Your thoughts on ice....

I give ice out freely, and without boundaries.

If I hear of those little stinkers playing with it, they are cut off.

It does get ridiculous. But it is one of the few things I can do for them.

I only do an ice cube for eyes.

The rest is either a damp frozen sponge in a sandwich bag or for bigger injuries, a gel ice pack.

What really gets me is the kids who are injured at sports outside of school coming in for ice. I ask if they iced it post injury and 99.9% of the time, the answer is NO. WTH???

in my last school i was luck enough to have a real ice maker. one of those portable jobbies that you can get for parties and dump water into and presto - 10 minutes later - ice! I'd buy baggies in bulk and make up some very skimpy ice packs. Twisted ankles, bumped body parts, and such would get ice no questions asked. All the rest, the ice pack simply becomes a "badge of honour" so to speak to show the other kids that they went to the nurse and got some sort of treatment - and yes, with some kids it ultimately becomes a toy or a small amount of water with which they will create a slip hazard and more work.

This school didn't have the fancy ice maker. Had the reusable ice packs instead. The pros was the mess factor was gone. The cons - the disappear and need to be sanitized. So to hold onto them i have to enforce the "ice packs stay here" rule. It's amazing to me that when a student has to sit here with no attention being garnered on them after being assessed and given an ice pack (or helping themselves) how quickly they miraculously recover. I think it takes me more time to chart them in than it does for them to use the ice pack most times.

I give ice freely for legit complaints. Now if a teacher or another student comes and asks for ice for someone other than themselves, NO GO. My kids even say, You put ice on everything. *head aches, falls, nosebleeds that won't stop with pressure alone,smashed fingers, the "I think I broke my wrists/ankle/foot/toe/finger* Yeah, I put ice on everything. Teachers here haven't complained.

Yeah, I put ice on everything..

I want to make my "sick" chair out of ice, shave 2 minutes off the visit time to get them back to class.

I give ice freely for legit complaints. Now if a teacher or another student comes and asks for ice for someone other than themselves, NO GO. My kids even say, You put ice on everything. *head aches, falls, nosebleeds that won't stop with pressure alone,smashed fingers, the "I think I broke my wrists/ankle/foot/toe/finger* Yeah, I put ice on everything. Teachers here haven't complained.

"I do not give out ice packs by-proxy."

I have used this statement many times. You want ice, you need to come and get yourself and let me take a lot. I am generous, but you need to take the walk. And if your teacher won't let you take the walk, chances are you don't need the ice.

I also hand out ice pretty freely. I don't have access to large amount of ice (only mini fridges and those are a pain) so I use the small 3x5 reusable icepacks that are fairly cheap through Macgills. I also use the blue covers for them, so I only have to wash the covers. I would say 20-30% don't come back. Every few months I'll send out a "has anyone seen my ice packs" email, inclucing pics, and I usually get a good number back from teachers fridges.

This school didn't have the fancy ice maker. Had the reusable ice packs instead. The pros was the mess factor was gone. The cons - the disappear and need to be sanitized. So to hold onto them i have to enforce the "ice packs stay here" rule. It's amazing to me that when a student has to sit here with no attention being garnered on them after being assessed and given an ice pack (or helping themselves) how quickly they miraculously recover. I think it takes me more time to chart them in than it does for them to use the ice pack most times.

I only this year got my ice maker. Last year I used the gel packs which, like you said, need to be sanitized and often disappear. And they can get expensive! I was happy to get my ice maker; however, once the word got around the ice visits increased. I agree with SnowyJ, it is one of the few things I can do for them. I just do not want it to get out of hand. When I am not busy, it is no big deal. But if I am working with a student, have multiple students in the clinic or have momentarily left the clinic for whatever reason, the kid who wants ice may have to wait resulting in unnecessary lost instructional time - all for a pimple!

I give ice pretty freely. It's amazing how easily it helps littles feel better.

But, all I have are reusable gel packs. If they're poking holes & sucking out the contents, I've got bigger issues.

I give ice pretty freely. It's amazing how easily it helps littles feel better.

But, all I have are reusable gel packs. If they're poking holes & sucking out the contents, I've got bigger issues.

I've been making my own with dish soap lately thank to tip I picked up here. So much cheaper and a spill in just some soap - cleans up the desk a bit more! They also come back more often than gel packs that I find tend to travel home in backpacks...

I've also used soaked sponges in baggies as well.

"I do not give out ice packs by-proxy."

I have used this statement many times. You want ice, you need to come and get yourself and let me take a lot. I am generous, but you need to take the walk. And if your teacher won't let you take the walk, chances are you don't need the ice.

I am going to steal your statement!

I'm pretty stingy honestly. (A student complained to a teacher I didn't give them out enough, and why was I hoarding them because they belong to the school and not to me! ) I have the reusable gel packs too. I don't make students stay in my office because they don't get therapeutic boredom (seriously, most could sit and stare at the wall all day). I do however make them sign them out, and they come back more often than not at this point.