WHEN A CHILD SHOULD NOT COME TO SCHOOL

A message from your School Nurse:

Heidi Yoklavich BSN, RN

How to tell when your child should stay home from school.


Here are red flags to watch for:

Repeated diarrhea and/or vomiting within the past 24 hours.

A fever in the range of 100 to 104 degrees, especially accompanied by lethargy.

A severe cold with fever, sneezing and thickened nasal discharge means stay at home.

A sore throat combined with a fever or swollen glands.

A cough that keeps a child awake at night, worsens with increased activity, or is combined with other symptoms generally merits a day off.

A severe and persistent earache may be a sign of acute otitis media, a common ear infection, and merits a trip to the doctor.

Redness in the whites of eyes, yellow eye discharge and matted eyelashes are symptoms of conjunctivitis, commonly known as pinkeye. Again, call the doctor.

Rashes, if they are all over the body, blistery, oozing or sore, they could be a sign of a contagious infection.

Head lice-please treat before sending to school.

Breathing trouble.

Not eating for more than a day.

Sharp or persistent pains in the abdomen or stomach.

Parents should ask themselves “If my child were perfectly healthy, would I want him or her to sit next to a child with these symptoms”.