Do you have a Pink Eye Policy that is written on the books or is it an assumed policy?
I just "assumed" that it was common knowledge that Pink Eye is highly contagious. I had to explain this to the parent and told them that once the student was seen by a physician and cleared they could return to school if it was not pink eye and if it is once they had their antibiotic ointment for 24 hours then they may return to school unless the physician states otherwise. I recently had a parent question what our Pink Eye Policy is, low and behold we don't really have one. (My 2nd year as a school nurse in a school that hasn't had a nurse in over 10 years)
If you do have one would you like to share? Any suggestions?! Do you let them stay or do you have them go?
I have been sending them out as this is a small school approx. 260 students 8-12 grades and they are together all the time.
Posting my Conjunctivitis (and some other eye stuff) charts I use:
9/10 it isn't conjunctivitis - or to be be specific, isn't bacterial conjunctivitis.
Suspected bacterial conjunctivitis and I send them out, return after seeing doctor and starting treatment if needed (per doctor). Because it is no fun and you can see it a mile away.
Older kids don't actually spread conjunctivitis as much as the younger ones do. They are more likely to spread from one to the other on themselves.
BUT, I do have red eye and saline eye drops in my office. I will apply those and have student sit a few minutes. They do help with allergy related red-eye a lot so that can be telling.
My town has a very different policy than most of the comments I see here,
"Conjunctivitis (Pinkeye): Conjunctivitis is not an emergency, so students or staff who are identified as having conjunctivitis at school do not need to be sent home from school that day."
and I've seen support for it in many studies online. Nevertheless, the teachers freak out and look at me like an idiot when I tell them the student can stay in school as long as they can learn and clean their hands regularly (as all students are prompted to do throughout the day)
Our school handbook asks students to stay home if they have a contagious process and lists pink eye as an example but our health dept doesn't have a guideline and as far as I know, exclusion is generally not evidence based.
Typically I only send suspected pink eye home if the student is unable to perform hand hygiene and avoid touching (the very little ones, or perhaps kids in our extended resource room). Older kids are told not to touch their eyes, we go over hand hygiene and I call parents so they are aware to monitor.
jnemartin, BSN, RN
340 Posts
LOVE THIS! thanks, Jen