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Swine Flu

Head Lice

Swine Flu:

Is it safe for my child to go to school?

At this time, state and local public health officials have advised that students can---and should-- continue to come to school, as long as they are not sick and do not have flu symptoms. Flu-like symptoms include: fever (over 100 degrees F), feverishness, cough, sore throat, runny nose, or stuffy nose. Additional symptoms may be experienced with swine flu, including body aches, feeling very tired, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhea.

The Department of Public Health has a fact sheet on H1N1 that is available on the DPH website, www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu in English and many other languages.

What should I do if my child is sick?

Flu spreads easily. If you think your child is getting the flu:

It is very important that he/she does not go to school or other places where they might make other people sick, such as group childcare, after school programs, the mall, or sporting events.
Call your doctor’s office and let him/her know your child’s symptoms and history. Your doctor will advise you whether you should come to the office. It is best to call ahead because several doctors’ offices have provisions in place to respond to possible H1N1 (swine) flu cases.
When you call to the school to notify them that your child is sick, please tell the school nurse if he/she has flu-like symptoms.
Keep your school nurse updated on your child’s medical condition.

If your doctor advises you to care for your child at home, the Centers for Disease Control has a guide on taking care of a sick person at home. It can be found at, http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance_homecare.htm.

Some tips from that guide include:

Establish a rule in your house that everyone covers their coughs, and cleans their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub often, especially after coughing and/or sneezing.
Keep the sick person in a room separate from the common areas of the house. (For example, a spare bedroom with its own bathroom, if that’s possible.) Keep the sickroom door closed.
Keep your child at home unless necessary for medical care and don’t have playmates or other guests over during this time. Your child may be able to pass the virus for 7 days or longer, so check with your doctor on recommendations for when he/she can return to school
Try to protect other people in the home. For example, if possible, have only one adult in the home take care of the sick person (not a pregnant woman). Clean surfaces regularly with a disinfectant and maintain good ventilation. Remember to wash you hands.
Monitor yourself and household members, including the elderly, for flu symptoms and contact a health care provider if symptoms occur.
Throw away tissues and other disposable items used by the sick person in the trash. Wash your hands after touching used tissues and similar waste.
Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first.

What can I do to keep my child from getting sick?

It is also important to teach your children how to reduce their risk of getting the flu and how to protect others from becoming infected.

Teach your children to wash their hands often. Washing with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds is ideal (that is about as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice).
Teach your children the proper use of hand sanitizer. Gels, rubs, and hand wipes all work well, as long as they contain at least 60% alcohol. Hand wipes must be disposed of properly. (Monitor small children using gels as they may ingest it.)
Teach your children to cough or sneeze into your sleeve—not their hands! Cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or by coughing into the inside of their elbow. They should wash their hands after blowing their nose or coughing into a tissue.
Teach your children to avoid touching their nose, mouth or eyes. They should keep their hands away from their face.

If we all practice good hygiene, health officials believe we can limit the spread of swine flu in our schools and child care centers.

Will my child’s school be closed if there is a case of swine flu?

School leaders and state and local health officials are closely monitoring the situation and will inform parents as soon as possible if your child’s school must be closed. However, it is important to plan ahead. Have a family discussion now to decide who would care for your child if his/her school were closed.

If school is closed, it is important that students not gather together at another location, but rather stay home to avoid exposing other people.

How can I keep track of what is going on in my community?

Stay informed by getting up-to-date information on swine flu and what you can do to keep your family healthy from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health at www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu, the Centers for Disease Control website, www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ or the 24 hour toll-free hotline that Massachusetts residents can call for general information about swine flu. To reach the hotline, dial 211.

What precautions are being taken at schools?

Precautions being taken in our schools:
Careful hand washing is very important in preventing the spread of disease, including Swine Flu. School Nurses have been and will continue to “conduct hand washing/cover your cough” education programs district wide. They will continue to remind students and staff of their importance.
All school nurses, food services staff, principals and school faculty staff are working to prevent Swine Flu through proactive steps, communication, and universal precautions.
The electronic documentation system used by school nurses can be utilized for disease surveillance by tracking trends by symptoms, so that potential public health issues can be identified quickly.
School nurses are working closely with local and state public health authorities as questions arise.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our children and our schools healthy.

For the most up-to-date information:

U.S. CDC Swine Influenza Website: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

Taking care of a sick person at home: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance_homecare.htm

Infection control and treatment guidance: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/recommendations.htm

Massachusetts DPH swine influenza page as well as links to CDC: www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu

School and/or Day Care Specific Resources

All you have to do is wash your hands Podcast: This Podcast teaches children how and when to wash their hands properly.

http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=11072

Downloadable Flu Prevention Materials for Schools/Day Cares: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/school/

Preventing the Spread of Influenza (the Flu) in Child Care Settings: Guidance for Administrators, Care Providers, and Other Staff: Flu recommendations for schools and child care providers http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/infectioncontrol/childcaresettings.htm

Protecting Against the Flu: Advice for Caregivers of Children Less Than 6 Months Old: Research has shown that children less than 5 years of age are at high risk of serious flu-related complications. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/infantcare.html

Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School: Fact Sheet http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/home_work_school.htm

Ounce of Prevention: Tips and streaming video for parents and children about the steps and benefits of effective hand washing http://www.cdc.gov/ounceofprevention/

Clean Hands Saves Lives: Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. http://www.cdc.gov/cleanhands/

Hand washing to reduce Disease: Recommendations to Reduce Disease Transmission from Animals in Public Settings http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5605a4.htm

BAM! Body and Mind. Teacher's Corner: In this activity, students will conduct an experiment on washing their hands. They will learn that "clean" hands may not be so clean after all and the critical importance of washing their hands as a way to prevent the spread of disease. http://www.bam.gov/teachers/epidemiology_hand_wash.html

CDC TV - Put Your Hands Together: (Video) Scientists estimate that people are not washing their hands often or well enough and may transmit up to 80% of all infections by their hands. http://www.cdc.gov/CDCTV/HandsTogether/

Cover your Cough Posters: Stop the Spread of Germs that Make You and Others Sick! Printable formats of "Cover Your Cough". Posters only available as PDF files. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/covercough.htm

CDC - Be a Germ Stopper: Posters and Materials: For Community and Public Settings Like Schools and Child Care Facilities). Cover Your Cough also available for health care settings. http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/materials.htm

"It's a SNAP" Toolkit Program materials to help prevent school absenteeism activities for school administrators, teachers, students and others can do to help stop the spread of germs in schools.
See the hand cleaning section of the "It's a SNAP" site at www.itsasnap.org/snap/about.asp.

Scrub Club http://www.scrubclub.org/Kids can learn about health and hygiene and become members of the Scrub Club(tm) at www.scrubclub.org. The site features a fun and educational animated Webisode with seven "soaper-heros" who battle nasty villains who represent germs and bacteria. Kids learn the six key steps to proper hand-washing through a webisode, hand-washing song, interactive games, and activities for kids, and educational materials for teachers are also available to download.

Head Lice

Head lice are easily acquired, even on the cleanest of heads, as they spread from person to person by direct contact or on shared objects (combs, hats, towels, headphones, etc.).

In an effort to control and eliminate the problem, we are asking for your cooperation with the following:

(1) Please check your child’s hair for lice and their eggs (nits), especially at the nape of the neck, behind the ears and on the crown. Check for nits in bright light and use a magnifying glass if needed. Look for tiny, oval, white or grayish specks attached to individual hairs. Unlike dandruff, they will not brush off. Lice are usually tiny, gray/brown insects that move quickly (but they do not jump or fly).

If you find nits or lice, check the hair of all family members and do not send your child to school until he/she is nit free.

(2) Use an effective head lice treatment. Any family member with lice or nits must be treated. Your doctor or pharmacist can recommend an effective product. Follow all directions carefully.

(3) Remove all nits. Because no shampoo or other treatment product kills all the nits (and survivors hatch into crawling lice in 7-10 days), it is very important to remove all nits from the hair to prevent reinfestation. You can use the combs that come with some treatment products, but you may also need to pick the nits off each strand of hair with your fingernails.

(4) Machine wash all clothes, bed linens, blankets, towels, etc., in HOT water and dry in a HOT dryer for at least 20 minutes. If heat will not harm them, non-washables can be put in a hot dryer for 20 minutes. Items that cannot be safely washed or put in the dryer (such as headphones, helmets or stuffed animals) should be stored in a tightly sealed plastic bag, at room temperature, for at least 14 days).

(5) Clean all combs, brushes, and hairclips… Personal combs and brushes should be cleaned by soaking in HOT water (at least 150 degrees) for 10 minutes. (Note: Hot water may damage some of these items.)

(6) Vacuum everywhere to pick up any live lice or nits attached to fallen hairs. Thoroughly vacuum carpets, pillows, mattresses, upholstered furniture, car seats, etc., and discard the vacuum bag promptly.

(7) Re-check for nits DAILY (for 10 days) following treatment. (This is the life cycle of the louse.) If new nits or lice are found, repeat Steps 3 through 6 above. You may also have to re-treat (Step 2) in 7-10 days. As lice treatment products can be harmful if used too often, check with your pharmacist of physician before re-using any of them. The use of LICE SPRAYS is NOT RECOMMENDED, as they may be harmful to people and pets.

School policy regulates that your child must be free of nits in order to return to school. Your child should be checked by the school nurse before re-entering school. (Remember, regardless of precautions taken at home, re-infestation from others can still occur.)

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Mickee, our school nurse, (978- 623- 8882).