Thursday, October 1, 2009

New month...how about an update?

In an effort to keep parents current on what we are seeing health-wise in school I will share monthly the variety of illness's coming through the clinic.

As usual as it is we have had several students with Chicken Pox during the month of September. We have also seen strep throat (Scarlet fever if rash presents) on the elementary side as well. Some have had a stomach virus and yes a couple cases of influenza A for which the children were treated per H1N1 protocol by their physicians since they are only testing for H1N1 if the person become hospitalized.

It is important that we all understand and educate ourselves in regards to the huge media hype on the H1N1 influenza virus. Such information is readily available through your county health department website and/or by googling the CDC web page. H1N1 is being treated the same as the yearly influenza virus and the best defense is still proper eating, good hand washing techniques and last respiratory etiquette. Teaching your children to cough into the arm rather than their hands will prevent that hand to hand contact of any virus.

Remember children need to get plenty of rest, set a specific bedtime and adhere to it. Students need at least 8 hrs of sleep per night to function at their best. And parents certainly need a bit of adult time after each workday as well.

With the cold weather creeping in, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. Coats, hats, gloves, boots, etc. Weather and temperatures permitting our students do go outside for a bit of fresh air and the opportunity to play and release a bit of bottled up energy. They need to be dressed for such!

Well, this is it for now. Know that Black River School District continues to do its part in preventative measures towards keeping all your children healthy and safe. Together we can make this district one of the healthiest in this area. But it does take a joint effort.

To your families health,

Nurse Donna