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Too Sick for School 

Many parents ask "When is my child too sick to send to school?"

Below are some "rules of thumb" to assist you in your decision making process for the school year.

Let’s start from the head and work our way down.

  • If your child’s nose is running uncontrollably, please keep him/her home so as to decrease the probable spread of potential infection to the classroom.
  • If your child awakens with draining eye(s), bloodshot appearing eye(s), and/or eyelashes that are sticking together, please consider calling your Pediatrician for an evaluation prior to bringing your child to school, as conjunctivitis is extremely contagious to all in the classroom.
  • If your child has thrown up during the night, please keep him/her home the following day to rest and replenish a probable low hydration status. Please feel free to send your child into school with a hydration bottle for his/her desk upon return to school.
  • If your child has had diarrhea during the night, please consider keeping him/her home the following day to allow quick access to toileting, and to allow him/her the chance to replenish a probable low hydration status. Please feel free to send your child to school with a hydration bottle for his/her desk upon return to school.
  • If your child develops any type of a rash, please bring him/her into the Health Office prior to the start of school so that we can observe the rash together and decide if any contagion is possible.
  • If your child is running a fever greater than 100, please consider keeping him/her home, as a low grade temperature is indicative of illness and will probably only rise over the course of the day. Your child should be fever free for greater than 24 hours upon return to school.
  • If you choose to medicate your child with Tylenol or Motrin prior to school for a low grade temperature, that is certainly fine for you to do, but please call the Health Office or send a note to inform me so that I can carefully watch for any changes in your child’s temperature once the medicine has worn off.
  • If your child has had a moderate to severe head or suspected bone injury, please have them evaluated prior to coming into school. Please send a note to the Health Office for recess or gym as needed.
  • If your child has a high fever (greater than 100.5 by mouth), a booming headache, a stomach ache, and a severe sore throat that appears red streaked or coated with a white patchy film, please keep your child home and report to your Pediatrician and question the need for a strep throat exam.
  • If your child is placed on antibiotics for strep throat, impetigo, conjunctivitis, or any other contagious illnesses, please keep at home.  Your child can return to school after 24 hours on antibiotic treatment and fever free.

Should you have any question as to the health status of your child at any time over the course of the school year, please do not hesitate to call me at (978) 422-2303. I am only too happy to speak with you and work out solutions to any question(s) you may have.

Sincerely,

Bertha Josiah-Ogbomo, R.N., B.S.N., School Nurse

Head Lice

Head lice is a common occurrence in schools. Head lice are not a sign of unclean people or homes.

Please take these precautions:

1. Check your child's hair for eggs (also called nits). 2. If you suspect your child has head lice, ask your health care provider to diagnose the problem and recommend appropriate treatment. 3. Tell us if your child is diagnosed as having head lice. 4. If head lice is diagnosed, do not return your child to school until she or he has been treated.

 

Information about head lice:

What are they? Head lice are tiny insects that live only on people's scalp and hair. They hatch from small eggs (nits) that are firmly attached to the individual hairs near the scalp and cannot be easily moved up or down the hair (as can specks of dandruff). They look like grains of sand. Nits may be found throughout the hair but are most often located at the back of the scalp near the neck and behind the ears. The eggs hatch in 6-10 days, with new lice reaching adulthood about 2-3 weeks later. The lice live by biting and sucking blood from the scalp. Lice can survive 1-2 days away from the scalp. Until a person with head lice is treated they can transmit them to others.

How should you check for head lice? You probably will not see the lice, only the eggs. These are tiny, pearl-gray, oval-shaped specks attached to the hair near the scalp. Look carefully, using a magnifying glass and natural light. Search for nits at the back of the neck, behind the ears, and at the top of the head.

 How does a person get head lice? Anyone who has close contact with an infested person or shares personal items can become infested. Lice are spread only by crawling from person-to-person directly or onto shared personal items, such as combs, brushes, head coverings, clothing, bedding, or towels.  What should you do if your child has head lice? If your child does have head lice, everyone in your family should be checked, and anyone with nits should definitely be treated.

To get rid of head lice: 

  1. Use a medicine that your health care provider prescribes or recommends. Use any of these products very carefully, and consult a physician before treating children less than 2 years of age, pregnant or nursing women, or people with extensive cuts or scratches on the head or neck. 
     
  2. After appropriate treatment, removal of nits is a difficult and time-consuming process because nits have such a firm grip on the hair. You can remove them with a special, fine-toothed, nit-removal comb. While removal of nits is not necessary to prevent spread, your school may require it to lessen confusion about whether your child is still infested. It is sometimes hard to tell if nits are alive or dead.
  3. Check for nits daily for the next 10-14 days. Most treatments recommend a re-application of the treatment 7-10 days later.
  4. Clean personal items and surroundings:
      • Machine wash all washable and possibly infested items in hot water. Dry them in a hot dryer.
      • Put nonwashable items (furry toys or pillows) in a hot dryer for 20 minutes or dry-clean them. 
      • Seal items that cannot be washed or dried in a plastic bag for 10 days (any eggs or lice present will die in this time) 
      • Wash combs and brushes in a shampoo approved to kill lice, or soak in hot water (>128.3oF) for at least 5 minutes.
      • Thoroughly vacuum rugs, upholstered furniture, and mattresses.
      • Do not use insecticide sprays because they can be harmful to people and animals. 
  5. Clean personal items and surroundings:
      • Machine wash all washable and possibly infested items in hot water. Dry them in a hot dryer.
      • Put nonwashable items (furry toys or pillows) in a hot dryer for 20 minutes or dry-clean them. 
      • Seal items that cannot be washed or dried in a plastic bag for 10 days (any eggs or lice present will die in this time) 
      • Wash combs and brushes in a shampoo approved to kill lice, or soak in hot water (>128.3oF) for at least 5 minutes.
      • Thoroughly vacuum rugs, upholstered furniture, and mattresses.
      • Do not use insecticide sprays because they can be harmful to people and animals. 
  6. Clean personal items and surroundings:
      • Machine wash all washable and possibly infested items in hot water. Dry them in a hot dryer.
      • Put nonwashable items (furry toys or pillows) in a hot dryer for 20 minutes or dry-clean them. 
      • Seal items that cannot be washed or dried in a plastic bag for 10 days (any eggs or lice present will die in this time) 
      • Wash combs and brushes in a shampoo approved to kill lice, or soak in hot water (>128.3oF) for at least 5 minutes.
      • Thoroughly vacuum rugs, upholstered furniture, and mattresses.
      • Do not use insecticide sprays because they can be harmful to people and animals. 
  7. Clean personal items and surroundings:
      • Machine wash all washable and possibly infested items in hot water. Dry them in a hot dryer.
      • Put nonwashable items (furry toys or pillows) in a hot dryer for 20 minutes or dry-clean them. 
      • Seal items that cannot be washed or dried in a plastic bag for 10 days (any eggs or lice present will die in this time) 
      • Wash combs and brushes in a shampoo approved to kill lice, or soak in hot water (>128.3oF) for at least 5 minutes.
      • Thoroughly vacuum rugs, upholstered furniture, and mattresses.
      • Do not use insecticide sprays because they can be harmful to people and animals. 

 

When can your child return? Wachusett Regional School District has a no nit policy.   Remember, that you must keep checking your child's hair for new nits for at least 2 weeks.