What degree of fever to send kids home from school?

allnurses Guide · Nov 11, 2014

This is my first year as a school nurse. I did not have any official training on my job. I have a few questions and feel that I do not have anyone to ask. Some of my questions might seem a little stupid, but I dont know what what I dont know, so Im going to ask them anyway.
1) What is the recommended grade of fever to send a child home from school?
2) How can you tell if a kid is faking a stomach ache or if the complaint is legit?

Hi Latishadawn28 - there is a School Nurse Forum where you can ask this question.

School Nurses

I'll ask a moderator to move this question there.

Thanks for writing - there is a lot of help from other school nurses on that forum.

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 11, 2014

Thread moved to School Nurses forum.

schooldistrictnurse · Nov 11, 2014

Your school or district should have formal or informal policies on sending kids home. If you don't have any such thing, maybe through the course of this year you can create it. If you have a medical advisor, he or she can approve your policies.

Then, at some point, you can share these with your parents so everyone knows the "rules" and parents aren't surprised with a call that says "your son has to be picked up."

In my district, students go home with a temp at or over 100 degrees. Students (legitimately) vomiting go home. Suspected pink eye goes home.

How to tell if a student is faking: this is a million dollar question. Many times if you allow the student to rest for 15 minutes you will have a good "read" on how they feel. Give them some water and/or crackers and see what happens.

Any other questions or concerns, ask away! And welcome to our world!

caliotter3 · Nov 11, 2014

At my school, go home temp was also 100 and above. Vomiting and/or diarrhea also sure fire go home reasons.

AdobeRN · Nov 11, 2014

Temp 100 or above = go home and can not return until fever free without medication x24 hours. Diarrhea - I send kids home if they have had 2+ episodes, need to stay home if 3+ episodes, can return if diarrhea free x24 hours without medication. Vomiting - depends what they are vomiting from but if they are sent home policy is they must be able to tolerate 1-2 meals without vomiting.

Check with your health department also if you need backup resources - here in Texas we have a list of exclusions or recommended exclusions regarding illnesses.

No way to tell if a kid really has a stomach ache. I probably get 10-20 per day coming in complaining of stomachaches or nausea. I just let them rest for 15 minutes, may give crackers & water to see what happens. If I see them a second time in the same day I will give parents a call and let them decide what to do.

Your questions are not stupid - we all had to start somewhere with school nursing :)

Farawyn · Nov 11, 2014

99.9.

And I don't really send stomach aches home unless they pull the old "I texted my mom and she said she's coming to get me."

Lots of times the kids just don't eat. Crackers. Suck on ice. I also have a big jar of peppermints.

I give them a peppermint and tell them the peppermint oil in it will help out their stomach.

Wave Watcher · Nov 12, 2014

Our policy is >100.0 goes home. For complaints of nausea I give them water.....a nice big cup. If they throw it up...they get the golden ticket home....if they don't...well, I guess they will be peeing often for the next hour. :-) Once you are at your school for a while you will get to know the frequent fliers. I know their personalities pretty good. If I let them sit in my clinic for a good 5 minutes and talk with them I can typically tell if they are truly sick. I don't want to keep a child at school who really does feel like vomiting. That is really miserable. :-( I also ask the questions, "Did you eat breakfast/lunch? and Are you hungry?" If they come into my clinic saying they just vomited but no one saw or they feel like vomiting...I will ask them if they are hungry. If they say yes, I can pretty much bet they are NOT sick. Who wants to eat when they just vomited? :-)

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Nov 12, 2014

Echoing what several other folks said here: >100.0 goes home, though if they are running >99.5 and visibly look terrible (especially if the student is not one that usually visits me), I call home and have 'em picked up.

I carry saltines. First question for a stomachache is always "did you eat" followed by "do you need to use the restroom." I deal with older kids (grades 7-12) and the two most common complaints are stomachache and headache. 9/10 related to not eating, drinking, staying up until 2 am the night before (others are menstrual cramps, hence my third question for the ladies "are you on your period?"). For stomachaches, I give water and saltines, have 'em use the restroom, observe anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. A student's demeanor in that time is very telling. Most are animated and chatty and if they eat the crackers, they are usually just fine. 9/10, no vomit, back up they go.