How do you know when your child is sick??
How do you know when your child is really sick? Here are some guidelines to make this "morning decision" a little easier. Suggestions for keeping your child at home:
- Diarrhea and/or vomiting within the prior 24 hour period. (If your child has diarrhea and is vomitting he/she should see a doctor. Children can get dehydrated quickly).
- Cold with fever and thickened yellow or green drainage from nose.
- Sore throat with fever and swollen neck glands.
- Cough that keeps your child awake at night.
- Fever that is more than 100 degrees F taken by mouth or ear. (Your child should be without a fever for a full 24 hours without the use of medication before returning to school).
- Earache that is severe and persistent.
- Redness in the white of eyes, yellow discharge and matted eye lashes. (This is suggestive of pink eye/conjunctivitis).
- Rashes with blisters, oozing and painful.
A good question to ask yourself as a parent is "Would I want my child to sit next to a child with these symptoms?"