Too Sick For School?
Too Sick For School?
With minor symptoms you often cannot tell whether your child is going to get better or worse. When trying to decide if you should send your student to school, the following guidelines may help. Remember that sending an ill child to school, puts other children and staff at risk.
Go To School – If your child describes any the following symptoms, he/she should probably go to school:
• Sniffles, a runny nose and a mild cough without a fever
• Vague complaints of aches, pains or fatigue
• Single episode of diarrhea or vomiting without any other symptoms
Stay At Home – If your child has any of the following symptoms, your child should probably stay at home:
• APPEARANCE, BEHAVIOR – unusually tired, pale, lack of appetite, difficult to wake, or irritable.
• EYES – thick mucus or pus draining from the eye. With pink eye (conjunctivitis) you may see a white or
yellow discharge, matted eyelids after sleep, eye pain and/or redness.
• FEVER – temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Remember that a child must be fever free
for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducing medication before returning to school.
• GREENISH NOSE DISCHARGE, AND/OR CHRONIC COUGH – should be seen by a health care provider.
• SORE THROAT – especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck. (With Strep throat, the child may
return to school after 24 hours on antibiotics.)
• DIARRHEA – 2 or more watery stools in a 24 hour period especially if the child acts or looks ill.
• VOMITING – vomiting 1 or more times within the past 24 hours.
• RASH – body rash, especially with fever or itching. Heat rashes and allergic reactions are not contagious.
• EAR INFECTIONS WITHOUT FEVER – do not need to be excluded, but the child needs to get medical
treatment and follow-up. Untreated ear infections can cause permanent hearing loss.
Your student will be sent home from school if he or she demonstrates any of the above listed signs and symptoms
