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The
following information was sent to parents in the
district from the district's health offices.
It’s
the flu season, the most congested time of the year. Schools echo with coughs and sniffles, sore throats, fevers
and muscle aches. Peak
activity of the yearly spread of the influenza virus is
between late December and early March.
Due to intermittent shortages of the flu vaccine
each year,
it is extremely important that we keep our students and
staff healthy.
The flu is an infection of the respiratory tract caused
by the influenza virus. Unlike colds, the
influenza virus is spread through the air.
When an infected child coughs, sneezes or speaks
into the air, microscopic droplets of the active flu
virus enter the lining of a child’s nose, throat or
airways and reproduce quickly.
Unlike common cold symptoms, the flu has a sudden
onset of headaches,
fever, chills, muscle aches, an overall
lousy feeling, coughing and sore throat.
The “stomach flu” is really not the flu at
all; other viruses cause it.
The flu is highly contagious among children in
constant close proximity and therefore can spread
quickly throughout schools, creating epidemics.
A
child who is exposed to the virus will usually become
sick in one to three days.
The worst of the illness lasts for 3 to 5 days
but the cough and tired feeling may go on for a week or
more. Not
all cases of the flu are severe.
A sick child is advised to stay at home from the first day
of illness when symptoms are most severe and the
infection is most contagious. Children can return to school when symptoms have completely resolved and
no fever has been
detected for at least 24 hours.
It is best to add an extra day or two to recover
fully.
In
addition to the flu vaccine there also are certain good
health habits that you can teach your child to prevent
being exposed to the virus. These include:
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Cover
your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or
sneezing. This can help prevent those around you
from getting sick.
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Wash your hands often with soap and
water or alcohol based hand gel especially after
coughing, sneezing or cleaning your nose.
Washing your hands often will help protect
you from
contracting or spreading germs.
-
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches
something that is contaminated with germs and then
touches his or her eyes, nose or mouth.
-
Avoid close contact. If you experience
any flu symptoms STAY HOME, rest and drink
plenty of fluids and you will help prevent others
from catching your illness. Over the counter
medications may relieve symptoms of flu.
-
Ventilate rooms by opening windows as
appropriate.
Staff
and parents can help slow the spread of colds and flu by
reminding your child to use the above good health habits
and by keeping your sick child at home.
Please contact your school nurse for further
questions or concerns regarding the flu or other
illnesses.
Kathy
Cunningham RN, High School
Theresa Varsoke RN, Draper
MS
Judy Clapp RN, Bradt
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