Year 1 as a School Nurse

Anonymous1257 · Feb 23, 2015

I used to be a preschool teacher, had similar if less severe issues. Just give it time, eat a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise, your immune system will adapt in time

3peas · Feb 23, 2015

It's worked for us-100% grape juice helps when stomach buggies are going around. Feel better.

NanaPoo · Feb 23, 2015

A preschool teacher told me she drinks grape juice (and so does everyone at home) when stomach bugs are going around at school.

Interesting. And worth a try.

softrbreeze · Feb 23, 2015

OP, I agree- IBS will predispose you to every bug out there. I had this problem constantly until I found a way to cure it. I highly recommend finding a colon hydrotherapist. I did so on the recommendation of my MT and had immediate, if short-lived, improvement (about 2 mos). Went back and did it again when my sx returned and was relieved of sx again for 4 mos. Repeated it again and long-story short, every time I went back to hydrotherapist my sx were relieved for longer and longer periods of time. It's been years since I've had a session and BMs are almost always WNL. Another thing that may have contributed is taking dairy out of my diet. There are plenty of dairy alternatives these days- Earth Balance butter, cashew/almond milk, etc. I hope you find what works for you! I suffered IBS (diarrhea type) for years and it was not fun!

OldDude · Feb 23, 2015

Beer...

Farawyn · Feb 23, 2015

I left 200 sick hours on the table when I left my hospital job, so I never called in. I've been out sick 3 times this year, which is a lot for me. And I have teenagers who go to the school, in my town, so you would think I'd be used to all this. I agree, I think it is a matter of time.

Wash wash wash, have the kids wash, wipe everything down. Someone, think it was Flare? mentioned putting the kids on speaker phone instead of letting them use your phone. Make sure custodians actually clean.

Eat well, sleep, exercise.

I have to try the grape juice, what's THAT all about?

SnowyJ, RN · Feb 24, 2015

I agree. Wipe down everything (Including faucet handles and doorknobs) and use Lysol.

Wash your hands and always use gloves when emptying "used" garbage cans. (Puke.)

Do not share phones, writing utensils, etc.

And keep in mind, it may not just be school that is the culprit. At the risk of sounding like a germophobe, do you wipe down the cart handle at the grocery store?

How about using keypads/ATMs? do you use hand sanitizer after using those?

Basically ANYTHING that is "shared" in the community can pose a risk since there is so much illness out there.

AS someone else mentioned, the "fecal-oral" route is the most common mode of transmission for stomach viruses. Remove or reduce that threat and you will see a difference.

ellieheart · Feb 24, 2015

I went to Urgent Care for nausea meds and they sent me to ER in an ambulance because my potassium was so low!

Everyone gets sick, but if your K+ was low, that is due to failure to replace lost K+. In other words, there's a good chance that you would have recovered much faster if you would have stayed on top of fluid and electrolyte replacement when your GI illness first began. That, and getting sufficient rest, could be the difference between being Ill for two days or two weeks.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Feb 24, 2015

Like everyone else said, wash, wash, wash. Your hands and everything in your office. I also wipe down my phone after I let a student use it (which isn't too often). A couple of years ago, my school was hit very badly by GI bug and everyone remembers it. My boss invested in Virex II cleaner (very diluted for use in the school) this year for my office and classrooms.

We had a short run in November and I cleaned up a lot of it with gloves and Virex (and soap and water on hands right after) and did not catch it. (Knock on wood...)

Also, hydration. When my office gets busy, I spend so much time talking to kids about good hydration that I can fail to do myself! I now fill a 32 oz water bottle at the beginning of the day to sip at in between kids on the busy days.

Wave Watcher · Feb 24, 2015

Beer...

..........and ping pong.

NutmeggeRN, BSN · Feb 24, 2015

Or Beer Pong......