Sick Day Guidelines for Families
Sick Day Guidelines
Sometimes it's hard for a parent to decide whether to send children to school when they wake up with early symptoms of an illness or complaints that they do not feel well.
In most cases, the illness is not serious, and children will do just fine with a supply of tissues, reassurance, and a little encouragement to get up and going. However, there are times in which it is best to plan on keeping your child home for the day to rest and recuperate or to arrange for an appointment with your healthcare provider. Here are a few such situations:
When To Keep Your Child Home From School Because of Illness
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Fever greater than 100° orally, including a fever that requires active control with medication to keep down to normal.
- Child is too sleepy or ill to profit from sitting in class all day.
- Significant cough that makes a child feel uncomfortable or disrupts the class.
- Sore throat that is severe, accompanied by fever and/or simply feeling ill, that persists longer than 48 hours, or after known exposure to a confirmed case of streptococcal throat infection.
- Honey-crusted sores around the nose or mouth that might be impetigo, or a rash in various stages including boils, sores and bumps that may be chicken pox, OR a significant rash accompanied by other symptoms of illness.
- Red, runny eyes until cleared as non-contagious by a physician.
- Large amount of discolored nasal discharge, especially if accompanied by facial pain or headache.
- Severe ear pain or drainage from the ear - this needs to be evaluated by your healthcare provider.
- Severe headache, especially if accompanied by fever, which should be evaluated by your healthcare provider.
- Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours.
- Any condition that you think may be serious or contagious to others.
- >>Click here for more information on other contagious illness like step throat, pink eye, chicken pox, etc.
When Your Child Can Return to School After Illness