that darn tummy ache will getcha everytime

Specialties School

Published

fellow school nurses.......... you all know it is a fact that if we had a nickel for everytime someone came into the office with a tummy ache, we could retire right now. right? (pls agree, its been a rough day) 9 am or so,kid presents to office with tummy ache. no temp, no other s/s, so i proceed with usual assessment. we call mom and mom tells him to go to class. so he does. lunchtime he comes back with his lunch, still complaining, said his para sent him up. i was in the process of going to other school for insulin coverage, so i sent him to the office. he ate his lunch and when i got back, i sent him back to class. cpl hrs later, we had a nice black history month presentation. each grade performed something for the entire school, parents etc. anyway i was triaging a student that is complaining of chest pain. (she is 5) his grade goes up to perform, and down he goes....... and proceeds to barf all over the place. staff bring him to my office and we call dad, get him cleaned up etc. all the while they are going on and on about his tummy ache and how he has been to my office twice today. i just want to hide under my desk......... permanently. :) i luv my job!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg; Telemetry; School Nurse pk-8.

Poor you!!! What a day you've had!!!!!

BTW, not only would we be retired on all those nickels, we would be living in the lap of luxury! We can sit in lounge chairs overlooking the azure sea...

Care for another mimosa, Dear?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

just because he barfed at 2p doesn't mean he was sick at 9a....

Up Vote Up Vote ×

It is really hard to know when something is "brewing" and will turn into something and when it won't. It would have been silly if you'd sent him home at 9 in the morning; you did exactly right.

One day I had a TON of kids in my office during the day c/o stomachaches. 10 mins before school ends they call me to the main office b/c two kids are there c/o stomachaches. All the other kids made it through the day okay. Except the ONE KID who started throwing up right near the principal's desk as the school day was ending (other one was okay it seemed).

One of my funniest experiences this year (my first as a school nurse) was when I was doing vision screening w. the 4 y/o's. One kids came into my office, sat down and burst into tears saying his stomach hurt. I checked vitals and told him to rest for five mins b/c "sometimes these things come quickly and they go just as quickly" (b/c he was FINE when I took him from his classroom!). 5 mins later, he was back to normal. I think some kids see me and feel like they should tell me their stomachs hurt :). Maybe it's the pediatric equivalent of "white coat syndrome", except instead of their blood pressure going up like an adult's, their stomachs start to hurt!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Oh this is so true for all of us I'm sure. Unfortunately there's no real way to know.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.
10 mins before school ends they call me to the main office b/c two kids are there c/o stomachaches.

This is one of my pet peeves. Unless the child looks seriously ill, there is no need to send them to the nurse when they are about to go home! I have one teacher who routinely sends them to me within minutes of the bell, and the kids are talking joking laughing, when I ask them when it started they say "just now". Why does a mild s/a x 1 minute need to be evaluated when the kid is about to go home?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

happens to the best of us!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in pediatrics, geriatric, developmentally d.

wow yes i just had that EXACT thing happen to me today! had about 6 kids c/o stomache i had to give insulin and run to another school to give insulin, so all the kids who were "sick with a tummy ache" and who had no temp and reg vitals got sent back to their classrooms b/c the office does not like them in here whenever im not here. so i come back and these kids are ALL back! i re-evaluate them and there were no changes, so i gave each kid water and a little bag of cookies, 5 minutes later each and every one of them felt better -_-

Up Vote Up Vote ×

thank you all for the help :) if i gave out a little bag of cookies my office would be filled non stop!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
thank you all for the help :) if i gave out a little bag of cookies my office would be filled non stop!

me too!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

this exact thing has happened to me a couple of times. kids come in complaining of SA, i send them back to class, and then lo and behold they vomit all over the classroom and the teacher comes down to the office behaving hysterically. i hate when that happens.... but i'm not calling home for every SA... otherwise the school would go out of business

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in pediatrics, geriatric, developmentally d.

well i technically only give the cookies to those i know didnt eat lunch because they were late. But yes i too have gotten SA sent them back to class vomit and are sent back to me with the health referral note saying was sent earliar, should go home -_-

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment