health

ADDISON LICE CHECK AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES

We have had more cases of lice, new and recurring, than in past years. The cadre of parent volunteers have done a great job of trying to stay on top of this situation. But as we’ve worked with you and with the volunteers, we’ve noted confusion in some of our information and procedures. Consequently,after many conferences with responsible parties,this is our attempt to ensure that we’ve addressed the confusion and that all of you have the same baseline data from which to work.

Key messages we’d like you to hear:

• The no-nit policy enforced at Addison, is a district policy and is based upon the recommendation of the Santa Clara Department of Public Health and the Pediculosis Association of America.

• This policy is the result of being unable to determine conclusively whether a nit is dead or alive

• Lice are the animals, nits are the laid eggs.

• Lice live only on humans, and can survive no more than 24 hours when removed from a hair shaft.

• Lice can be transmitted only by direct contact, they do not jump from scalp to scalp.

• Infestations are NOT the result of personal hygiene or poor housekeeping.

• Combing and nit picking nits off the hair shaft are the only way to ensure that all nits are dead and have been removed.

• Once removed from the hair shaft, the nits cannot be reattached.

• Nits cannot transfer themselves.

When the volunteers check students for lice at school:

• Parent volunteers have all been trained in appropriate techniques and interactions

• Suspected cases are confirmed by another volunteer checker

• The child is sent to the office where a family member is called and arrangements are made for the child to be picked up and taken home.

• An exposure notice is sent home with all classroom students and is provided to AKC within 24 hours.

• Pediculosis literature and training is provided by the office staff and/or lice checkers.

• Upon return to school, the student has to be rechecked by a parent volunteer.

• This student should be checked by his/her parents daily for an additional 10 days, for any further infestation.

When you receive an exposure notice:

• as your child’s parent(s), you should check for lice immediately

• monitor/check your child’s scalp several times for 10-14 days.

If you find lice at home:

• treat your child following the directions found on the wrapping of the pediculosis shampoo.

• notify the school office of the infestation.

• when the child returns to school, he/she must go to the office for a lice check.

For recurring cases:

• parents are retrained in proper use of the shampoo, and in effective combing and nit-picking procedures

• referrals are made to the district nurse, the Public Health nurse, and to CPS if necessary/appropriate.

• exposure notices will be sent home with each new infestation

• the school administration continues to monitor and to work privately with the family to clear up the infestation(s).

• a log of checks and rechecks are recorded on a form kept in the school office.

• classroom checks may occur/be scheduled more frequently if ‘home’ to a student with a recurring infestation.

Notify Sheila Castro by email or telephone at (650) 322-5935 if your child is sick and will not be at school.

H1N1 Updates

Addison is working to stay up to date with the latest news and recommendations about H1N1 from the Santa Clara County Health Department and Palo Alto Unified School District. The most recent information was released from the Santa Clara County Health Department on October 7, 2009:

• H1N1 Flu Update
• When to call the doctor
• Pandemic H1N1 FAQs
• H1N1 Fact Sheet
• Fighting H1N1
• Fighting H1N1, page 2
• H1N1 - What to do
• H1N1 - What to do, page 2

Health Guidelines

Palo Alto pediatricians have worked with us to develop the following guidelines regarding an estimate of the average length of time that specific conditions may be communicable. We hope that this information will be helpful to you.

Chicken Pox
A child may return to school following an episode of chicken pox after all lesions are completely dry or gone. The course of this illness is usually 7-10 days.

Colds
Your child should not return to school until active coughing, sneezing, and nasal drip are substantially gone and there has been no fever for at least 24 hours without the use of Tylenol, etc. This is typically on the order of 3 days after a new cold has begun.

Bacterial Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)
24 hours after antibiotic treatment has started, bacterial conjunctivitis is not generally communicable. There is, however, a second type of conjunctivitis associated with a viral infection in epidemic form that is highly contagious for several days. Please seek the advice and consultation of your medical advisor before returning a child to school who is ill with conjunctivitis.

Fever
According to the Santa Clara County Office of Education, a child should remain at home until she/he has been without fever for at least 24 hours. During the early morning hours, a fever will often register as normal, whereas later in the afternoon the temperature may rise again. This is one reason why it is extremely important to give the child at least a 24-hour period when she/he is completely free from elevated temperature before returning the child to school.

Hand Washing
It is extremely important that parents teach their children the necessity of using good handwashing techniques in order to prevent the spread of disease. Use soap and water not only after toileting and before meals, but times in between as well. Teach your child to keep their hands away from their face and nose as well. Hands should be washed after nose-blowing, coughing, and sneezing.

Head Lice
To prevent the spread of head lice, the PAUSD enforces a strict “no-nits” policy. Head lice are frequently resistant to treatment and difficult to eradicate. Thus, Addison parents will be called upon throughout the year to participate in school-wide head lice checks. Specific dates for lice checks will be published in the Advisor and/or the classroom notices.

Children with head lice (or nits) are sent home for treatment. After treatment, infected children must report to the office for an additional check before returning to the classroom. Follow-up checks on infected children are done two weeks after initial treatment. If more nits are found, children will be sent home again. Room parents will be called upon to organize parent volunteers for checking the heads of the children in their classroom, and for maintaining the tracking and follow-up checks of active cases. For information on head lice products and treatment, please call County Vector Control. A lice information binder is available in Addison’s office.

Updated information on lice procedures at Addison.

Lingering Coughs
It is important to note that lingering coughs associated with cystic fibrosis, following pneumonia or bronchitis, or associated with allergy, are not contagious. Therefore, families should be sensitive to the cause of the coughing that the child is experiencing in order to decide whether or not school attendance is wise.

Medication
No medications, prescription or non-prescription, can be dispensed to any student except by office staff and cannot be dispensed without the correct medical forms, completed by both doctor and parents. Any medications should be kept only in the school office, not in backpacks, classrooms,
desks, etc.

Strep Throat
Symptoms of strep throat can vary greatly from a severe sore throat, fever, and vomiting to a slight sore throat, mild fever, and no stomach problems. Because initial symptoms can be mistaken for a common cold, parents should keep a child home from school until the child can be properly diagnosed. A child with strep throat should stay at home for 48 hours after beginning antibiotics AND until the fever has subsided for at least 24 hours. This means that if your child starts antibiotic treatment on a Tuesday morning at 11:00 a.m., he/she should not return to school until Friday or Thursday after lunch at the earliest.

Vomiting and Diarrhea
If a child vomits or has diarrhea at school, the student needs to go home immediately. Children who have been suffering from vomiting or diarrhea should be given a 24-hour “symptom-free” period of time to prevent recurrence, transmission to other children and to regain strength before returning to school. This is in the child’s and the school community’s best interest.

Lunch Program 2009-2010

Children may bring their lunch or buy a lunch at school. Please go to the district website for complete information on the school lunch program.

November 2009 menu