Deciding when a child is too sick to go to school and too sick for after school programs can be a difficult decision for parents to make. When trying to decide, use these guidelines to help make the best decision.Good to Go!
If your child has any of the following symptoms, they can probably go to school:
- Sniffles, runny nose and/or mild cough without a fever. This could be an allergic response to dust, pollen or seasonal changes.
- Vague complaints of aches, pains or fatigue
- Single episode of diarrhea or vomiting without any other symptoms
Stay Home!
If your child has any of the following symptoms, please keep them at home or make appropriate child care arrangements:
- Fever – 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Remember that a child must be fever free for 24 hours WITHOUT the use of fever-reducing medication before returning to school.
*Current public health guidelines require a child be fever free for 72 hours before returning to school. - Fever with Cough – a fever of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit plus a cough could indicate a virus that needs attention from a medical provider. Please call your healthcare provider.
- Shortness of Breath – difficulty breathing especially if it affects talking or walking, feeling of tightness in the chest, wheezing, blue/dusky color around lips or beds of nails. This could be serious, please call your healthcare provider or 911.
- Eyes – thick with mucus, pus draining, pink eye. With pink eye you may see white or yellow discharge, matted eyelids after sleep, eye pain and/or redness.
- Chronic Cough and/or green nasal discharge – These conditions may be contagious and require treatment.
Sore throat – especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck. With Strep throat, the child may return to school after 24 hours on antibiotics. - Diarrhea – three or more watery stools in a 24 hour period
- Vomiting – two or more times in a 24 hour period