Neosporin, Cough Drops, & Crutches

[FloridanurseRN]

So do school nurses out there give use Neosporin for small cuts? Is is the same as cough drops. I understand both are medications and I thought we could not provide these with a Dr order.

Also, do school nurses give out crutches? Like if a student has a sprained/strained ankle and they need assistance to the car? We have a wheelchair to do this in the Health Office but I have another counterpart who actually lets the families take crutches and use at home and school. Its a big no-no for me unless there is a dr order for crutches.

[LikeTheDeadSea, MSN, RN]

Neosporin & triple antibiotic cream has sulfa in it so some students may have an allergic reaction. Soap & water is the standard for basic first aid. No crutches - parents provide. Cough drops are just not effective.

My Sulfa allergy keeps Neosporin on my "I'll call a parent and tell them their child's finger looks like its starting an infection and needs to be monitored and offer it then" list. I'm not just whipping it out since I know a week long torso rash stinks.

[grammy1]

We are specifically instructed to never lend a student crutches d/t liability issues. For wound care it's soap and water or bactine and first aid cream. No neosporin or triple A.

[Amethya]

I have OTC creams but I always ask parents if I can use it on their child, and most of the time they say yes.

[ICUtoSchoolNSG]

I have cough drops and antibiotic ointment on the stock order sheet parents can choose to have their kid's provider sign. If I have and order and they are showing s/s of infection I'll use the ointment. Generally I wash wounds with soap and water. I give out cough drops only with an order. As for crutches, I do have them but I only use them if the kid is getting picked up and needs a way out to the car on their way to seek treatment.

[GmaPearl BSN RN]

My 25year old crutches have been used one time... as props in a school play. I would agree that loaning them to a student could become a huge liability. No stock antibacterial ointments or cough drops. If a finger or toe appears infected, I call the parent and send home a "recipe" for Epsom salt soaks :)

[100kids, BSN, RN]

I have an OTC form that parents can check off items they allow me to use (like Neosporin, cough drops, hydrocortisione cream, Tylenol, motrin, etc.) but by law it has to be signed by both the parent and the child's doctor. I get them back for about 50% of my students each year.

[JKL33]

Neosporin & triple antibiotic cream has sulfa in it so some students may have an allergic reaction.

Neosporin has neomycin sulfate, not to be confused with the sulfonamide class of antibiotics that are being referred to in the context of sulfa allergy. There is no known association between being allergic to sulfonamides and having sensitivy to sulfates or -ites. All of this is why J&J states outright that there is no "sulfa" in Neosporin.

That said, the neomycin (an aminoglycoside) is the component out of the three to which people are more likely to be sensitive.

:)

[JKL33]

...also why GmaPearl doesn't have to worry about sulfa allergy when recommending a magnesium sulfate foot bath...

[GmaPearl BSN RN]

After having seen some pretty horrific reactions to topical antibiotics, no way would I use them on a child (even with a blanket order). Same goes for topical steroids.

[Flare, ASN, BSN]

i have a tube of neosporin as a courtesy for employees to use, but don't allow it for the students. If I want something as a barries, I might use vaseline or a&d. My official stance is no cough drops without an order. Again, I may stock some for employee courtesy (meaning have a bag of confiscated ones on hand). If a student comes to me with a bag/handful I tell them what policy is and tell them NO without the order and usually even send home a blank med sheet then i keep them in my office until picked up by a parent (which is usually never) on the other hand, if the kid just takes a cough drop discreetly in class, I typically will do nothing about it. I have no time to stop and frisk for Luden's. I have one wheel chair for recovery missions and one pair of crutches hat simply takes up space. Yearly I think about tossing the crutches and wonder why i hadn't yet.

[ohiobobcat]

I have standing orders for bacitracin and cough drops. I use bacitracin sparingly, only if a wound is looking infected. Cough drops, meh, I can take them or leave them. They are nice to have for legit sore throats/cough, but I know they get abused. (as in "I'm bored in class and MUST go see the nurse for a cough drop, and then stop at the drinking fountain, and visit 2 bathrooms on the way back to class. But I went to see the NURSE so it's OK.")

I don't give out crutches, and request a doctor's order for them if a student comes to school with them. I have a pair of crutches that I keep for "parts" and one to use as a back-up pair. I have a wheelchair that I use to transport students with injuries to my office and then out to a car when needed.

[beachynurse, ASN, BSN]

No neosporing without an MD order. There may be a possibility of an adverse reaction if the student has an allergy to the antibiotic in the cream or ointment, that's a problem. Cough drops are a nurse by nurse decision. I will accept them, and I also keep some in the clinic. I have 2,100 high schoolers that on any given day, some of them will try and go home. So, if I can keep a kid in school with a cough drop, I think I've done a good thing.