Image courtesy of The Green Health Spot.com

I have one child in elementary school and two in middle school.  This week I got three copies of the “When NOT to Send Your Child to School” memo.  Some of the information is so common sense, it makes me wonder, “Are there really parents out there who don’t know this?”

But it’s not always that easy of a call to make.  Sometimes you keep your child home for the child’s sake, but sometimes you keep him home for the sake of all those other kids.  And sometimes a child might display a stay-at-home symptom, but still run around like they live in the circus, and you think, “You are NOT sick!”

And of course, keeping a child at home wreaks havoc on the parents’ plans, too.  Parents have to stay home from work or arrange for child care, or if they work at home, they have to resign themselves to the fact that their day’s tasks will be lost to the demands of having a child there all day.

Still, in our little town of about 4000, we’ve had at least 2 confirmed cases of H1N1 flu (or swine flu), and rumors swirling around that one of the opposing team’s football players came to town after having been diagnosed with H1N1, and was still allowed to play.  I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, I’m going to be highly irritated.  Like I said, sometimes you keep your kid home to protect all the other kids.

So, when should you keep your child home from school?

• Fever. The experts say that if your child’s fever is 100.4 or higher, you should keep them home.  A fever is an indication that your child’s body is fighting a bacterial or viral infection.  Be aware, though, that not all infections come with fevers–my son and I get terrible sinus infections that never sport fevers.  Also, what’s the deal with 100.4?  Do you send them off at 100.2 or 100.3?  I’m not a doctor, but it seems to me you can round down on this one.

• Bad cough or bad cold symptoms. If a child has a cold, they can go to school.  It might not hurt to send some hand sanitizer, if your school allows it (some don’t because apparently some kids have been drinking it, so they don’t spread it around, but colds are an unavoidable part of school life.  But if their symptoms are bad, like a persistent wracking or wet cough, or a stuffy head that doesn’t respond to cold medicine, keep them home.  If it’s just a cold, they feel too rotten to get anything from school, but chances are it could be a severe allergy, a sinus infection, or even pneumonia.

• Diarrhea or vomiting. If things are coming out faster than they’re going in, keep your child home.  The guideline for this is 24 hours after the last episode of those symptoms.  I don’t always follow that strictly–if a child throws up after dinner, but then feels fine, I’ll usually send them to school.  Some tummy troubles have more to do with what they’ve eaten than being sick.  But if there are repeated episodes, they shouldn’t go.

• Sore throat. A minor sore throat could just be a symptom of a cold or allergies, but if it’s more severe or if it last more than a day or two, keep your child  home and take her to the doctor.  It could be strep, which is highly contagious, or tonsillitis, which is highly annoying.

• Earache. Again, this could be part of a cold or allergies, but it could also be an ear infection or sinus infection.  A doctor’s visit is probably called for.

• Pink-eye, or conjunctivitis. The frustrating thing about pink-eye is that the child feels fine otherwise.  So, they’re home, bored, missing lessons and missing friends, but they have this itchy eye thing going on and can’t leave the house.  Fortunately, pink-eye is easily cleared up with antibiotic eye drops, but until it is, they really have to stay home.  The biggest problem is that they rub their eyes, then touch things, and spread around this very contagious condition.

• Rash. Some rashes are infectious, and some aren’t, but it’s hard to tell which is which until your child has seen a doctor.  besides, you don’t want them to be embarrassed by constant itching or discoloration.

• Stress. This one isn’t on the medical sites, but I think it should be.  Our kids deal with significant stress in their lives, and sometimes it gets to be too much.  Every  now and then–maybe once or twice a year–let them take a mental health day.  Skip school, go to lunch, let your kid curl up in your bed and sleep late.  Kids do have health problems resulting from stress, and we all need a break every now and then.

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2. Be Home Before Dark and Stay Within Earshot
3. Are You Making Your Home Safe for your Child?
4. Kansas Wants to Stop Foster Home Inspections
5. If the Shoe Fits for Kids!