too sick for school?

May 31, 2007

In a message dated 5/31/2007 12:19:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

trier9@... writes:

Am I being reasonable to ask for Marissa to stay at school unless she has a

fever...100 or more?? Oh, and Marissa is 8 yrs old, so she can blow her nose

and wash her hands.

you are, you are! My micah, who is sick. Figured out real quick to go to

the nurse to go home after he was sent home the first time. Now she doesn't

call me cause she knows unless he is REALLY sick don't call. And she is

really good about it. Stand your ground. Micah has had green mucous and

sneezing with allergies for a month now. They know it takes him a loooong time

to

get over anything! If I kept him home every time his nose was running he

would never be in school lol! Oh the trials we face,

Loree

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

May 31, 2007

Allergy season is a good time to work on hygiene skills!! Hand washing and

nose blowing!!

Ask for a written copy of the schools sick regualtions.Also inform them that

by calling you everytime she/he goes to the nurse is reinforcing sick acting

behavior. My school even had my son talk to me on the phone!!!

Rules agreed on by the nurse ,doctor and mom were that he had to have a

fever of school policy. Be vomiting or have severe diarrhea. If he went to the

Nurse he had to sit or lay in an area where he would not get a lot of feedback

from other sick students or be stared at by the Nurse. (this was if he did not

meet the above rules of sickness that were set down).He was then encouraged

to go back to the classroom to be with his friends. Once we TRAINED the staff

we only got 1 or 2 calls a year and those were when he was vomiting.

Jeannette

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good

with ketchup!

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

May 31, 2007

And then you will keep them home from school later in the year when they are

really sick and soon you will get the Nasty letter from the principal that

your child has missed too many days of school and will need Dr report on all

further absences. This makes me so mad.

Darcy

_____

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf

Of Loree5@...

Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:50 PM

TRIER9@...;

Subject: Re: Too sick for school?

In a message dated 5/31/2007 12:19:11 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

trier9@... <mailto:trier9%40aol.com> writes:

Am I being reasonable to ask for Marissa to stay at school unless she has a

fever...100 or more?? Oh, and Marissa is 8 yrs old, so she can blow her nose

and wash her hands.

you are, you are! My micah, who is sick. Figured out real quick to go to

the nurse to go home after he was sent home the first time. Now she doesn't

call me cause she knows unless he is REALLY sick don't call. And she is

really good about it. Stand your ground. Micah has had green mucous and

sneezing with allergies for a month now. They know it takes him a loooong

time to

get over anything! If I kept him home every time his nose was running he

would never be in school lol! Oh the trials we face,

Loree

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.

<http://www.aol.com.> com.

May 31, 2007

I have followed this thread with interest. The first is an excerpt from an

article on the American Academy of Pediatrics website- -you know, the

pediatrician's website. Of course, she has been teaching for 20 years. Well, I

have been nursing for 26 years. An average body temperature of 98.6 degrees is

just that - an average temperature. Which means that there is a +/- degrees

addendum to that, meaning that a certain number of degrees below and above 98.6

is still considered normal. In nursing school, and according to my research I

did today, normal body temperature is taught in nursing and medical schools as

97.0 degrees to 99.0 degrees. Body temperature varies according to an

individual's metabolism, and also according to the time of day. Body

temperature tends to be lower in the morning, and higher in the afternoon and

evening. Factor in the increase in metabolism with any activity, such as

playing on a playground, and also factor in the outside air temperature, and it

is only natural for a person's body temperature to be slightly elevated. And

again, an elevated body temperature does not automatically equal fever.

The bottom article is from Dr. Leshin's site. Pay particular attention to the

last sentence in the last paragraph.

My hunch is this is a teacher that is tired of looking at a runny nose. Oh

well. Deal with it.

I would also look at the district's standards for sending sick children home.

Did you know that an elevated temp is also an indication of inflammation, and

inflammation is not infection. Her nasal passages could be inflamed from the

runny nose, and from blowing her nose. There can be a slight temperature

elevation due to that.

Sharon H.

Mom to , (15, DS) and , (11)

South Carolina

" Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of

battle. "

www.aap.org/patiented/feverunderstand.htm

Fever - Understanding a Fever

A fever is a body temperature that is higher than normal. Your child's normal

body temperature varies with his age, general health, activity level, the time

of day and how much clothing he is wearing. Everyone's temperature tends to be

lower early in the morning and higher between late afternoon and early evening.

Body temperature also will be slightly higher with strenuous exercise.

Most pediatricians consider any thermometer reading above 100.4 degrees

Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) a sign of a fever. This number may vary

depending on the method used for taking your child's temperature. If you call

your pediatrician, say which method you used.

The Chronic Runny Nose

by Len Leshin, MD, FAAP

So your child has had a runny nose for more than a week....or maybe more

than a month. When should a parent get concerned? When are antibiotics called

for? When should tests be done, and what kind?

The easiest diagnosis comes when the mucus from the nose ( " rhinorrhea " ) is

clear. That represents allergy more than 90% of the time, and the rest of the

time it represents something called " vasomotor rhinitis, " which means a

non-allergic irritant is irritating the nose, and regular medications aren't

going to help much. Chronic allergic rhinitis ( " rhinitis " = inflammation of the

nose) can usually be controlled (notice I didn't say " treated " ) through oral

and/or nasal medications; when it can't, then allergy testing can help identify

the offending agents so avoidance measures can be started.

The fun starts when the mucus isn't clear. Almost all doctors agree that

cloudy or white nasal mucus indicates a head cold, caused by those nasty viruses

that linger in schools, daycare centers and Sesame Street concerts. (Please note

that wind, cold weather and running outside with wet hair and bare feet do not

by themselves make a child sick.) Head colds may last 5 to 7 days, and typically

cause some mild chest congestion before disappearing completely.

What about the yellow or green stuff? Actually, most doctors call this

" purulent drainage " but it doesn't necessarily mean anything more than

infection. Viruses can cause the mucus to be green or yellow. After a certain

amount of days, then doctors might call it " sinusitis " or " upper respiratory

infection " and prescribe antibiotics. How long is that time frame? It depends on

the doctor, and that depends on the last thing they've read or how sick the

child is. Without fever or any other problems, most doctors tell parents to wait

3 to 7 days after the emergence of the yellow/green mucus before prescribing

antibiotics. One thing to keep in mind, by the way, is that nasal mucus

typically looks dark when dried or in the first 2 hours of the morning, so that

doesn't count. And mucus that changes from clear to discolored and back is most

likely a virus.

If the color isn't that helpful, how else can sinusitis be diagnosed?

Again, colds last only about 5 to 7 days; anything more than that is usually a

sinusitis. Also, colds rarely cause a body temperature of over 101 F, so fever

is a good sign of sinusitis (though sinusitis doesn't always cause fever). Sinus

infections also tend to cause more sinus pressure than colds: that feeling of

pain over the cheeks or above the eyes, especially when the head is rapidly

moved or the face is tapped. Some doctors will take a sample of the mucus and

look at it under a microscope for the white blood cells that signify infection.

Sinus Xrays can be helpful in most children, though there are

false-negatives (Xrays that look normal even when sinusitis exists). Some

doctors have taken to doing limited CAT scans of the sinuses instead, as they

are much better as finding sinusitis as well as determining sinus anatomy than

conventional sinus Xrays, and usually about the same price.

While most sinus infections can be treated with 10 days of antibiotics,

some infections that are long-standing may require 20 to 30 days. Nasal

decongestants may help the sinuses drain; but antihistamines may actually make

the sinus infection worse, as they sometimes make the mucus thicker and harder

to drain. Topical decongestants (the nose drops and sprays) make the child feel

better but at a terrible price: overuse of these products actually make the

lining of the nose addicted to them, so that the child can't breathe well

without using them. So stay away form these as much as possible. A better

treatment is salt water (saline) nose drops followed by suction....if your child

is of a mind to let you, that is.

What is contagious and what isn't? This is simple: allergies are not

contagious; sinus infections are slightly contagious; head colds are very

contagious. However, since the majority of children with sinus infections

started out having a head cold, we still consider the children contagious as

long as there is fever or other signs of active infection. If you have a child

with a runny nose for more than a couple of weeks, clear or slightly discolored,

and without fever or signs of infection, then that's most likely allergic and

not contagious.

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May 31, 2007

99 is normal. Even for a NEWBORN, they only worry if its over 100.4.

Back when I was a first time mom.. well.. ok.. my oldest was ten and my

new baby was only 3 days old.. it was like starting over.. Well anyway

back to the story. So my newborn had a fever of 99 and I had group B

strep and they had me scared to death even though I had gotten the

antibiotics in plenty of time. So she runs this temp and I run her to

the ER. They thought I was batty. They said she was just bundled to

warmly for late June !

Many years went by.. and my typical ( the real eldest) was in

highschool. She had " schoolitis " , and she would go to the nurse and

complain of feeling bad. They would take her temp and it would be 99.

And they would call me to come get her! A tenth grader !

So.. It could be your little one is ham-ing it up. Or it could be some

other motive of the school.. but either way. 99 is considered NORMAL.

And not all infections are contagious. So even if the green boogies are

infection indicators.. does not mean he or she does not need to be

there.

Steph