H1N1 and sick kids vent

rubyanne · **H1N1 and sick kids vent** 11-23-2009, 03:19 PM

I have sent the same child home for three days with a low grade fever. Every day he comes in saying mom gave him medicine (fever reducer anyone?). Today he came in again with a low grade fever and I sent him home. I ran into big sister and she said the whole family had H1N1 last week! Mom brings the child back an hour after she picked him up and I asked her about it. She said the doctor said that the low grade fever meant the H1N1 was on the way out and her son was not contagious. She also said that she has not given him fever reducer since Yesterday but big sister told me her brother had medicine this morning. The frustrating thing is the boys fever is not high enough to make mom keep him home. However, I emailed our district nurse and got permission to send this child home even if his fever is not 100.4 because his family has been sick with H1N1 and he has not been without fever reducer for 24 hours.

The worst part is mom does not work and is always at the school helping in her other children's classes. I also spend a lot of time holding this child's hand because he needs a lot of redirection.

2teach2 · 11-23-2009, 03:40 PM

Your nurse needs to send a flier home with the child stating the guidelines for sending a child to school. I believe it is 24 hours after the fever is gone without using any fever reducer. The mom probably felt that since her son wasn't 'acting sick' it was OK to send him to school. UGH!

NCteacher · 11-23-2009, 03:54 PM

Wow! That makes me glad for my district's policy- ANY fever (even 99 degrees) means out of school until the kid has been fever free for 24 hours without meds. That child would have been immediately sent home the first time with instructions that he could not return to school until those conditions had been met. When we were at the height of our H1N1 outbreak, it was 48 hours without fever or fever reducers.

rubyanne · 11-23-2009, 04:05 PM

Update: My husband just walked in the house and threw up. Now I am really annoyed!

'rents... · 11-23-2009, 04:40 PM

Have you seen a doctor's note? I seriously doubt that the doc would have said it was okay to send the child back to school with a fever. In cases like these, we don't let a child come back to school without a doctor's note. (Chances are, the child hasn't been to the doctor at all.)

Lady Teacher · **That poor baby** 11-23-2009, 05:59 PM

I feel so bad for the child. In my district he would have been sent home. Our policy is no fever at all for 24 hours without a fever reducer.

Parents sending their sick kids to school are the reason I am sick too.

purplecrazy21 · 11-23-2009, 06:23 PM

A fever (low grade or not) means the child is still contagious. He needs to stay home until the fever has been gone for 24 hours without taking medicine of any kind.
The doctor wouldn't have said the child could go to school with a low grade fever.