This is a weird question I guess

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I'm a nurse at a large high school (approx 1400 kids grades 9-12). Anyway I've found that a lot of kids come in for normal aches and pains of life; things that you learn to live with like canker sores, a dry throat from dry air in the winter, a stiff neck from sleeping weird, and they come in and are slightly freaking out about it. I know that's the nature of school nursing lol. But how do you handle them? Baby them, or basically tell them welcome to life? Since these kids are older I tend to be tougher. How do you get them to realize that these little things are going to happen until the day they die lol

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

oh, i don't think i even own a set of kid gloves. not to say that i can't be compassionate, but honestly - i find it doubtful that these kids go into panic mode over life's minor incoveniences at home. If they do and their parent's let them get away with it, them i will feel badly for how badly perpared they will be for the real world.

Whay i will do is give the students that come in with these issues some practical advice in how to self care for them. Nothing crazy - gentle range of motion for a stiff neck, show them where the salt is for a saline rinse for a canker sore. Dry throat... i give them "the look" remind them to drink water and tell them that it's not really a reason to leave class to come to the nurses office.... :)

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Specializes in Pedi.

Don't baby them. I had a girl come to me with menstrual cramps last year and tell me she was dying. I said "here's some Midol, go back to class."

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Don't baby them. I had a girl come to me with menstrual cramps last year and tell me she was dying. I said "here's some Midol go back to class."[/quote']

That's funny :D

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This is a great point, I believe kids may have many different reasons why they visit you. They may truly have these pains and I think that teaching them little ways to relieve the symptoms they have is great idea. If a girl has cramps teach we what you know :) she may not have a mom at home or maybe she is too scared to ask another person bec it embarrasses her. My point is that we do not know what these kids may be thinking. We do not know what they are going through at home. They may want to get out of class. Maybe they really are concerned and we can help take the stress away and teach them! Or maybe we can talk to them and really see what's going on which may be deeper than a sour belly. I'm only a nursing student but I think that physical symptoms may be a cry for help in other ways as well... Just another way to think of these situations :). Thanks

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Specializes in mommy/baby, home health, school nurse.

When I was in high school I visited the nurse every month. I would have loved it if she gave me something for pain. I had a mother who wouldn't get Midol or Motrin for my cramps. She just told me to deal with it. :notworthy: The only thing our nurse could do is pat me on the head and tell me to go lie down. I think she knew that talking to my mother would have just been more problems than it would solve.

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And you don't really know how bad a girl's cramps really are. When I was a teenager, I used to pass out from my cramps. Little did I know it was only the beginning of my reproductive problems. I was on bedrest with every pregnancy, and I ended up getting a hysterectomy in my early 30's because I would hemorrhage every month. I loved being pregnant because bedrest and childbirth was easier than having periods. I couldn't take Midol because it would make me pass out faster.

I wish everyone could just take a Midol and go back to class. Unfortunately, I missed a day of school almost every month for my problem. I never missed for anything else because I never wanted to do makeup work.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

I think you need to be sure there is another reason they are visiting you....as test, a boy friend, bullying...and then tell them to buck up and go back to class.

My kids have both done this once or twice....it was usually a teacher who belittled them or they were being bullied/teased. I dealt with that issue and told them there will always be people who are jerks...go back to class.

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Specializes in School nursing.

^There is a student a I care for that misses 3-4 days every month because of severe period cramps (I work grades 7-12); Midol, ibuprofen, etc haven't worked. She's being seen by a gynecologist, tried birth control, but nothing has worked thus far. Poor gal is in tears if she tries to come to school, but missing that many days every month isn't working either.

Now, I'm mostly tough. I get kids back up to class ASAP when I can. I work with a smaller # of kids (450) and after the almost two months, I've gotten to know my frequent flyers and who sometimes needs a 3 minute check-in with me versus actual medical assessment/treatment. That 3-5 minutes in my office where I listen, smile, then let them return to class is what some kids with emotional problems need to reset.

That being said, I cannot tell you how many times I educate about managing cold symptoms. (And how many kids stay up past 2 AM every night.) Every child with a cold tells me they are miserable and dying. Sorry, kiddo, you're not. You're afebrile, blowing your nose, and uncomfortable. But you will survive, I promise.

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And you don't really know how bad a girl's cramps really are. When I was a teenager, I used to pass out from my cramps. Little did I know it was only the beginning of my reproductive problems. I was on bedrest with every pregnancy, and I ended up getting a hysterectomy in my early 30's because I would hemorrhage every month. I loved being pregnant because bedrest and childbirth was easier than having periods. I couldn't take Midol because it would make me pass out faster.

I wish everyone could just take a Midol and go back to class. Unfortunately, I missed a day of school almost every month for my problem. I never missed for anything else because I never wanted to do makeup work.

My best friend's daughter had horrible cramps that doubled her over and onto the floor. She was prescribed Vicodin!

Some cramps are killers. Some are not.

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Specializes in Pedi.

If a student has cramps that are that severe, the school nurse's office isn't the place to deal with them and the child needs to see a specialist. The school that I worked at was full of students who would do anything to get out of class and since it was a private school and their parents were paying a lot of money for them to be there/they were well off many of them were used to getting their way no matter what.

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I totally agree. However, where I live, many people cannot afford to see a specialist, even with insurance.

:( We were in that situation ourselves for several years after the economy crashed in Michigan.

In my case, I'm old enough that we just didn't go to the doctor except maybe once every few years.

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