Your thoughts on ice....

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Specializes in School Nurse.

I work in a Middle School and get multiple requests for ice daily for a myriad of reasons. They seem to view ice as the cure all for bumps, bruises, aches, twisted limbs, jammed fingers, smashed fingers, stiff necks, insect bites, allergy eyes, canker sores, pimples, headaches, etc.......Some teachers even directly instruct the student to "go to the nurse to get ice". For the most part, after an assessment, I generally comply, regardless if I think they really need it or not (some kids are so "soft" these days), because it gets them back to class and everyone is happy. I do deny a few, especially when the request is totally out of left field and/or visits become habitual and I want to nip it in the bud. I think some kids request ice packs just to get attention.

I do recognize that melting bags of ice can be a safety hazard. And yesterday a student told me that some kids are putting holes in their ice bags and sipping on the water. I've had no complaints from teachers, but I'd like to revisit my ice policy. I once worked with a school nurse who had a motto - "No Redness, No Swelling, No Ice". I know of other school nurses who do not let ice out of the clinic, which cuts down on the number of teachers who send their kids for ice. What are your thoughts on providing ice packs?

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I give ice out freely, and without boundaries.

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

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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???

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Specializes in school nursing, ortho, trauma.

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.

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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.

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Specializes in IMC, school nursing.
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.

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Specializes in School nursing.
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.

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Specializes in Home Health,Dialysis, MDS, School Nurse.

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.

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Specializes in School Nurse.
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!

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Specializes in School Nurse, past Med Surge.

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.

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Specializes in School nursing.
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.

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Specializes in School Nurse.
"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!

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