Does Your Child Need to Receive Medication at School?
If your child needs to take a prescription medication at school, the form attached below must accompany any request for medication to be administered. Physicians complete Part A and parents/guardians complete Part B. Prescription medications must be supplied in the original pharmacy container with the original pharmacy label. Please read all the information on page two of the form.
If you wish for your child to take any over-the-counter medications such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc., please fill out the medication authorization form above. You will only need to fill out Part A to give your permission for over-the-counter medications to be administered at school. Please bring medications in the original container.
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You may wonder when to keep your child home because of illness. The following guidelines may help you in making that decision. Your child's doctor may also assist you. Please inform the school staff if your child’s illness is contagious (pink eye, strep throat, chicken pox, fever, stomach flu).
- COLDS, SORE THROATS, COUGH: Children are welcome at school with a cough and congestion that can be managed by the child in the classroom (ie. able to blow their nose appropriately, cover their mouth when coughing, and not coughing so much that they are unable to participate in class). They also must not have a fever. Students that bring cough drops to school must eat them in the Heath Room if in grades 4K-5. Middle school students may have cough drops in class.
- DIARRHEA: Diarrhea is a bowel movement that is watery or looser than normal for the child. If a child has more than one loose stool or liquid stool in a day, he/she should be kept at home. Keep the child home until it has been 24 hours since their last episode of diarrhea.
- VOMITING: Keep your child home until it has been 24 hours since the last episode of vomiting.
- FEVER: A fever is a warning that all is not right in the body. The child may have an illness that could spread to other children. Also, he or she probably does not feel well enough to be at school. No child with a temperature greater than 100°F should be sent to school. When a thermometer is not available, check the child's forehead with the back of your hand. If it is hot, keep the child home until the fever can be checked with a thermometer. Do not allow the child to return to school until free of fever for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- HEAD LICE: Head lice are insects that live in human hair. They cannot fly or hop, only crawl. Lice are spread by close contact with a person who has lice or by sharing hats and combs. Anyone can get head lice. Lice hatch from small eggs called nits. Nits attach firmly to the hair's shaft, most often behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. The adult insects bite the scalp causing itching. A child with head lice is to stay home until they have had one FDA-approved lice treatment, and no live lice are present. Upon the child’s return to school, they must be examined by the health office. Due to the life cycle of lice, it is often necessary to repeat the lice treatment more than one time. Call your local health department or school nurse for information about the treatment of head lice. Facts and myths: https://www.liceclinicsofamerica.com/super-lice-myths-and-facts/
- RASHES: A rash might be the first sign of a childhood illness, such as chickenpox or hand foot, and mouth disease. A rash may cover the entire body or appear in only one area. Do not send a child with a rash to school until the doctor has said it is safe to do so.
- PINK EYE: If your child has pink eye they may return to school if they do not have a fever and they are able to avoid touching their eyes (this is especially true of younger children). We recommend if you suspect your child may have pink eye please keep them home and have them evaluated by the child’s pediatrician.
PREVENT ILLNESS: Preventing illness whenever possible is everyone's goal.
- Use soap and water. Scrub hands making sure to reach every area for 15 seconds.
- Rinse thoroughly.
- Dry thoroughly.
- Turn off faucets with a paper towel. Prevent reinfecting hands by avoiding contact with bathroom surfaces after you wash.
- Wash before you eat, after you use the bathroom, after coughing or sneezing, and anytime your hands are visibly dirty.
- Proper hand-washing is the best defense for preventing the spread of illness.
RESOURCE: CDC Guidelines for Childhood Communicable Diseases
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