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School Health News

Posted on January 21, 2010

Here are some updates that you and your families may find helpful as we get through the second half of this winter season.

Flu update

Influenza virus continues to circulate in Washington State in low levels according to the figures released last week by Washington State Department of Public Health. All influenza A viruses reported to the CDC from our region during the past six weeks of 2009 were H1N1 viruses. The flu season can begin as early as October and last clear into May. The CDC recommends that anyone who has not received the Flu and the H1N1 vaccines consider doing so now. There is now plenty of vaccine available to everyone now. You can check with your physician or the CDC site: Flu.gov for vaccine disruption sites in your area.

Please note the following steps we can all practice will help protect our health:

  1. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
  2. Wash you hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol based hand cleaners are also effective.
  3. Avoid touching the “T Zone” (eyes, nose or mouth). These are the main entry sites for most respiratory and gastrointestinal viruses.
  4. 4Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  5. Stay home if you are sick until at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100F) or signs of a fever (without the use of fever reducing medications).

Bicycle helmet safety

Now that we are getting to the point where we may have some dry days here and there (let’s hope so anyway) we might start pulling our bicycles out of storage for some rides. Children’s Hospital has asked me to remind you that you should check the fit of your child’s helmet before the bicycle riding season gets in full swing.

Children’s Hospital has put together an illustrated information sheet regarding how to check the fit of your child’s helmet. Here is the link: www.seattlechildrens.org/pdf/CE222.pdf

H1N1

This is a type of influenza (flu). The flu is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs caused by influenza viruses. The H1N1 flu outbreak has been in the news frequently since the outbreak began last spring. The information regarding the outbreak, as well as recommendations officered to families and schools on managing a H1N1 outbreak has been changing as public health departments at the local, state and federal levels collect data regarding the virus and how it behaves. The media updates and the frequent altering of recommendations can lead to confusion and anxiety as we all try to determine what we need to do to ensure the health of our families. Holy Rosary School has been keeping abreast of the e situation by staying current with the information updates provided by various health agencies and participating in weekly teleconferences with the Public Heath Department. Below is some recent information provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the King County Department of Public Health (KCDPH).

  1. The strain appears to behave more like the "seasonal flu". The Flu can be a very serious illness for younger children and children of any age who have one or more chronic medical conditions (please check with your child's physician to determine if your child falls into one the high-risk groups).
  2. The H1N1 virus had not mutated into a more lethal version of the virus, as health officials had earlier feared.
  3. A H1N1 vaccine has been developed and approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine is being produced in both injectable and nasal spray forms. The first shipment should be arriving in Seattle mid-October. The KCPHD will notify school nurses when shipments have arrived, and will provide nurses with a list of where this vaccine will be offered. You may also contact your child's physician for more information regarding this vaccine. NOTE: The H1N1 vaccine does not replace the seasonal Flu vaccine.
  4. The H1N1 vaccine will not be mandatory.
  5. The H1N1 virus is currently active in our community. If you or your family member becomes ill with the flu now, it is most likely the H1N1 strain. The current recommendation is that you treat your child at home and not bring him in to his physician for testing. Please contact your child's physician if your child appears very sick (for example: trouble breathing, bluish or gray skin color, severe or persistent vomiting, flu-like symptoms that seem to improve but then return with a fever and worse cough) or if your child falls into a high-risk category. Please consult with your child's physician for a complete listing of warning signs.
  6. Tamiflu and other antiviral medications may or may not be used to treat family members who have the flu. Please consult your child's physician regarding administration of an anti-viral to your child.

Holy Rosary School, along with the CDC and KCPHD, would like to make the following recommendations for the school year.

  1. Please keep your child home if he is running a fever of 100F or higher. Keep your child home till he is fever free, without the use of Tylenol or Motrin, for 24 hours.
  2. Please keep your child home if your child is demonstrating flu-like symptoms (with or without a fever): dry cough, extreme weakness, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, and a headache. Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea can also occur, but are more common in children than adults. Keep your child home till symptoms have subsided and the child is well enough to return to the classroom and resume his class work. Please note that a persistent cough may linger for several weeks, and in itself, does not require the child remain at home.
  3. Remind your child to cover his nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Toss tissue in the trash after it was used. Use the small of your elbow if a tissue is not available.
  4. WASH YOUR HANDS often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Wash hands for at least 20 seconds. Hand cleaning gels are also effective if soap and water are not available. Rub hands together till gel is dried. Note: When selecting a hand cleaning gel product to bring to school, please keep in mind that some of these products can be heavily scented. These scents can sometimes serve as triggers to classmates with asthma or other respiratory conditions.
  5. Try to keep your family members from having close contact (about six feet) with sick people, including anyone in the household who is sick.
  6. Keep surfaces like bedside tables, bathroom surfaces, kitchen counters clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to directions on product label.
  7. Throw away tissues and other disposable items used by sick persons in your home in the trash.

Holy Rosary School will carry out the following measures as a means for decreasing the spread influenza:

  1. The staff will remind students to practice hand hygiene and coughing etiquette.
  2. The staff will send any ill appearing child to the health room for assessment of symptoms. If child is ill and requires being dismissed from school, the child will remain in the health room, separated from other students, until he is released to his family.
  3. Ill staff members will stay home till they are fever free (without the use of Tylenol/Motrin) for 24 hours.
  4. Routine cleaning. Our custodial team frequently cleans areas and surfaces that students and staff touch. The CDC does not believe any additional disinfection of environmental surfaces beyond the recommend routine cleaning is required.
  5. The Parent's Club will be offering a flu vaccination clinic in November. The Swedish Visiting Nurse Services will provide Flu vaccinations and Pneumonia Vaccinations to the student body and their families. More information regarding the clinic will be provided in future FCEs.

Headlice

It must be fall if the topic of head lice has come up!

Approximately six to twelve million children have head lice infestations each year. Head lice are insects found only on human hair. Adult head lice are about the sized of a sesame seed. Their bodies have light and dark areas that help them blend in with the color of the hair. Head lice lay eggs and attach them close to the scalp. The eggs and their empty shell casings are called nits. The nits are attached with a glue- like substance that holds them tightly to the hair. The empty shell remains attached to the hair and may take many months to fall off.

Below are a few recommendations that can be helpful in the identification of lice infestation and also may help contain the spread of the infestation .

  1. Please perform weekly scalp checking/detection combing (description located in handbook) once a week. I recommend checking more often if active cases are identified in school.
  2. Please remind your children not to share combs, hats or other personal items as lice can spreads by "hitching a ride".
  3. Remind your children to store hats and scarves inside coat pocket/sleeves
  4. Remind your children not to share pillows or blankets.
  5. Keep long hair back in a ponytail or braid.
  6. Remind your children not to pile coats or sweaters on the school floor.
  7. Be sure to wash items returned from Lost and Found prior to wearing.

Please refer the Family Handbook (PDF) for the Holy Rosary School head lice policy.

I would like to remind you that there are several types of over-the-counter chemical treatments and non-chemical treatments available.

Do not use a chemical agent on your child unless LIVE LICE are seen. Using a chemical treatment for nits will not kill lice. The chemicals in these treatments cannot penetrate the hard shell of a nit. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend the use of lice sprays. The sprays are not helpful in ridding lice from furniture and will expose your family to harmful chemicals. The web sites below may provide you with some additional information.

Health Screenings

Posted on September 24, 2009

Vision and hearing screenings of the student body will take place in late fall this year. Scoliosis screening of the upper grades will take place in the spring.

Patricia McBrien, RN