contagious, just like the common cold. The most common symptoms include: redness in one or both eyes, itchiness in one or both eyes, a gritty feeling in one or both eyes, a discharge in one or both eyes that forms a crust during the night - which may or may not prevent your eye from opening in the morning and/or increased or excessive tearing. Treatments can help ease the discomfort. Students should stay home from school until seen by a medical professional and drainage from the affected eye has stopped. Please click this link for more information about conjunctivitis.
Hand Foot Mouth Disease: Hand-foot-and-mouth disease is a mild, contagious viral infection common in young children. There's no specific treatment for hand-foot-and-mouth disease. Frequent hand-washing and avoiding close contact with people who have hand-foot-and-mouth disease may help lower your child's risk of infection. Symptoms of Hand Foot Mouth Disease may include: fever, sore throat, painful blister-like lesions on the tongue, gums and inside of the cheeks, a rash on the palms, soles and sometimes the buttocks. (the rash is not itchy, but sometimes it has blisters) and/or loss of appetite. Students should stay home from school if new sores are developing and/or if the sores in the students mouth is causing the student to have excessive drooling. Students can return to school as long as they have been fever free for at least 24 hours without medication, sores/blisters are not oozing and are decreasing in number. Please click this link for more information about Hand Mouth Foot Disease.
Respiratory Illnesses: A respiratory infection affects your respiratory system, including your sinuses, throat and lungs. Respiratory infection symptoms may include a runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever and/or fatigue/body aches. Treatment for respiratory infections often includes rest, fluids and over-the-counter pain relievers. Infections usually go away on their own within a week or two. If your child’s symptoms are not getting better or getting worse, it is best to go see your healthcare provider. Students should stay home until they have been fever free for at least 24 hours without medication and their symptoms are improving, unless diagnosed with a specific respiratory illness and then should follow the medical advice from their healthcare provider. Please click the following links for more information: MDHHS Flu, MDHHS RSV, MDHHS COVID.
Chickenpox - Chickenpox is a disease that causes an itchy rash of blisters and a fever. A person with chickenpox may have as many as 500 blisters. The rash spreads over the whole body. Chickenpox can be serious, even life-threatening, especially in babies, adolescents, adults, people who are pregnant, and people with weakened immune systems. Chickenpox is very contagious. If one person has it, about 9 out of 10 people close to that person who are not protected against chickenpox will also become infected.
The disease spreads mainly through close contact with someone who has chickenpox or shingles. For example, it can spread when a person touches or breathes in the virus particles that come from the blisters when they get scratched. Chickenpox can spread 1 to 2 days before the infected person gets a rash, and then doesn’t stop spreading until all the blisters have formed scabs. Vaccinated people who get chickenpox may develop lesions that do not form scabs. These people are considered contagious until no new lesions have appeared for 24 hours.
Chickenpox usually causes the following symptoms: an itchy rash of blisters, fever, headache and/or Feeling tired. Symptoms usually last about a week. In some cases, chickenpox can cause serious problems, so it is important that if anyone in your household is experiencing symptoms of Chickenpox, stay home, consult your healthcare provider and do not return to school until new blisters have stopped forming and the old blisters have scabbed over. Please click this link for more information about Chickenpox.
