CHECK THIS SYMPTOM LIST TO FIND OUT!

Your child says they don’t feel good. Should you keep them home from school?

When in doubt, always contact and follow the advice of your child’s doctor. A child can look sick and feel truly awful before they actually start to run a fever. Fever isnt the only sign of an illness , sometimes it is the last symptom . Please don’t give them medication that would mask a fever {Tylenol, Motrin, Advil} before sending them to school. These medications may help them feel better but do not treat the cause. Children with fevers are considered contagious and must stay home. (See “Fever” below). Your child's temperature will be checked and they will be asked if they had any medicine after they woke up today. If the fever is masked , it is still a symptom of illness.

If your child frequently claims to be "sick" before or during the school day but is fine on weekends, that's a sign of other issues. Perhaps they are struggling in one of their classes, or they’re not getting along well with one of their classmates. You should contact your child’s teacher{s} or the school counselor and nurse to see if they’ve noticed a pattern to when your child seems to be getting “sick”. Frisco ISD has great Counselors who may be a great help to see what else may be going on with your child. Scotts Counselor is Mrs. Jackson and she can be reached at 469 633 4004.

The following guide was adapted from Dr. Steven Parker, MD, director, division of behavioral and developmental pediatrics, Boston Medical Center; associate professor, pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine. This also incorporates FISD Exclusion for Illness Policies. We use this as criteria and add guidance , the student can be sent home at the discretion of the School Nurse . Before you hear from the nurse today look over the symptoms, here and use them as guidelines to help you decide whether your child should stay home from school

Per FISD regular policy and with continuous observance of COVID 19 protocols please check your student for -

FEVER:

If your child's temperature is 100.0 degrees or higher, they have to stay at home. Better yet, do not even send them to school if it is running over 99.5, it's likely not going to improve and neither will their discomfort. DO NOT give them fever-reducing medication and send them to school. Children with fever are contagious and will easily spread their illness to others. While at home, encourage your child to drink plenty of liquids. Your child’s temperature MUST be under 100.0 for a full 24 hours (without medicine like Tylenol or Motrin) before returning to school. This is FISD Policy. Medications may bring the fever down and help the child feel better but it does not treat the underlying cause of the illness or stop them from being contagious or spreading COVID19.

MILD COUGH/RUNNY NOSE:

If there's no fever, and the child feels fairly good, school is fine. If it gets worse let the teacher know and see the nurse.

BAD COUGH/COLD SYMPTOMS/Congestion/Runny Nose/Headaches:

Children with bad coughs need to stay home, and possibly see a doctor. It could be a severe cold or possibly bronchitis, flu, or pneumonia,or COVID19 if this is a new onset or within the last 2 days . But when the cough improves, and the child is feeling better, then it's back to school. Don't wait for the cough to disappear entirely -- that could take a week or longer.

SORE THROAT:

A minor sore throat is usually not a problem, but a severe sore throat could be strep throat even if there is no fever. Try to talk to your child about this before they leave for school in the morning and encourage them to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Let them know that you understand, often times they get to school and come straight the the teacher or nurse and complain that they had had symptoms for days, the worst pain of their life and no one has done a thing about it. Be sure your child knows what Your Plan is for their concerns, often times, they just want to know. If you think your child has strep throat, do not send them to school, this is contagious. Other symptoms of strep throat in children are headache and stomach upset.

Keep your child home from school, and contact a doctor. Your child needs a special test called a “throat culture” to determine if it is strep throat. We do not have Strep Tests at school. We cannot diagnosis this. We will have them blow their nose to clear drainage, wash hands and encourage more water to sooth or flush the throat . He or she can return to school 24 hours after antibiotic treatment begins as long as they do not have a fever and are feeling well enough to return. This means that if they start antibiotics at noon today, they can't come back to school until AFTER noon tomorrow. This is FISD Policy. If they still have a fever {temperature of 100.0 or higher}, they must stay home. This is also FISD Policy. See “Fever” information above. Cough drops/throat strips are no longer allowed *When starting antibiotic dosing, work with a schedule when you will be able to give these doses at home. Students are in school for only 8 hours. Even if they are on medications s 3x a day, they can take it in the morning, after school and then again at bedtime.

EARACHE:

The child needs to see a doctor to determine the cause and receive appropriate treatment. *If you already have an appt set for later in the day, talk to your child or let the teacher and the nurse know and we can have your child stay in class instead of losing class time for a clinic visit for this. Let your child know the plan as well please. We can only look into the outer ear canal . The physician is able to see past to the middle and inner ear where the problem may be. If they are pulling on their ear or say it feels like water is inside or sound is muffled there may be an inner ear infection and fluid deep inside. Don't try to clean it with a Q tip , seek medical care.

PINK EYE (CONJUNCTIVITIS):

Keep the child home until a doctor has given the OK to return to school. Pink eye is highly contagious and most cases are caused by a virus, which will not respond to an antibiotic. Bacterial conjunctivitis will require an antibiotic; your doctor will be able to determine if this is the case. If the doctor prescribes antibiotic eye drops, your child must be on them for a full 24 hours before returning to school. This means that if your child starts taking antibiotic eye drops at noon today, they can't come back to school until AFTER noon tomorrow. This is FISD Policy. DO NOT send the child to school before being seen, pink eye spreads easily and quickly among school aged children due to poor hand hygiene.

ONE or Both eyes with: Redness, Itching, Pain, Discharge that is thick or watery, Sensitivity, Burning, If your child wakes up with crusty eyelashes or the eye is closed shut due to drainage, please keep your child home and follow up with your medical provider ~ DO NOT clean/ instill drops and send them to school for the teachers or school nurse to decide whether it is pink eye. This common practice is what causes the spread of pink eye in schools and child care most often. Red eyes may also be a contributing symptom of COVID 19 .

RASH:

Children with a skin rash should see a doctor, as this could be one of several infectious diseases, Nurses are not specialists in determining the cause of skin rashes. Did you know there are more than 68 common childhood rashes? One common possibility is impetigo, a bacterial skin infection that is very contagious and requires antibiotic treatment. Also, fifth disease is a contagious viral illness spread by coughs and sneezes; it's no longer contagious by the time rash appears. If your child has a chronic rash, such as eczema, and the eczema does not appear to be infected, your child can come to school (it is helpful to provide a doctor's note to have it documented in their medical history) and care for this themselves with lotion they can carry and apply. If your child had a rash over the weekend or a break and was seen by their Doctor, send a note to the nurse (this will help your child from being sent to the clinic for something that was already addressed) we can't treat , you can only provide lotion to soothe . A concerning, questionable rash accompanied by a fever, signs or infection, OR open sores that cannot/will not stay covered at school will be sent home. This is FISD Policy.

HEAD LICE:

Please call the nurse at (469) 633-4008 if you discover that your child has lice. You will need to treat your child for lice before they can return to school. You must come to the school nurse’s office with your child so that the nurse can assure that your child no longer has live lice on their head before your child will be permitted to return to class. The nurse also has a form for you to sign before your child returns to class. This is FISD Policy. There are many OTC treatments available and professional facilities now that can help eradicate the lice. They like to return.

DIARRHEA AND/OR VOMITING: with or without a fever

Keep your child home until the illness is over, and for 24 hours after the last episode (without any form of medicine). Frisco ISD Policy states you child must be able to keep down 2 solid (regular food, not just crackers and Sprite/Gatorade) meals without vomiting, diarrhea, or fever before returning to school. Children with diarrhea must be diarrhea-free for 24 hours without use of anti-diarrhea medication before returning to school. This is FISD Policy. Please always pack a change of clothes , this year NO clothes are available in the clinic to change them for accidents.

Keep your child home if they hav any GI related symptoms or episodes . If you choose to give your child an anti-diarrhea medication like Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate, or Imodium, please note that your child still must be diarrhea-free for 24 hours without use of anti-diarrhea medication before returning to school. Additionally they will have to keep down 2 solid meals just as if you hadn't given the medication. This is FISD Policy. *COVID19 ALSO HAS GI SYMPTOMS, ESP IN CHILDREN Do not send kids to school who have thrown up the night before, overnight or the morning before school!

*COVID19 Policies/Guidelines may affect these and may change as it is a fluid situation and we are continually learning about this novel virus. It is imperative to remain patient, flexible and work together to keep our schools and community healthy.

Trust that educators and nurses have ALL staff and student's best interests in mind when assessing and making clinic judgement. For the MOST up to date information, always check the Frisco ISD District Site Link .

Please refer to the FISD link for our general guidelines as to when to keep your child home from school .

Covid-19 symptoms are being reported as wide ranging symptoms: fever (though not often first), cough, chills, headache, runny nose, congestion (nasal or chest), diarrhea, body aches, fatigue, sore throat, loss of taste and/or smell. Please don't assume they are regular allergies and over-the-counter medicine will resolve the symptoms for school hours or partial days . Even the smallest change can be a symptom for your child or indication that they may be a close contact. For that reason, we are asking for increased vigilance in watching for symptoms, calling your physician for advice and most importantly, staying home. Simply staying home may seem minimal, but it is effective . The virus could be devastating for other students, their classes, and staff on campus and their families at home.

• Please use the absence reporting tile and please be specific in describing your child’s symptoms or reason for absence. Please use the comment section to state If your child has tested positive, and please provide the date of the result and the symptom onset, if any.

Here is the link for the absence tile https://schools.friscoisd.org/campus/elementary/scott/home

These steps are necessary to set up quarantine dates and e-learning. Emailing or calling directly to a teacher, the data clerk, or the school nurse is not recommended solely when reporting an absence. In order to proceed, the absence tile must be your first step. Your child will be provided the resources needed to maintain school work at home until they are feeling better . Please report each day on the absence tile that your child will be out or any update to their illness .

• Students with a POSITIVE confirmed case of COVID-19 are required to quarantine until at least 10 days have passed since their symptom onset AND their symptoms have improved, or since their positive test date if they had no symptoms.

• For current information regarding FISD policies regarding Covid-19 Response please use this link.

These links are to provide you direct information and answer your other questions quickly. The school nurse is here to lend support but may be attending to students and unable to answer your call or email immediately.