APS Elementary School Nurses' Newsletter - January
Hello APS Families,
On behalf of the APS Elementary School Nurses, we are excited to share our January newsletter with you. Each month we will share health information, APS health office happenings, useful links, and other important information that you need to know.
Winter is here and so are the cold, raw, and windy days. Please remember as the days start to get colder, children should be dressed to be comfortable to be outside for 20 minutes. Jackets, hats, and gloves/mittens are recommended. If your family is in need of winter clothing, please reach out to your student's school nurse. There are lots of resources available!
In good health,
The APS Elementary Nurse Team
You got the dreaded call from the nurse…your child has lice! It’s not a topic anyone wants to talk about, but knowing a few facts about lice can help to allay fears and get on the right track with treatment. If your child has lice, you might see your child scratching, complaining of an itchy scalp, and you may see some redness/bites at the base of the hairline. You might see eggs or live lice, but they can be hard to detect.
Lice have been and always will be part of humans’ lives. Lice typically find new hosts by crawling directly from head to head, and less likely by sharing items like combs and hats. Lice do not jump or fly, or live on pets or other animals. They must feed on human blood every few hours to live, and most adult lice die within 24 hours off of a host (younger lice cannot live off a host for more than a few hours). Lice can live up to a month. They live on the scalp, and can lay eggs after they are 7 days old. Eggs take 7-9 days to hatch, which is why it is important to re-treat for lice after nine days. Understanding the life cycle helps people to treat it effectively. You can find good info on head lice at the CDC website here, and the website Let's Learn about Lice, with great examples of what an egg and lice look like.
FDA approved and recommended treatment for lice is over the counter lice shampoo (two treatments, nine days apart), along with “comb outs” with a lice comb. Lice combs are combs with long teeth that are very close together. This allows the comb to grab lice and nits as you pull it through the hair. This 3 minute video shows how to effectively comb and treat lice. The American Academy of Pediatrics Head Lice Clinical Report is a great resource for information and treatment options if you’d like to really dive in! Schools no longer exclude students for lice. If your child is found to have lice at school, the nurse will call you to let you know. She/he will provide advice and support, based on current standards of practice.
In accordance with the APS Standing Medication Orders, cough drops are only provided to students twelve years of age and older. Cough drops are not provided or administered at the elementary schools to students. This is for safety reasons to minimize the risk of students accidentally choking on cough drops.
Students are encouraged to drink plenty of fluids. For persistent or worsening cough, please consult with your child's health care provider.
When to Keep Your Child Home From School...APS Illness Guidelines
There are times when a student should remain at home for their own welfare and the protection of other students. Your student should remain at home if they have:
- Uncontrollable and/or productive cough
- Fever over 100.4 degrees fahrenheit within past 24 hours
- Vomiting or diarrhea within past 24 hours
- Sore throat and swollen glands
- Undiagnosed rash or skin eruptions
- Earache, severe headache or drainage from eyes
Students should remain home for 24 hours after an acute illness or after starting antibiotics for a diagnosed infection.
They should also be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication (acetaminophen, ibuprofen, etc).
These absences can be excused with a note from a student's health care provider.
