Sick Kids and School
When to keep them home
It is sometimes hard to decide whether to send your child to school when they do not feel 100%. Although attendance is an important part of your child’s success in school, there are times when it is a good idea to keep them home in order to get them healthy and prevent spreading germs to the other children in the school. Here are some guidelines for when to keep your children home.
FEVER – If your child has a fever over 100.4 degrees they should not return to school until they are fever free for 24 hours without any fever reducing medication.
VOMITING/DIARRHEA- Consider how uncomfortable these two things are, even to an adult who has better control, and how distressed and embarrassed your child will be at school having to go to the restroom often, or feeling sick while sitting at his/her desk. If the vomiting or diarrhea happens more than once that day, or if they are associated with fever, you must keep your child home. Even if these things happen only one time before school starts, and your child feels better immediately afterwards, it is still wise to watch for a few hours to see if it happens again before sending them to school. All children must be tolerating foods and 24 hours past their last episode of vomiting or diarrhea before returning to school.
RED EYES, ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS ALSO DRAINAGE OR CRUSTING AROUND THE EYE -This can often mean your child has conjunctivitis, also known as pink-eye. Not all pink-eye is contagious. Sometimes it is just allergies or other irritations that are causing the red color, but until we know for sure, which means we must have a note from the doctor stating the condition is not contagious, or until the drainage is completely gone, your child must remain out of school.
RASHES – If you are not able to identify the rash or cause please keep the child home until able to identify the cause and/if contagious.
If your child has other symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, sore throat, cough and/or thick mucus which might make them uncomfortable during school, please use your judgment. If they are going to be distracted and unable to learn, keep them home for a “sick day”. Kids who are truly sick will heal better and faster when they have proper rest at home, with lots of fluid for hydration and healthy nutrition. If your child is sent home sick during the school day, please have a plan in place for them to be picked up within one hour of the school nurse contacting you. Thank you for your help to keep all of our children healthy.