- Desert Sage Elementary
- General Illness Information
-
Health Center
Important Health Notes from the Nurse
The control of communicable ("catching") disease during the school year is a difficult problem and a parent/guardian responsibility. The first responsibility must fall upon the home as parents know the normal appearance of their children and should be the first to detect signs of illness. The symptoms of a cold are also often the symptoms of the communicable diseases.
The following rules will help control communicable diseases in the community. Please keep this sheet at a convenient location for reference.
- Do not send your child if he/she shows signs of illness.
- Do not send a sick child to school for the nurse to decide whether he/she should be in school. If in doubt, call the family physician.
- If your child is sick, keep other children away from him/her.
- Some of the signs and symptoms of acute illness are:
- Restlessness at night
- Diarrhea
- Fever (oral temp 100.0 +)
- Red, watery eyes
- Running nose
- Flushed face or paleness
- Sneezing and coughing
- Headache
- Rash
- Swelling neck or face
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Earache
5. If there is any doubt, call the family physician.
6. DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILD FEVER MEDICATION AND SEND THEM TO SCHOOL. THEY REMAIN CONTAGIOUS UNTIL FEVER IS GONE WITHOUT THE USE OF MEDICATION. WHEN THEIR FEVER RETURNS AT SCHOOL YOU WILL BE CALLED TO COME AND GET THEM. THEY MAY NOT REMAIN AT SCHOOL. GECKO WILL NOT ACCEPT CHILD WHO HAD A FEVER OR WERE SENT HOME WITH A FEVER THE PREVIOUS DAY. SEE BELOW.
KEEP YOUR CHILD HOME UNTIL THEIR TEMPERATURE HAS BEEN NORMAL FOR 24 HOURS WITHOUT USING A FEVER REDUCER TO DECREASE THEIR FEVER. Normal temperature is about 98.6 F. Take THE temperature at mid‑afternoon each day if you suspect it is above normal. Continue this process until temperature is normal a whole day, then the child can return to school if no other symptoms of illness are present. ANY CHILD SENT HOME WITH A FEVER MAY NOT RETURN THE NEXT DAY. Gecko will not accept chindren who have been sent home with a fever the previous day.7. Any child with a rash that has not been diagnosed should remain out of school until all symptoms are gone or a physician verifies the child is not contagious and is well enough to return to school.