When to Keep Your Child Home from School
Sometimes it is difficult, especially early in the morning, to know whether or not to send your child to school. The following guidelines are indications that you should keep him/her home. In this way, you are helping to control the spread of colds, flu, and other contagious illnesses.
Keep your child at home when he/she has any of the following symptoms:
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Fever |
Chills |
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Vomiting or Diarrhea |
Nausea |
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Sore throat or trouble swallowing |
Coughing, sneezing, and/or runny nose |
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Rash or unusual sores or spots |
Headache |
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Generalized muscle aches and pains |
Wheezing or trouble breathing |
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Unusually red, crusted or burning eyes |
Head Lice |
You need to keep your child home until he/she has been symptom free without medication for 24 hours.
When to keep your child home from school
Also, NOTIFY THE OFFICE IMMEDIATELY if your child is exposed to or contracts chicken pox, mumps or measles. These conditions can be life threatening to students who are undergoing therapies that suppress their immune systems.
For any chronic illness, (such as anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), frequent migraines, diabetes) please contact the School Nurse directly:
Sarah Wilder, RN, MSN
Credentialed School Nurse
Hours: M-F 7:30am - 4:00pm
Location: School Office
Office: 916-782-3155 x1604
Fax: 916-782-4064
350 Atlantic Street Roseville. CA 95678
The following information is only a guide to common childhood health concerns. Always bring a copy of a physician’s note to school and/or notify the school if your child will have an extended absence due to a health condition for 10 days or longer.
FEVER. Children should be without a fever and medication (99.6 degrees) for 24 hours before returning to school. Call the doctor if the fever is accompanied by other symptoms such as congestion, sore throat, cough, and earache, or unable to eat or drink etc.
CHILLS. A child with chills feels excessively cold and may be shivering, even when wrapped in blankets. Chills may be caused by a fever, flu, common cold, or virus – contact your doctor about your child’s symptoms.
VOMITING, NAUSEA, & DIARRHEA. A child who is throwing up or has diarrhea needs to stay home. Do not send your child back to school until he/she has gone 24 hours without vomiting or having diarrhea and is fever-free. Call the doctor if your child is both vomiting and having diarrhea or has a severe case of either.
SORE THROAT. If your child wakes up with a sore throat but no other symptoms, offer him juice or water to see if the discomfort was simply from dry air or post- nasal drip during the night. If he has a fever and the pain continues, call his doctor. Strep throat and other throat infections can only be diagnosed by a throat culture. If your child has Strep, he/she can return to school after being on antibiotics for 24 hours AND fever-free without medication for 24 hours. If your child is diagnosed with Strep Throat notify the school office as soon as possible.
COLDS. Keep a child with a cold at home only if he/she feels too tired to complete school activities or has a fever (>100 degrees). Kids are most contagious the first day of the cold – teach your children to blow/wipe their own nose, wash their hands, and cover their mouth when coughing. Because we cannot keep our kids out of school every time they are getting a cold, have a cold, or are getting over a cold, learning good hygiene (hand washing!) is important.
COUGHS. Keep your child home if a cough keeps them up at night, appears to get worse as their activity level increases or if they also have other symptoms, such as a fever, short of breath, or wheezing. You can send your child to school if the cough is just from an old cold and they feel okay otherwise. Call the doctor if the cough leads to difficulty breathing or the fever increases. If your child’s cough is due to asthma, contact the School Nurse (swilder@rjuhsd.us) before bringing inhalers to school.
RASHES. Contagious diseases that cause the following rashes need to be reported to the school office: chickenpox, impetigo, scarlet fever, measles, fifth disease, ring worm, scabies. Call the doctor if the rash spreads, does not improve, or is accompanied by a fever. Do not send your child to school if they have an unknown cause of rash, please contact your health care provider.
EAR INFECTIONS. Cold and flu that cause ear infections are contagious, but ear infections themselves are not. Your child can return to school once he has seen his health care provider and started medication (antibiotics).
GENERAL MUSCLE ACHES AND PAINS. Generalized aches and pains can be a sign of the flu. Cold and flu that cause aches and pains are contagious, but the general muscle aches are not. Your child can return to school once they are fever free or started on medications (antibiotics).
WHEEZING OR TROUBLE BREATHING. If your child is wheezing or has trouble breathing due to asthma, please contact the District School Nurse (link) to make arrangements to have an inhaler kept at school. If your child is having difficulty breathing or short of breath, call your healthcare provider.
PINKEYE. A child with bacterial conjunctivitis is highly contagious and should be kept home until he has been on prescription eye drops or ointment for 24 hours. If your child wakes up and the whites of his eyes are red, there is pus discharge, and/or the eyelashes are matted shut, call your health care provider and do not send your child to school.
HEAD LICE. Lice lay eggs (nits) that attach to the shaft of the hair. Shampoos (pediculocides) can be purchased over-the-counter – follow the instructions exactly on the box. All nits must be removed from the hair before the child can be readmitted to class. A physician’s visit is not necessary, but you do need to notify the school so appropriate classroom lice checks can be conducted.
Please click on the links below to find out additional infomation:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Flu: What To Do If You Get Sick
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)