When to Keep Your Child Home from School

March 2020

Dear Parents,

The cold and flu season is upon us. In the interest of trying to keep everyone as healthy as possible, please use the following information as a guide in helping you determine when your son should be kept home from school due to illness. Please keep this sheet at home and refer to it when your son is ill.

Please keep your son at home when he exhibits any of the following:

• Fever of 100 degrees or higher ; child should be fever free for at least 24 hours, without fever reducing medication, before returning to school
• If your child has a low grade fever (99 degrees) and has other symptoms such as cough, headache, sore throat, nausea or generally looks sick
• Sore throat- a minor sore throat is usually not a problem, but a severe sore throat could be Strep Throat, even without a fever. Other symptoms of strep in children may include headache and stomach upset. If your son exhibits these symptoms, keep him at home and contact your physician. A special test is needed to diagnose strep; if it is positive, he may return to school 24hrs after antibiotic treatment begins.
• GI virus that includes vomiting or diarrhea; please keep them home until they have gone 24 hours without any vomiting or diarrhea
• Severe congestion including chest, sinus, or frequent nasal discharge
• Coughing is one of the most common ways to spread germs. If your son is coughing enough to need cough medicine during the school day, he should be kept home. Coughing could be a severe cold or possibly bronchitis, the flu or pneumonia. If the coughing does not subside, the child should be seen by a physician. When the cough improves and the child is feeling better, he may return to school.
• Earache- needs to see a physician
• Contagious diseases such as pink eye/conjunctivitis and chicken pox need to be cleared by a physician before returning to school
• Head lice-must be treated and the head free of lice and nits before returning to school, also must check in with the nurse in the morning before returning to class
• Certain illnesses or conditions may require a note from the child’s physician upon return to school. This includes concussions and mononucleosis

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Thank you,
Sister Margaret Fagan IHM