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Illness Guidelines

Poth ISD Illness Guidelines

Deciding when to keep your child at home from school can be difficult. There are three reasons to keep (exclude) sick children from school:

  1. The child does not feel well enough to participate comfortably in usual activities.

Examples: showing signs of extreme tiredness or fatigue, unexplained irritability, difficult breathing, or crying that does not stop with the usual comforting.

  1. The child requires more care than the school staff is able to provide, without effecting the health and safety of the other children.
  2. The illness is on the following list of symptoms for which exclusion is recommended.

If you are unsure, a complete list is provided by the Texas Department of State and Health Services’ Communicable Disease Chart. Please visit: www.dshs.state.tx.us

 

Children with minor illness need not to be excluded unless one or more of the following exist:

 

Temperature

Your child must stay at home if he/she has an elevated temperature of 100.0 or greater with behavioral changes or illness.  It is required by the Texas Department of State Health Services that your child be fever free, without medication for 24 hour before returning to school. For the health and safety of our students and staff, any student who leaves school with a fever, may not return to a school event for any reason, to include after school activities, until the student has been fever free for 24 hours.

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

If your child tests positive for COVID-19, your child can attend school once your child has been fever free without the use of fever reducing medications for 24 hours.

 

Diarrhea

If your child has diarrhea, which cannot be controlled, being frequent, loose, watery, containing blood or mucus; please keep them at home. The child should be free of any symptoms for 24 hours before coming to school.

 

Vomiting

Vomiting two or more times in 24 hours, unless a healthcare provider feels the cause of vomiting is not an infectious disease and the child is in no danger of becoming dehydrated. The child should be free of any symptoms for 24 hours before coming to school.

 

Rash

If your child has an unidentifiable rash with discharge excreting from the wound, please keep them at home and consult with a healthcare provider for a diagnosis. If your child is sent to school with a rash and the school nurse evaluates the rash and sends your child home, a health care provider note is to be brought back when student returns to school to confirm a diagnosis.

 

Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)

This is described as inflammation of the outermost layer and inner surface of the eye lid being “pink”. This can be caused by a virus, bacteria, or allergen. Once diagnosed by a healthcare provider, a child can return to school 24 hours after the treatment begins. If the provider decides not to treat you child, a note is to be provided and brought to the school nurse before admission into school.

 

Impetigo/Staph/MRSA

If your child has any type of wounds with discharge excreting from the wound, please keep them at home and consult with a healthcare provider for a diagnosis. The child may return 24 hours after treatment starts. The wound must be covered with dressing and needs to be taped down on all four sides.

 

Strep Throat

If your child is showing signs of fever, sore throat, headache and enlarged/reddened tonsils they should be seen by a healthcare provider. The child may return 24 hours after treatment starts.

 

Influenza (Flu)

If your child is showing signs of all over body aches, headache, fever, and/or extreme fatigue please do not send your child to school. The child can attend school once fever subsides or has been treated by healthcare provider.

 

Lice

If your child is showing signs of itching/scratching of the scalp, presence of pinpoint sized clear/white eggs (knits) that will not flick off the hair shaft or live lice bugs, please treat with an over the counter product. It is up to the parents to follow up with the next treatment within 7-10 days.

Lice is not considered a communicable disease as per the Texas Department of State and Health Services, however it can become a nuisance and spread from head to head very quickly within school.

 

If you need any advice concerning your child/children regarding the Illness Guidelines, please call the school nurse at 830-484-2700, email [email protected], and/or visit Poth ISD Health Services online at www.pothisd.us.