Vashon Island School
District
Health Services Update
Life-threatening Health
Conditions
Protect your health
• Hand washing
• Flu shot
• Tdap – booster to prevent pertussis/whooping cough
Is your classroom ready for
a medical emergency?
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Mini first aid kit: band aids + gloves + gauze pads
Disaster first aid backpack
Classroom emergency card
School medical emergency protocol
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Call 911 if needed
Send 2 runners to office with emergency card, name of
person & nature of problem – 1 runner to class next door
Life-threatening Health
Conditions
• Asthma
• Allergy –
Anaphylaxis
• Diabetes
• Seizure
ASTHMA
• Asthma tends to make a
person’s airways irritated and
swollen or inflamed
• For students with asthma,
breathing problems can turn
into a serious emergency
PREVENTION: control triggers
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Exercise
Pollen
Mold
Dust
Carpeting
Strong odors
Animals
Cold air
Illness
Early Warning Signs
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Coughing or itchy throat
Stuffy or runny nose
Funny or tight feeling in chest
Fatigue
Behavioral changes, agitation, irritability
Decreased appetite
Dark circles under eyes
Headache
Sit, rest, use inhaler if self-carry
Otherwise, escort to nurse
When to call 911
IF breathing is so difficult that the student
has trouble talking or walking
OR the student’s lips or fingernails look
gray or blue
OR the inhaler rescue medicine is not
helping
(breathing should improve within 15 minutes
after the first puffs from the inhaler)
If you call 911,
stay with the student until help arrives
and call the office so that they can
notify nurse and student’s parent or guardian
Allergy – Anaphylaxis
• Allergic shock or
generalized allergic
reaction
• An allergic reaction that can
result in death due to airway
obstruction or a severe drop
in blood pressure
• An extreme total body
reaction
Common Causes
of Anaphylactic Allergic Reaction
Food
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Milk
Eggs
Peanuts
Tree nuts (such as almonds,
cashews, walnuts)
Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder)
Shellfish (such as crab, lobster,
shrimp)
Soy
Wheat
Wasp or Bee Sting
Other
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Medications
Latex
Cold
Pollen
 Follow the plan to avoid exposure to allergen
 Reactions can be unpredictable, always be prepared
 A child can have a very severe allergic reaction, even
if previous reactions have been mild
 Children with asthma are at risk for a more severe food
allergy reaction
 Changes in routine pose the greatest risk of exposure
to allergens
• Field trips
• Birthday parties
• Special events
 A delay in getting help and the administration of
epinephrine are believed to be a factor in fatal
reactions -
Don’t hesitate. Medicate.
Think F.A.S.T.
Face
Airway
Itchiness, redness,
swelling of face and
tongue
Trouble breathing,
swallowing or
speaking
Total body
Stomach
Stomach pain, vomiting,
diarrhea
Rash, itchiness, swelling,
weakness, paleness,
sense of doom, loss of
consciousness
Give
Epinephrine
Call 911
Remove the EpiPen Auto-Injector from the carrier tube
and follow these 2 simple steps:
Hold firmly with orange tip pointing downward.
Remove blue safety cap by pulling straight up.
Do not bend or twist.
Swing and push orange tip firmly into mid-outer thigh
until you hear a “click.”
Hold on thigh for ten seconds.
Built-in needle protection
When EpiPen is removed, the orange needle cover
automatically extends to cover the injection needle,
ensuring the needle is never exposed.
DIABETES
Type 1 – Insulin Dependent Diabetes
Autoimmune disease
Body destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas
Insulin is required by the body to use glucose
Without insulin, body starves to death
Short and long-term consequences
Serious disease that can affect academics and student
health greatly
Students with diabetes have legal rights – If no IEP will
have 504 plan
What affects blood sugar?
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Insulin
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Foods eaten
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Exercise
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Illness
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Growth spurt
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Stress and any
changes in routine
Diabetes is a 24/7
disease
Requires constant
juggling to prevent
high or low blood
sugar
High vs. Low Blood Sugar
High blood sugar
Low blood sugar
Increased thirst, frequent
urination, nausea, fruity
breath, fatigue, blurry
vision, drowsiness,
confusion
Hunger, headache,
dizziness, change in
behavior, poor
coordination, blurry vision,
drowsiness, confusion
• Develops more
slowly
• Insulin is
treatment
• Can get to
dangerous level
more quickly
• When in doubt,
give sugar (candy,
juice)
Student either independent or nurse assist:
• Blood sugar monitoring before all meals and snacks & before PE
• Counting carbohydrates in all food eaten
• Dosing w/ appropriate dose of insulin
• Problem solving for equipment problems, illness, low & high blood
sugar
Never send student with low blood
sugar to office alone
Speak to office secretary or send with escort
Glucagon
Given if student cannot swallow safely eg. seizure or unconscious
Hormone releases sugar stored in liver
Only nurse, parent or trained personnel can give
Kept in health room
Know the plan & make sure your substitute teachers know
the plan
Provide unlimited access to water & bathroom
Provide accommodations for students with diabetes - no
penalty for time out of classroom due to diabetes
Notify the parents/guardian and school nurse well in
advance of changes in the school schedule : class parties,
field trips, special events.
Eating meals and snacks on time is a critical component of
diabetes management.
High or low blood sugar could result in behavioral change
and cognitive impairment.
Seizure
Avoid further injury:
Remove glasses, protect
head
Turn on side if on floor
Track time, document
seizure activity
Remain with student
Notify nurse
See health plan for type of
seizure, do they need postseizure medication
When is a Seizure an
Emergency?
First time seizure (no medical ID and no known history of
seizures)
Convulsive seizure lasting more than 5 minutes
Repeated seizures without regaining consciousness
More seizures than usual or change in type
Student is injured, has diabetes or is pregnant
Seizure occurs in water
Normal breathing does not resume
Questions?