Uncontrollable and/or productive cough
Fever over 100.4 degrees fahrenheit within past 24 hours
Vomiting or diarrhea within past 24 hours
Sore throat and swollen glands
Undiagnosed rash or skin eruptions
Earache, severe headache or drainage from eyes
Students should remain home for 24 hours after an acute illness or after starting antibiotics for a diagnosed infection. They should also be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc). These absences can be excused with a note from a student's health care provider.
Managing Lice
Lice have been and always will be part of humans’ lives. Lice typically find new hosts by crawling from head to head, and less likely by sharing items like combs and hats. Lice do not jump or fly, or live on pets or other animals. They must feed on human blood every few hours to live, and most adult lice die within 24 hours off of a host (younger lice cannot live off a host for more than a few hours). Lice can live up to a month. They live on the scalp, laying eggs after they are 7 days old. Eggs take 7-9 days to hatch, which is why it is important to re-treat for lice after nine days. Understanding the life cycle helps people to treat it effectively.
Schools no longer exclude students for lice. If your child is found to have lice at school, the nurse will call you and let you know, and provide you with advice and support. In general, it’s a great idea to periodically check your child’s head throughout the year. You can find good info on head lice at the CDC website here, and examples of what an egg and lice look like here.
If you’re unsure if your child has lice, I am happy to check. Just give me a call or send me an email. Also, if you need assistance with purchasing treatment items, or performing the treatments, please reach out to me.
Here are some helpful steps to avoid the spread of head lice. Kindly reinforce these with your child(ren):
Avoid head to head contact for prolonged periods of time
Avoid sharing combs, brushes, hats, scarves, hair accessories, etc.
Hang coats up and placing hats/scarves inside a pocket or sleeve of coat
Reminder - APS New SNAP Portal
Have you signed up to the APS SNAP Portal? This is a new way to access your child's health information and to receive messages from the school nurse. Check out the SNAP health information portal and check your email for links to register. All medical information will be available to you and the school nurse using this portal. The portal is a fast and easy way for you to communicate health information for your child.
