How Do I Know When to Send My Child?

Sometimes it is hard to know when to send your child to school. The following are guidelines provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Please use these guidelines to help you know when your child needs to stay at home. 

GENERAL RULE: Your child must be symptom-free for 24 hours before going back to school. Wash hands often and teach proper hygiene. Include covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing and throwing away used tissues. 

FEVER: A fever is a warning that all is not right with the body. Signs include oral temperature of 100 degrees or greater. A student cannot catch a fever but can catch the reason causing the fever. A child must stay at home if he/she has fever of 100 or great. Do not allow a child to return to school until he/she has been free of fever (without medicine) for 24 hours. 

VOMITING/DIARRHEA: Signs include stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever. A child must stay at home if vomiting, diarrhea, and/or fever exist. They must be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to school. 

INFLUENZA (FLU): Signs include fast onset of fever, headache, sore throat, and cough. A child must stay at home until fever and symptom-free for 24 hours. 

SORE THROAT: If your child complains of a sore throat and has no other symptoms, he/she may go to school. If white spots can be seen in the back of the throat or if fever is present, he/she must stay at home and see a doctor. Your child may return to school after being symptom- and fever-free for 24 hours. 

COMMON COLD: Signs include runny nose, watery eyes, fever, tired, sneezing and/or coughing. Your child needs to stay at home if fever is 100 degrees or higher. He/she also will need to stay at home if there is a thick greenish/yellow discharge from the nose and a hacking cough, even though he has no fever. Your child will need to see a doctor, if he/she has these signs. 

IF ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS CONTINUE FOR A FEW DAYS, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR. 

We do not want the children to miss school unnecessarily, but we want to make sure your child does not spread their illness to other children in the school. If everyone follows these simple guidelines, we can reduce the number of absences in our school. 

Thank you for your cooperation, 

Deanna Metje R.N., B.S.N., School Nurse