Nurse

White Marsh Elementary

Hello White Marsh families! My name is Amanda Parrish and I am very happy to be returning to White Marsh Elementary School this year as your school nurse. Please take a look at the information listed below and contact me if you have any questions/concerns. I can be reached at 301-472-4600 x1 and at alparrish@smcps.org . Let’s make it a wonderful and healthy year White Marsh!

EpiPen Information

Influenza Vaccines are coming to White Marsh Elementary!

The role of the school nurse:

School nurses are responsible for providing emergency services for injury and sudden illness, health appraisal and assessment, disease prevention and control, health counseling, environmental health and accident prevention, school/community health programs, health education lessons, and program evaluation and reporting.

Please remember, it is very important we have current phone numbers on record for your family. Notify the school secretary immediately if there are any changes to your contact information. In the event of an emergency, having this information is vital.

Starting School?

There are three documents that are required of all students entering Maryland Public Schools. Each student must have proof of receiving required, school-entry, immunizations before he/she can attend class. We need evidence of blood lead screening/testing for all students entering K and 1st grade. Within six months of school entry, proof of a physical examination is requested. You may find details and the necessary forms in the SMCPS Student Handbook, on line or at our school. All kindergarten and 1st graders will have vision and hearing screenings done in the health suite as well as student’s who are new to the area. Parents will be contacted if further testing is necessary.

Medications at School

All prescription medication must be authorized by a physician and brought to school by an adult. The medicines must be in the original pharmacy container. Non-prescription medications can be given on two occasions without a physician order. They too must be brought to school by an adult. Please contact me if you have questions.

Chronic Health Conditions/Severe Allergies

Please alert your child's teacher and the school nurse of any health conditions that may impact your child's learning, daily activities and/or safety at school. Written documentation of such conditions is encouraged. We will work as a team to create the best learning environment for your child.

Sick Today…What to do?

While school attendance is vital to your child’s education, a sick child belongs at home. Please review the Sick Day Guidelines below to assist you in making that decision.

Please keep your child home if (s)he:

• Has a fever of 100.4 degrees or higher within past 24 hours

• Has been vomiting within past 24 hours

• Has symptoms that prevent him or her from participating in school, such as:

− Excessive tiredness or lack of appetite

− Productive coughing, sneezing

− Headache, body aches, earache

− Sore throat

A minor sore throat is usually not a problem, but a severe sore throat could be strep throat even if there is no fever. Other symptoms of strep throat in children are headache and stomach upset. Contact your pediatrician as your child needs a special test to determine if it is strep throat.

Keep your child home until his or her fever has been gone for 24 hours without medication. Colds can be contagious for at least 48 hours. Returning to school too soon may slow the recovery process of your student and expose others unnecessarily to illness.

If your child does stay home, please make sure to send in a note upon his or her return or use the online absence reporting link on our main webpage. Please refer to the SMCPS Student Handbook for further information regarding the Student Attendance policy.

Donations

Donationsto the healthroom are always welcome! The following items can always be used:

·Hand Sanitizer

·Zip-lock baggies (sandwich and snack size)

·Tissues/Kleenex

·Disinfecting Wipes

·Boys and Girls Underwear (sizes 6-16)

·Boys and Girls Socks

Health Notice Preschool

Health Notice K-5

Health Notice 6-12
Head Lice

Flu Clinic--- Tuesday, October 2
Booster clinic ---Thursday, November 8, 2012.

Parents and students,

Listed below is information for you regarding concussions and concussion prevention. As you and your children are outdoors, playing sports and having fun in the sun, please remember to be safe and wear the correct safety equipment for your activities…and protect your brain!

Concussion information for parents:

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/parents_Eng.pdf

Concussion information for athletes:

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/athletes_Eng.pdf

Concussion Quiz:

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/quiz_Eng.pdf

http://www.stmaryshospitalmd.org/body.cfm?id=403

Colds & Flu Comparison Chart

Signs and Symptoms	Cold	Flu
fever, chills	Low fever, if any	Usual; can be a high fever
headache	rare	usual
general aches and pains	mild, if any	usual; often severe; affecting the whole body
fatigue, weakness	mild, if any	usual; often severe. Makes you want to stay in bed.
runny, stuffy nose	common	sometimes
sneezing	usual	sometimes
sore throat	common	sometimes
cough	mild to moderate; hacking cough	common; can become severe

Strep? Or Just Another Sore Throat??
Sore throats are common in childhood. They can be brief and the result of postnasal drip from a cold or breathing in dry air from heating or air conditioning systems. Or they can be symptoms of infections caused by a virus or bacteria.

It's important to be able to recognize when a sore throat is probably nothing to worry about and when to see a doctor so you can take appropriate action early.

In general, a sore throat probably doesn't require action if it lasts a few hours or just a day and the child is feeling fine otherwise. But if it persists longer than a day or if it is accompanied by a fever, it's important to have a doctor perform a throat culture to determine whether there is a viral or bacterial infection. Bacterial infections can become quite serious if left untreated.

With a viral sore throat, symptoms tend to develop gradually:

Viral Sore Throat symptoms include:

general fatigue
fever of 101-103 degrees
in some cases coughing, hoarseness and nasal congestion

Viral sore throats may be symptoms of colds, mumps or infections of the tonsils or adenoids. Unfortunately they can't be treated with medications, but must run their course. Call the doctor if they last more than a week.

Strep throat, named after streptococcus, the bacteria that causes it, is the most serious type of sore throat. Antibiotics usually clear up Strep throat quickly, but if it is left untreated, it can cause severe kidney inflammation, rheumatic fever or scarlet fever.

Symptoms of step throat include:

Fever as high as 104 degrees
headache, loss of appetite, general ill feeling
swollen lymph nodes in the neck
abdominal pain and occasionally, ear pain.
bad breath
a red rash under the armpits or elsewhere.

To ease the discomfort, encourage an older child to gargle with warm salt water (1 tsp. salt to 8 oz. water), give a non-aspirin fever and pain reliever if necessary, encourage intake of liquids, use a cool-mist vaporizer or humidifier to ease breathing and give foods the chid can swallow easily.

Call the doctor if:

the fever subsides with treatment then suddenly returns
vomiting, earache, chest pain, shortness of breath or severe headache occurs
your child develops a cough

Important Flu and Booster Clinic Forms

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