Nurse

APS Nurses uniquely enhance the educational process by utilizing a standards/evidence-based practice to help students achieve academic excellence and promote a quality, safe learning and working environment for APS students.

When Should You Keep Your Child Home From School?

Unsure if your child should stay home? Refer to the Sick Day Guidelines and keep your student at home if they exhibit any of the following symptoms.

When is Sick Too Sick for School?

If your child becomes ill and doesn’t feel well enough to take part in school, as parents or guardians, you should keep your child home until the symptoms improve. This also can help to prevent the spread of the illness to others at school. These are some of the examples of when your child should be kept home:

• Active vomiting
• Active diarrhea – three or more times in six hours
• The beginning of an airway infection (cold/cough/runny nose). This is especially important for those who are unable to manage their own body fluids.
• Extreme tiredness and/or lack of appetite
• Fever with headache, body aches, earache, sore throat
• Undiagnosed or unknown rash (a rash that has not been seen or treated by a health care provider)
• Any of the above symptoms with fever or chills
• Untreated skin conditions
• If antibiotic treatment is needed, your child should remain home for the first full 24 hours of medication (e.g., if your child has three doses per day ordered, then three doses must be given before the child returns to school)

Important: If any symptoms change, worsen or don’t get better please call your health care provider.

Your child can return to school when he or she is well enough to take part in school and has had no fever for 24 hours without medication (acetaminophen, Tylenol®, etc.).

When you have questions, please call your school nurse, school nurse practitioner, or health care provider for more information.

Ways To Keep Your Child Healthy

A child comes to school to learn. We all know there are times when a child does not feel well enough to take part in school. Often an illness is spread to others before the first symptoms appear. The best way to keep these illnesses (such as colds or flu) from spreading is to take the following steps:

• Teach your child to wash his or her hands frequently using plenty of soap and warm water. Proper hand washing should take about 20 seconds or the time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
• Teach your child to cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or in their sleeve (elbow).
• Keep the child’s environment smoke free.
• Try to minimize the time your child spends with other children who have cough or cold symptoms.
• Teach your child to use and pack easy-to-use disinfecting wipes and/or hand sanitizers in child’s backpack.
• Schedule and keep an annual well-child exam to follow changes in your child’s health.
• Keep all of your child’s immunizations up-to-date, and include the recommended flu vaccination every year.
• Serve a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, plus plenty of water.
• If someone in the house is ill, wash all shared surfaces and sheets frequently, and change toothbrushes.
• Keep surfaces such as door knobs, phones, remote controls, toys and keyboards disinfected.
• Always make sure to consult your school nurse, school nurse practitioner or health care provider if you have any questions.