Too Sick for School

It's normal for children to get sick from time to time. But when should a parent keep a child home?

Below are some guidelines to help you make the decision about when to keep your child home from school. The recommendations are based on the guidelines provided by the Communicable Disease Program of the Washington County Department of Health and Human Services. They were developed to help prevent the spread of potentially contagious disease.

SYMPTOMS OF ILLNESS	THE STUDENTS MAY RETURN AFTER... (The list bellow indicates the shortest time to stay home. A student may need to stay home longer for some illnesses.)
Fever: temperature of 100.4°F or greater	Fever-free for 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medicine.
New cough illness OR new difficulty breathing	Symptoms improving for 24 hours (no cough or cough is well controlled and breathing comfortably). Urgent medical care may be needed.
Headache with stiff neck or with fever	Symptom-free OR with orders from doctor to school nurse. Follow fever instructions if fever is present. Urgent medical care may be needed.
Diarrhea: 3 loose or watery stools in a day or unable to control bowel movements	Symptom-free for 24 hours OR with orders from doctor to school nurse.
Vomiting: one or more episodes that are unexplained	Symptom-free for 24 hours OR with orders from doctor to school nurse.
Skin rash or open sores	Symptom-free, which means rash is gone or sores are dry or can be completely covered by a bandage OR with orders from doctor to school nurse.
Red eyes with eye discharge: yellow or brown drainage from the eyes	Symptom-free, which means redness and discharge are gone OR with orders from doctor to school nurse.
Jaundice: new yellow color in eyes or skin	After the school has orders from doctor or local health authority to school nurse.
Acting differently without a reason: unusually sleepy, grumpy or confused	Symptom-free, which means return to normal behavior OR with orders from doctor to school nurse.
Major health event, like an illness lasting 2 or more weeks OR a hospital stay OR health condition requires more care than school staff can safely provide	After the school has orders from doctor to school nurse AND after measures are in place for student’s safety. Please work with the school staff to address special health care needs so the student may attend safely.

Home is the best place for a child who is ill. If your child is sick with a diagnosed communicable disease, please notify the school as soon as possible. This notification will greatly assist others who, due to medical reasons and/or treatments, have weakened immune systems and may require immediate and specialized care.