Nurse Maggie’s notes: Deciding when to keep a sick child at home from school is not
always easy. It’s important for students to attend school, however, when a child is
truly sick they need to stay home to get well and to prevent spreading illness to
others. According to the Center for Disease Control, the following are guidelines for
keeping a sick child/adolescent home from school:
 Common Cold/Cough: this is a contagious upper respiratory infection
caused by a virus. Keep a student home when there are heavy cold
symptoms such as a deep or uncontrollable cough or severe lethargy.
 Flu: is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by a virus and
can cause mild to severe illness. A student with flu-like illness (fever
and cough) must stay home from school for at least 24 hours after
they no longer have a fever without the use of fever-reducing
medicine.
 Diarrhea/Vomiting: students who have vomited or had diarrhea
should be kept at home and should return only afar being symptom
free for 24 hours.
 Fever: Any child with a fever of 100 degrees or higher should not
attend school and should not return until they have been fever free for
24 hours without fever-reducing medication.
 Impetigo: is a contagious bacterial skin infection that usually beings
with small fluid-filled blisters that cause a honey-colored crust on the
skin. Students should be evaluated by a medical provider and stay
home for 24 hours after starting prescribed antibiotics.
 Pink eye (conjunctivitis): is a common infectious eye disease that can
be caused by bacteria or viruses. A student should be kept at home
until evaluated by a medical provider and, if bacterial, has received 24
hours of prescription treatment.
 Rashes: a rash may be one of the first signs of a contagious childhood
illness such as chickenpox or fifth disease. Do not send a student with
a rash to school until a medical provider has said it is safe to do so
(please provide a medical release note to the office)
 Strep Throat: keep your student home from school with a significantly
sore throat, fever, white spots on the back of the throat, headache and
upset stomach. Contact your medical provider. A student may return
to school 24 hours after prescribed antibiotic treatment has started if
they feel well enough to attend.
Be sure to contact a medical provider any time there is concern about a student’s
health. Symptoms that need urgent medical attention include:
 Fast breathing or trouble breathing
 Bluish or gray skin color
 Not drinking enough fluids (dehydration)
 Severe or persistent vomiting
 Not waking up or interacting
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When a student looks or acts really sick, with or without a fever
Cold symptoms for longer than 10-14 days or getting sicker or if there
is a fever after the first few days.
 Rashes; eye drainage; severe earache; severe toothache
Please contact me if you ever have a question about keeping your student home ill!
My cell phone is: 619-717-0821 or I am at extension 6227 in the lower school and
4101 in the upper school.