Stomach Virus

Flare, ASN, BSN · Oct 26, 2017

is it possible you have norovirus going through the school? The CDC recommends bleach as the standard to clean and disinfect. The rub is that a lot of districts won't use bleach because of environmental reasons.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2017

is it possible you have norovirus going through the school? The CDC recommends bleach as the standard to clean and disinfect. The rub is that a lot of districts won't use bleach because of environmental reasons.

This. In recent memory we had half of our senior class out d/t vomiting (~35 students). It was a Friday and we cancelled afterschool and had a cleaning crew come in that weekend to deep clean.

But, my school does hate bleach less for environment and more because it stains everything if used incorrectly.

I do carry Virex (Virex® II 256 | Solutions Designed for Healthcare™) and have used it to clean areas in my office as needed, usually with vomit or blood. I dilute it, of course. Office staff has bottles I have mixed to use for a vomit and/or blood clean-up situation as well.

Amethya · Oct 26, 2017

I'm not quite sure, but I'm trying to do as much as I can with what I have.

WineRN · Oct 26, 2017

I'm not quite sure, but I'm trying to do as much as I can with what I have.

It sounds like you are doing your best. I agree with the others about doing a little research on Noro. It is a fast moving virus and VERY contagious. We had an outbreak in the spring and ended up closing the next day for a deep clean.

In my situation it was diarrhea, vomiting and/or STRONG stomach pains. All with no fever or very mild (99.9-100.1) temps. It was awwwffffuuuullll. I literally had poop and vomit on my office floor at the same time while I was assessing other little ones.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Oct 27, 2017

It sounds like you are doing your best. I agree with the others about doing a little research on Noro. It is a fast moving virus and VERY contagious. We had an outbreak in the spring and ended up closing the next day for a deep clean.
In my situation it was diarrhea, vomiting and/or STRONG stomach pains. All with no fever or very mild (99.9-100.1) temps. It was awwwffffuuuullll. I literally had poop and vomit on my office floor at the same time while I was assessing other little ones.

The year noro hit my school, we had teachers vomiting left and right at school. The school actually had to shut down for two days for deep clean because more than 40% of student and staff population was affected.

This was just prior to my working here, so my goal is to monitor and avoid another shut-down. Hence why we did what I mentioned in my previous post when I tracked a trend in one grade.

Amethya · Oct 27, 2017

I haven't had this extreme of cases, mostly the child vomits for a while, then stops and feels okay, then vomits every once in a while. No fever, no diarrhea. I do talk to their parents about this and tell them until their vomiting stops without the help of any medication suppressing it for 24 hours, they are not allowed back. I do tell the parents to go to the doctor, but it's mostly for myself to make sure its not the Mumps.

SaltineQueen · Oct 27, 2017

So this is the 4th day that I had students vomiting and stomach aches. It seems that there's a stomach virus going around, because a parent who works at a pediatrician's said that's all they been seeing this past few weeks.
Great! *sarcasm*
What do you guys do when you have this type of "epidemic"? I'm continuously cleaning and spraying Lysol around my office.

If we see a cluster of things in the classroom or a certain grade, I ask my custodian to give extra attention to those rooms/chairs/desks.

BeckyESRN · Oct 27, 2017

If we see a cluster of things in the classroom or a certain grade, I ask my custodian to give extra attention to those rooms/chairs/desks.

Same^. Since it's Friday, hopefully they can deep clean this weekend to give you a fresh start on Monday. You may want to see if your principal would send an email blast reminding parents of the 24 hour rule. We do this when we see lots of vomiting or fevers, not that anyone reads it or follows it, but hey, at least we tried...