Sickness Policy GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR KEEPING CHILDREN HOME DUE TO ILLNESS PLEASE KEEP THESE GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

Transcription

1 Sickness Policy GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR KEEPING CHILDREN HOME DUE TO ILLNESS PLEASE KEEP THESE GUIDELINES FOR FUTURE REFERENCE It is our policy at 4 Cheeky Monkeys Family Centre to encourage and promote good health and hygiene for all children. It is sometimes difficult to decide when and how long to keep an ill at child home. The timing of the absence is often important in order to decrease the spread of disease to others, and to prevent your child from acquiring any other illnesses while his/her resistance is lowered. The following guidelines represent the more common childhood illnesses and the usual recommendations. Signs and symptoms of communicable diseases such as: CHICKEN POX: A skin rash consisting of small, itchy blisters that leave scabs. There may be blisters and scabs all present at the same time. A slight fever may or may not be present. Your child should remain home until all blisters have scabbed over, usually 5-7 days after the appearance of the first crop of blisters. Even if your child has received the chicken pox vaccine, there is still a slight chance he/she may get a mild case. COMMON COLD: Irritated throat, watery discharge from the nose and eyes, sneezing, chills and general body discomfort. Your child should remain home if symptoms are serious enough to interfere with your child s ability to learn/play. Medical care should be obtained if symptoms persist beyond 7-10 days, fever develops, or discharge becomes yellow to green. FEVER: If your child s temperature is 101%F (39% C) or over greater (or 1-2 degrees above the child s normal temperature) they should remain home until he/she has been without fever for a full 48hrs. Remember, fever is a symptom indicating the presence of an illness. FLU: Abrupt onset of fever, chills, headache and sore muscles. Runny nose, sore throat, and cough are common. Your child should remain at home until symptoms are gone and the child is without fever for 48hrs. HEAD LICE: Lice are small greyish-tan, wingless insects that lay eggs called nits. Nits are much easier to see and detect than lice. They are small white or gray, teardrop-shaped specks which are firmly attached to the hair shaft. They are usually

2 found at the nape of the neck, behind the ears, and at the crown of the head. Your child should be treated with a lice-killing shampoo, AND ALL NITS MUST BE REMOVED. Instructions on how to properly treat head lice are available and should be followed carefully to eliminate possible re-infestation and to minimize your child s absence IMPETIGO: Blister-like lesions that later develop into crusted pus-like sores, most commonly located around the nose and mouth. Your child should remain home until receiving 48hrs of antibiotic therapy and sores are no longer draining (scabbed over). PAIN: If your child complains of, or behaviour indicates that he/she is experiencing persistent pain, he/she should be evaluated by a medical professional. PINKEYE (CONJUCTIVITIS): A viral or bacterial infection of the eye causing redness and swelling of the membranes of the eye with burning or itching, watery or thick drainage, or crusting on the eyelids. Your child should remain home until receiving 48hrs of antibiotic therapy and discharge from the eye has stopped. In the case that your doctor believes it to be a viral infection and no antibiotic therapy is prescribed, your child is still contagious and should remain at home until drainage has ceased. Spread of the infection can be minimized by keeping the hands away from the face, good hand washing practices, and not touching any part of the eye with the tip of the medication applicator. RINGWORM: A fungal infection that causes a flat, red, ring-shaped rash which may itch or burn. Your child should remain at home until receiving 48hrs of anti-fungal treatment. SKIN RASHES: Skin rashes of unknown origin should be evaluated by a physician before your child enters the setting. STREP THROAT AND SCARLET FEVER: Strep throat usually begins with fever, sore and red throat, pus spots on the back of the throat, and tender, swollen glands of the neck. Scarlet fever is indicated when a red skin rash and/or strawberry appearance of the tongue are present along with the other symptoms of strep throat. High fever, nausea and vomiting may also occur. Your child should remain home until receiving a full 48hrs of antibiotic therapy and until without fever or vomiting for 24hrs. Most physicians will advise rest at home for 1-2 days after a strep infection. Antibiotics ordered for strep infection should be taken for 10 days or until the medication is gone. Only when these directions are followed correctly is the strep germ completely eliminated from the body, no matter how well the child feels after the first few days of receiving medication. VOMITING AND DIARRHEA (INTESTINAL VIRAL INFECTIONS): Stomach ache, cramping, nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea, possible fever, headache, and body aches. Your child should remain at home until without vomiting, diarrhea or fever for a full 48hrs. If your child has had vomiting, diarrhea or fever during the night, he/she should not be sent to the childminding setting the following day. MEASLES: The measles rash typically has a red or reddish brown blotchy appearance, and first usually shows up on the forehead, then spreads downward over the face, neck, and body, then down to the arms and feet. Around 10 days after

3 you get the measles infection, the following symptoms begin to appear: cold-like symptoms, such as runny nose, watery eyes, swollen eyelids and sneezing, red eyes and sensitivity to light, a mild to severe temperature, which may peak at over 40.6 C (105 F) for several days, then fall but go up again when the rash appears, tiny greyish-white spots (called Koplik's spots) in the mouth and throat, tiredness, irritability and general lack of energy, aches and pains, poor appetite, dry cough, and red-brown spotty rash. The above symptoms generally last for up to 14 days for this time your child should remain at home. MUMPS: Swelling of the parotid glands is the most common symptom of mumps. The parotid glands are a pair of glands that are responsible for producing saliva. They are located on either side of your face, just below your ears. Both glands are usually affected by the swelling, although in a minority of cases, only one gland is affected. The swelling causes additional symptoms, including: pain and tenderness in the swollen glands, pain on swallowing and/or difficulty swallowing. Other symptoms of the mumps include: headache, joint pain, nausea, dry mouth, mild abdominal pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, a high temperature (fever) of 38ºC (100.4ºF), or above. The average incubation period is around 17 days. RUBELLA: Main symptoms: swollen lymph nodes, a distinctive red-pink rash, a high temperature, and cold-like symptoms, painful or swollen joints. Other common symptoms of rubella are tiredness, irritability and a general lack of energy, plus aches and pains, and a poor appetite. After being infected, the incubation is days Children with rubella should not mix with other children during the time they are infectious. If it is suspected that a child or an adult has rubella, they should avoid all contact with pregnant women. Rubella in pregnant women If a pregnant woman catches rubella, it can result in a miscarriage (the loss of the pregnancy during the first 23 weeks) or stillbirth (where a baby is born after the 24th week of pregnancy without any sign of life). MENINGITIS: Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of a person's spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. Meningitis is usually caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Viral meningitis is generally less severe and resolves without specific treatment, while bacterial meningitis can be quite severe and may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability.

4 Signs and symptoms of meningitis are: High fever, headache, and stiff neck. These symptoms can develop over several hours, or they may take 1 to 2 days. Other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, discomfort looking into bright lights, confusion, and sleepiness. In newborns and small infants, the classic symptoms of fever, headache, and neck stiffness may be absent or difficult to detect, and the infant may only appear slow or inactive, or be irritable, have vomiting, or be feeding poorly. As the disease progresses, patients of any age may have seizures. A rash that does not fade under pressure is a sign of meningococcal septicaemia and is a medical emergency. Please consult your doctor before your child returns to the setting. HEPATITIS: is inflammation of the liver caused by a virus or a toxin. Some people with hepatitis A, particularly young children, do not show any symptoms. Otherwise, the symptoms you need to be aware of are: flu-like symptoms, such as tiredness, general aches and pains, headaches and fever, loss of appetite, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhoea and abdominal (tummy) pains, jaundice. The length and severity of hepatitis varies. CONSULT YOUR CHILDS DOCTOR FOR THE MOST ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS With the welfare of the sick child in mind and in the interests of the remaining children, if in my opinion a child is ill, then the parent/carer will be asked to leave the setting. It is my policy that any child who has contracted any communicable disease must have been clear of the disease for a minimum of 48 hours prior to the child being considered for re-admission, in the case of diarrhea the child must have had normal stools for that 48 hour period. Diseases notifiable (to Local Authority Proper Officers) under the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010: Acute encephalitis Acute meningitis Acute poliomyelitis Acute infectious hepatitis Anthrax Botulism Brucellosis Cholera Diphtheria Enteric fever (typhoid or paratyphoid fever) Food poisoning Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) Infectious bloody diarrhoea Invasive group A streptococcal disease and scarlet fever Legionnaires Disease

5 Leprosy Malaria Measles Meningococcal septicaemia Mumps Plague Rabies Rubella SARS Smallpox Tetanus Tuberculosis Typhus Viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) Whooping cough Yellow fever