What do y'all do for the young girls who come in with cramps? If they have no meds in the clinic, our hands are pretty much tied.
Are any of you allowed to use heating pads or warm packs from the microwave? At this time, our health department (who writes our procedures manual), doesn't allow us to use any heat at all. We can calculate and give insulin, but heaven knows we can't be trusted with "HEAT." We might burn someone.
We allow 10-15 minutes to lie down. They can call home for a parent to bring meds, but most are working, and if not working they usually don't have a car so that doesn't usually work. Any other suggestions??
I have a heating pad and I allow the girls 10 minutes and an invitation to return during their lunch period after they have finished eating. They can call home for meds and I will let them know that if they frequently get severe cramps that they can keep medicine at the school. As far as PE, I tell them that exercise will help and welcome them to the next 40 years of their life.
I have a heating pad and I allow the girls 10 minutes and an invitation to return during their lunch period after they have finished eating. They can call home for meds and I will let them know that if they frequently get severe cramps that they can keep medicine at the school. As far as PE, I tell them that exercise will help and welcome them to the next 40 years of their life.
Hehe. I have girls that come in and tell me every time that they have the worst cramps ever, are going to die, and need to go home before we even try anything (and no history of severe cramps). I shrug say "I haven't had anyone die from menstrual cramps yet, and you aren't about to be my first."
I can't use the plug in heating pads here, and I don't keep any other type because I don't have a microwave handy (could go to the lounge, but its against policy to leave a student unattended in the office). So I have been just having them lay down for a few minutes or try to call home for someone to bring the meds. If it happens regularly, I try to get parents to bring in PRN meds to leave here. I do believe there is probably some bootlegging of motrin going on between the HS girls, but that is the least of my problems.
Trick to getting a microwave - when I started at my school, my office didn't have one. I gave girls heating pads and sent them to the main office to heat them since I couldn't leave my office. The principal and office manager got interrupted frequently. Within a week, they ordered and surprised me with a microwave for my office :).
I have a heating pad and I allow the girls 10 minutes and an invitation to return during their lunch period after they have finished eating. They can call home for meds and I will let them know that if they frequently get severe cramps that they can keep medicine at the school. As far as PE, I tell them that exercise will help and welcome them to the next 40 years of their life.
That's a tough one - unfortunately, I don't have a good answer.
As someone who ends up literally on the floor rocking back and forth and crying in the fetal position from painful cramps (and who occasionally vomits from the pain), heat is sometimes the only thing that helps - I sometimes end up having to run a very hot bath to be able to relieve the intense cramping. Is there anyone you can go to to appeal the decision to not allow heating pads?
I'm not a nurse yet, but I just wondered, how do you differentiate between menstrual cramps and cyst pain? because the treatment would differ. I can't imagine prescribing exercise for cyst pain and I remember not only missing school for it but even as an adult, having to leave work because of it. ironically I have minimal menstrual cramping...But I'd think elementary and middle school aged girls would have a hard time telling the difference. I'd be leery of recommending exercise without a history. but again! I'm not a school nurse. Just learning!
I'm not a nurse yet, but I just wondered, how do you differentiate between menstrual cramps and cyst pain? because the treatment would differ. I can't imagine prescribing exercise for cyst pain and I remember not only missing school for it but even as an adult, having to leave work because of it. ironically I have minimal menstrual cramping...But I'd think elementary and middle school aged girls would have a hard time telling the difference. I'd be leery of recommending exercise without a history. but again! I'm not a school nurse. Just learning!
Having had both, it is my experience that there is no similarity between the 2 kinds of pain. I am also not familiar with ovarian cysts being common in school-aged girls, but I may be wrong about that.
I don't recommend extreme exercise, but encouraging a young lady with moderate to severe period pain to do normal gym class & athletic practice is difficult, although usually quite helpful.
Having had both, it is my experience that there is no similarity between the 2 kinds of pain. I am also not familiar with ovarian cysts being common in school-aged girls, but I may be wrong about that.
I don't recommend extreme exercise, but encouraging a young lady with moderate to severe period pain to do normal gym class & athletic practice is difficult, although usually quite helpful.
They are more common than I thought before entering school nursing. I have a few girls that suffer from them, including a couple of middle school aged students that required surgery for them .
The pain, for the students I've worked with, presents differently - I've had it described as sharp and stabbing vs. cramping. Some girls with a history tell me the pain feels "higher up" than cramps for them.
Side story: I had a sub in my office one day and a female student arrived presenting with extreme, right lower, stabbing stomach pain and low grade fever. Since the symptoms could be possible appendicitis (among other things), sub was calling parents to get student taken to the ED and parents were brushing it off - my awesome sub then called an ambulance. Student had a ruptured ovarian cyst.
Due to liability issues with litigious parents I'm not surprised they do not let you use heat, even the last hospital I worked at did not allow us to use heating pads of any kind or towels warmed in a microwave.
As someone who ends up literally on the floor rocking back and forth and crying in the fetal position from painful cramps (and who occasionally vomits from the pain), heat is sometimes the only thing that helps - I sometimes end up having to run a very hot bath to be able to relieve the intense cramping. Is there anyone you can go to to appeal the decision to not allow heating pads?
This is the exception and not the norm. Hopefully a student who is so severely afflicted will have meds at the school and her parents would have been in contact to work out a plan to allow student to rest.
kidzcare
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I have a heating pad and I allow the girls 10 minutes and an invitation to return during their lunch period after they have finished eating. They can call home for meds and I will let them know that if they frequently get severe cramps that they can keep medicine at the school. As far as PE, I tell them that exercise will help and welcome them to the next 40 years of their life.