Contagious Infections - COVID 19, FLU, Strep
Your student should not come to school if there is a fever of 100.4 or higher. They should remain out of school until greater than 24 hours without a fever without taking any fever reducing medications (such as Ibuprofen or Acetaminophen). Do not give aspirin to children under the age of 18 for illness / fever.
For attendance purposes, please send in at note or email for any days missed to Mrs. Jefferson - [email protected] AND Mrs. Emily Sutherland - [email protected]
Thank you
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Dear Parent/Guardian:
The RCS policy regarding Fevers and Communicable Diseases states the following:
A student identified as having a fever at school over 100.4 and picked up from school will have the remainder of
that day excused as well as the following day until the student is fever-free for a 24-hour period. The student may
not return to school until his/her temperature has been below 100.4 degrees, without fever-reducing medications
(Tylenol/acetaminophen or Advil/Motrin/ibuprofen) for a full 24-hour period.
Fever is generally defined as a core body temperature of 100.4 F or greater. Oral, tympanic membrane (ear), axillary (armpit), or temporal artery (forehead) methods for taking temperature are typically used for school-aged children. A reading of 100.4 F or more with any of these techniques qualifies as fever.
Fever is an important symptom. When fever occurs along with a sore throat, an earache, nausea, listlessness, or a rash, your child may be carrying something very contagious and should see a health care provider.
Sick children often do not develop fever until the afternoon or evening. When your child has fever, DO NOT give a fever reducing medication such as (Tylenol/acetaminophen, Advil/ibuprofen, etc.) then send him/her to school.
Remember to treat fever with Tylenol/acetaminophen, or Advil/ibuprofen and NOT ASPIRIN, due to the risk of Reye’s syndrome.
Does My Child Need To See a Health Care Provider?
Most illnesses may be safely managed at home with rest, fluids, good nutrition, and symptom-reducing medications if needed. It is impossible to list every condition for which a child should see a health care provider, but it is better to err on the side of caution. Call your health care provider if you are unsure how to manage your child’s illness.
The following are conditions for which a child should definitely be seen by a health care provider:
• Fever for more than 4 days or fever greater than 104.0 F
• Fever occurring later in an illness. If a child has had symptoms such as cough and runny nose and then develops
fever several days into the illness, a secondary infection may be developing.
• Very poor appetite for more than a day
• Increased effort with breathing
• Severe headache or neck stiffness
• Lethargy/fatigue such that the child doesn’t want to play even a little bit sometime during the day
• Any of the conditions listed in the preceding symptom section.
Contact your school nurse if you have questions about this message.