When Should your student stay home…. The incidence of colds and illness rises with children in constant contact with other children. Parents often ask when children should be kept at home from school:

- A fever greater than 100 degrees F in the last 24 hours

- A rash with unknown cause and/or is associated with fever or itching

- A cough bad enough that you wouldn’t want your well child to be around a person coughing like this

- A consistent, thick, goopy runny nose

- Eyes with thick mucus or pus draining from the eye or the eye is red, waters profusely and feels irritated-please contact health care provider or clinic

- Vomiting within the last 24 hours

- Diarrhea-two or more watery stools in a 24-hour period and especially if your child acts or looks ill.

- A sore throat, especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck.

- A child that is acting ill. Unusually tired, pale, difficult to wake, confused or irritable, with a lack of appetite. Children can return to school after specific illness if they meet the following criteria:

- Strep throat: your child has been on antibiotics for 24 hours, has no fever, and feels okay

- Chicken pox: when all pox have crusted over (absent 5-7 days from onset).

- Conjunctivitis (pink eye): if the child has been treated by a doctor and has 24 hours of antibiotics (or antibiotics in eye drop form)

- Ear infections: if your child has no fever they may return if they are physically able. With fever-they must be fever free for 24 hours. If your medical practitioner has prescribed antibiotics, it is best they receive them for 24 hours until they are pain and fever free.

- Lice: treatment is started and there are no live lice on their scalp. - Scabies: your child has been treated and the sores are crusted over.

- Rash: has cleared or has physician diagnosis and treatment