Sent kid home with a fever of 103 yesterday

Published

And she is here today :no:

The most annoying thing about it is that I specifically told dad when he came to pick her up that she could not come today no matter what and IF she remained fever free all day today without any medications she could come tomorrow. He said OK.

And no one is answering their phones :banghead:

Specializes in school/military/OR/home health.
i just had a little guy that i sent home with a fever yesterday come in - parent sent in a note stating that she couldn't get him into the doctor but that she treated him with a cool bath and medication and he was fine for school today. Uh, no... he's still got a fever today and that's WITH medication.

Also - what's with running these kids straight to the doctor the second that they are a little sick? I can't get you to take them for their required vaccines, but you take them to the doctor if their temp rises above 99.5 or they sneeze more than 4 times in a row.

I think parents get confused between "kid can't be in school right now" and "kid needs to see a doctor"

These two things aren't the same, and I think parents think if I send home or suggest they stay home, they need to see a doctor. I have some that go right to the ER when I send home for fever. Talk about wasting time and resources.

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Specializes in School nursing.

Also - what's with running these kids straight to the doctor the second that they are a little sick? I can't get you to take them for their required vaccines, but you take them to the doctor if their temp rises above 99.5 or they sneeze more than 4 times in a row.

So much YES. And replace "doctor" with "emergency room" in some cases.

::head desk::

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Also - what's with running these kids straight to the doctor the second that they are a little sick?

I think parents get confused between "kid can't be in school right now" and "kid needs to see a doctor"

Yes!!! What the focalin is that all about!

So many times I have called a parent to pick up their student and they say "OK, I'll call the doctor and make an appt!" Huh?

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Specializes in med-surg, IMC, school nursing, NICU.
So much YES. And replace "doctor" with "emergency room" in some cases.

::head desk::

I had a parent take a child to the ED for pink eye 2 weeks ago.

PINK EYE.

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I had a parent take a child to the ED for pink eye 2 weeks ago.

PINK EYE.

I hope they laughed her out

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Specializes in NCSN.

Also - what's with running these kids straight to the doctor the second that they are a little sick? I can't get you to take them for their required vaccines, but you take them to the doctor if their temp rises above 99.5 or they sneeze more than 4 times in a row.

In their defense they made need doctor's notes for their after school care.

I had a parent call me who was so frustrated because her after school care sent her girls home due to lice (they claim to have found one nit on one of the girls). They gave her a letter stating that until BOTH girls are lice and nit free, AND HAVE BEEN CHECKED BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.

I checked them in school and sent a letter to the daycare stating that they were lice and nit free, and the girl who took the letter made a comment that they usually need a Doctor's note for them to return.

And my daughter's daycare needed me to prove that she didn't have pink eye (she had a blocked tear duct) with a doctor's note when she first started.

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Specializes in School Nurse.
I hope they laughed her out

I had a student who was refused service at an ER for a "headache." They told her to take Aleve and see her PCP.

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..
I had a student who was refused service at an ER for a "headache." They told her to take Aleve and see her PCP.

That is almost concerning. My cousin was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 5. First symptom was a headache. Unfortunately he died at 9.

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Specializes in School nursing.
That is almost concerning. My cousin was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 5. First symptom was a headache. Unfortunately he died at 9.

Headache may be more concerning, especially if it were migraine level and non abating for several hours with OTC treatment.

That being said, ER for headache that lasted a couple of hours with no OTC or other treatment tried at home? I'd like to hope the ER isn't being used for that, but I know better.

I also had a parent take a student to the ER for pinkeye. Even after I gave them the name of a local urgent care with after work hours to go instead.

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Specializes in School Nurse.
That is almost concerning. My cousin was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 5. First symptom was a headache. Unfortunately he died at 9.

I should have provided Hx. This is a FF, no previous complaints of any headaches, multiple absences, at risk of losing semester credit because of absences, Parent was looking for Doctor's note to excuse absences.

I would never minimize the necessity for a full evaluation if this were a re-occurring situation, or if student had presented to the clinic with severe symptoms.

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Specializes in Med-surg, school nursing..

It's amazing what some people use the ER for. I think to myself "If they had $150 co-pay like I did, they wouldn't be so quick to go!"

My kids have gone to the ER twice, one with a concussion and the other was admitted for two days when she was nine months old for dehydration.

Insurance almost denied the concussion visit because they said I could've gone to urgent care first. I quickly let them know that our urgent cares close at 5:00 on Sundays. But really? I (the paying patient) should not be the one you are cracking down on. I truly don't mean that in a discriminatory way, there are those who truly need the assistance, and don't abuse the system. The ones who abuse it make it harder for those who need it, and those who still have to pay.

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER.
I hope they laughed her out

I am an NP that works 2 days in a rural Urgent care, and one day in a rural critical access hospital ED in the same rural town. I see this a lot both in the UC and the ED. I am always told by the parents, that the child can't go back to school until they have been on antibiotics for 24 hours. They can't get the child into their pcp for three days and they can't afford to take off work for 5 days, so they come to see me. I'm not sure who is telling these parents this, but they are very insistent on antibiotics and a note saying exactly when they were there.

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