Classroom Infection Prevention Guidelines

The Johnson School staff realize there are times when it is in the best interest of your child to keep him/her home from school due to illness.  We must try to provide a healthy environment for all students and staff members in the school.  Young children are notoriously good at spreading germs. Parents know their children best and can help to determine if the child is well enough to remain in school for a 6+ hour school day.  Therefore, the goal of the sick child guidelines is to assist the parent/guardian with the decision to keep their child home from school due to illness or infection.  **A note from your physician may be required for your child to return to school if diagnosed with a contagious illness or hospitalized due to an illness. (ex. influenza, pneumonia)  Please check with the school nurse prior to returning to school if you have any questions. 

Your child’s physician can help you determine if your child is able to return to school, however it is important to make sure they are truly feeling better and able to make it through 6+ hours of the school day.   If they still seem tired, pale, with little appetite, not tolerating solid foods, and generally "not him/herself", PLEASE do not send them to school.  With viral illnesses it may take longer before your child is well enough to return to school.

Sick Child Guidelines

Students should not attend school if:

·      The student has a temperature. The student may return to school after having a normal temperature for at least 24 hours while not taking any fever reducing medications (ex. Tylenol or Motrin).

·      Antibiotics are prescribed. The student may return to school after taking the antibiotics for a minimum of 24 hours and without a temperature over 100 degrees F for at least 24 hours without taking any fever reducing medications.

·      They seem tired/lethargic, pale, with little appetite, and generally "not him/herself”.

·      The student is vomiting. The student may return to school approximately 24 hours after sym

ptoms resolve, and is able to tolerate a normal diet.

·      The student has diarrhea. The student may return to school approximately 24 hours aftersymptoms resolve, and is able to tolerate a normal diet.

·      The student is diagnosed with a communicable disease or illness.   (ex: Influenza, Pneumonia, Strep Throat, Conjunctivitis, Pertussis, head lice, Chicken pox (Varicella), impetigo, scabies).  Please contact your school nurse before sending your child back to school.  

·      The student has an undiagnosed rash.  A rash may be indicative of many things, frequently of illnesses that are contagious.  Therefore, a student will be excluded from school until a physician evaluates and determines the nature and contagiousness of the rash.  A note is required from the physician upon return to school.

·      The student has severe cold symptoms, upper respiratory infection, a persistent cough, a runny nose that they cannot manage by themselves &/or contain with tissues, or other symptoms that would interfere with effective school participation.

Remember the 24 Hour rule of thumb!  

Return to school guidelines

Students may return to school after the following:

24 hours without temperature (and without taking fever reducing medications such as Tylenol or Advil/Motrin)

24 hours without nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (and tolerating a normal diet)

24 hours of receiving medication (such as antibiotics, eye ointments) 

If your child still seems tired, pale, with little appetite, not tolerating solid foods, and generally "not him/herself", PLEASE do not send him/her to school.  Some viral illnesses may take longer before your child is well enough to return to school.


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Food Allergies Guidelines

Please remember that all of our classrooms are NUT FREE regardless of whether there is a student in that classroom/grade with a nut allergy. 

We have 9 students at our school that are allergic to Nuts, Sunflower, Sesame and Poppy seeds, wheat, eggs, and many other food items.  Strict avoidance of the allergen(s) is the ONLY was to prevent a life threatening allergic reaction. Due to the nature of peanut/nut products, it is more challenging to prevent contamination of surfaces in the classroom, cafeteria, bathrooms and other areas in the building. 

**If the product states "may contain traces of nuts" or "manufactured in a facility which processes nut products", then those products would not be allowed in the classrooms as well. As an added safety measure, in the cafeteria students will be asked to sit at a designated table if their lunch contains any peanut/nut products. After eating, they will be given a moist towelette to remove any food particles from face and hands before leaving the cafeteria.  There are many new products available as "peanut butter alternatives", we would ask you to make sure the ingredients in these products are safe for our classrooms and for our students with life threatening allergies.   For example,  Sun butter products, which are made with sunflower seeds cause a concern for our students with allergies to them. The product contains no nuts, but still may not be appropriate for your child's classroom.  If your child brings in a peanut butter alternative for snack or lunch, you must label the outside of the bag to make our staff aware of the contents. If it looks like peanut butter, we must treat it as peanut butter.  If you have any questions about ingredients, please call the Health Office and we can assist you.  

Click HERE to read the Nahant Public Schools- Life Threatening Allergy Planning Guidelines

- The main site's link is:http://www.allergyhome.org/schools/

http://www.allergyhome.org is a great site to learn more about allergies, asthma, eczema and others

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Influenza, Measles and Meningococcal disease

Influenza

Here are several informative websites and sources. We hope they provide some guidance for you and your family during this flu season: 

Children, the flu, and the flu vaccine: a CDC guideline

MDPH flu information fact sheet with flu symptom checklist
MDPH back to school update for parents
CDC Flu guide for parents

Meningococcal Disease

At first, Meningococcal disease can look strikingly similar to a cold or flu, but in just a matter of hours it can be deadly.  Consider Vaccinating your child against Meningococcal Disease.   Read the commonly asked questions about the disease and find out more information.  Talk to your child's physician about the vaccination at your next visit.  

Measles Information:

{Information is obtained from the CDC website and literature distributed by the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical sources}  

Link to CDC/AAP guidance handout for parents

Links to CDC website for measles information and symptoms

Link to CDC information for parents: "Measles and the Vaccine (shot) to Prevent it"

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It spreads through the air through coughing and sneezing. Measles starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red and watery eyes (conjunctivitis), and a sore throat. It is followed by a rash that starts at the head and then spreads down over the rest of the body.  The fever can persist, reaching extremely high temperatures, the rash can last for up to a week, and the cough can last about 10 days.  About three out of 10 people who get measles will develop one or more complications including pneumonia. 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children who get measles in a developed country like the US will die despite the best treatment. From 2001-2010, 1 out of 4 people in the US who got measles had to be hospitalized.  

The symptoms of measles generally appear about 7 to 14 days after a person is infected.  Two or three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik spots) may appear inside the mouth and on palate. Three to five days after symptoms begin, a rash breaks out. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. Small raised bumps may also appear on top of the flat red spots. The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the rest of the body. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit.  After a few days, the fever subsides and the rash fades.  There is no drug to cure measles.

How Measles Spreads:

Measles spreads through the air by airborne respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people around him or her will also become infected if they are not protected. Infected people can spread measles to others from 4 days before to 4 days after the rash appears. The virus remains viable for up to 2 hour on surfaces and in the air.  You can catch measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been, even if the person has gone! 

People in the United States still get measles, but it's not very common. That's because most people in this country are protected against measles through vaccination once they reach 12 months of age. However, since measles is still common in parts of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa, measles is brought into the United States by people who get infected while they are abroad.
Vaccine Recommendations:

Click here for CDC vaccination recommendations

The MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) Vaccine is the best way to protect against getting measles.  The risk of the MMR vaccine causing serious side effects is very rare.   Getting the MMR vaccine is much safer than getting measles!!

The CDC recommends all children get two doses of MMR vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 through 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age. Children can receive the second dose earlier as long as it is at least 28 days after the first dose.  

Your child's doctor may offer the MMRV vaccine, a combination vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, rubella, and Varicella (chickenpox).

Frequently Asked Questions about Measles:

Q: How effective is the measles vaccine?

A: The measles vaccine is very effective. One dose of measles vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus and two doses is about 97% effective.

Q: Could I still get measles if I am fully vaccinated?

A: Very few people—about three out of 100—who get two doses of measles vaccine will still get measles if exposed to the virus. Experts aren’t sure why; it could be that their immune systems didn’t respond as well as they should have to the vaccine. But the good news is, fully vaccinated people who get measles are much more likely to have a milder illness, and they are also less likely to spread the disease to other people, including people who can’t get vaccinated because they are too young or have weakened immune systems.

Q: Do I ever need a booster vaccine?

Q: Am I protected against measles?

Q: What should I do if I’m unsure whether I’m immune to measles?

A: If you’re unsure whether you’re immune to measles, you should first try to find your vaccination records or documentation of measles immunity. If you do not have written documentation of measles immunity, you should get vaccinated with measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. Another option is to have a doctor test your blood to determine whether you’re immune, but this option is likely to cost more and will take two doctor’s visits. There is no harm in getting another dose of MMR vaccine if you may already be immune to measles (or mumps or rubella).

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Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi.

The bacteria are transmitted to people and animals by the bite of an infected black-legged tick, Ixo des scapularis, commonly called the deer tick. Although other types of ticks and some insects have been shown tocarry the Lyme bacteria, to date, transmission of Lyme through those vectors has not been proven.

 

The bacteria can also be passed through the placenta of a pregnant woman to the fetus—congenital transmission.

 

The DNA of the bacteria has been found in breast milk, but no transmission has been proven to date in humans.