School Nurse

We have a full-time nurse here at Maxwell Elementary! Please contact the nurse if you have any questions or concerns about your child's health while at school at 706-986-4840. Below you will find PRINTABLE forms and resources parents can use.

Immunizations

The Georgia Department of Human Resources requires that all students entering a public school in Georgia present a Certificate of Immunization (Form 3231). Students have 30 days to comply with the law or they will not be allowed to come to school. Students who are entering a Georgia public school for the first time must present an Eye, Ear, Dental, and Nutrition Certificate (Form 3300). These forms may be obtained and completed at the McDuffie County Health Department or by your child’s doctor’s office. The school must have these forms on file. Please help us comply with the law and protect our children.

Illness or Injury

If a student becomes seriously ill or injured at school, every effort will be made to contact the parent/guardian or designated person. To assist us in contacting you, please be sure that current work and home phone numbers are on file in the office along with correct address information.

Medication

When a student has medicine that must be administered at school, we MUST have an Authorization of Medication Administration form completed by the parent/guardian on file for each medication a child is administered during the school day. This pertains to prescription and over-the-counter medications. Forms are available from the school nurse. The medication to be administered must be in the original prescription container that is clearly marked with the student’s name and dosage on it. A note from a parent/guardian with the instructions must also accompany the medication. Aspirin/aspirin free products are NOT kept at school for student use.

Head Lice

Regulations for Treatment

To prevent exposure to other students, any student identified as having head lice must be treated satisfactorily to be readmitted to school. You can follow the below steps, contact the Health Department, or your personal doctor. To be readmitted to school we will need your signed statement of treatment as well as the shampoo box top.

Washing hair with a special shampoo you can purchase at your local pharmacy such as: Kwell (prescription only); A-200- pyrinate; Barco (with comb and shampoo); Rid (shampoo and comb)
Combing the hair with a fine comb designed to remove the dead residue
Washing ALL clothing, head gear, sleeping mats (if your child has one for school), blankets, towels, sheets, and pillow cases in HOT water, detergent, and CLOROX (use CLOROX for Colors when washing dark colored items)
Place pillows and stuffed animals in plastic covers for two (2) to three (3) weeks
Vacuum all upholstered furniture and clean wooden furniture- especially chairs
Check your child's hair frequently and carefully for any signs of lice or nits (egg sacks that look like dandruff)
Clean all items your child has at school

Ringworm

Ringworm is a skin infection caused by a fungus. It's called ringworm because of how the rash looks — it's shaped like a ring that is red and swollen on the edge and healthy-looking in the center. Ringworm affects people of all ages, but is especially common in kids.

On the skin, it usually starts out as a small red area the size of a pea. As it grows, it spreads out in a circle or ring, or even several rings. The edges of the rings are raised and red, and the rash may itch, sting, or burn.

On the scalp it begins as a small bump or scaly patch that looks like dandruff. The bump or patch gets bigger, and the hair in the infected area can break off. This can leave scaly patches of baldness, but the hair will grow back.

Causes: Spreads by direct contact with an infected person or pet or by contact with contaminated objects, such as, clothing, combs, pillows, headgear, sportswear, and towels.

Prevention: Personal things that have to be in contact with infected areas, such as hats, combs, and bed linens should be discarded or laundered in very HOT water.

Be sure to:

Take a shower or bath every day (especially after playing and sweating) and dry off completely
Wear clean clothing
Change clothes every day
Use clean towels and don't share towels or clothes
Wash hands well with soap and water after playing with pets

Treatment:

An anti-fungal ointment (non-prescription), such as, Lotrimin AF, Micatin, and Lamisil, must be used continuously until the fungus is gone. The ringworm site must be covered up for school time hours (bandaids, gauze...). If it does not clear up or shows signs of worsening, please contact your doctor or the Health Department. Sometimes you'll need to use the medicine for up to a month or more to get rid of the ringworm completely.

In some cases we will ask for proof of treatment.

Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)

It is an infection of the lining of the eye lid and the white past of the eye and can cause redness; itching; inflammation or swelling; and a clear or white, yellow, or greenish gooey liquid to collect in the eyes.There are several types:Bacterial, Viral and Allergic.

Causes: Most kids get Pink Eye from bacteria or viruses and it can be very infectious.Students need to be picked up from school and treated by a physician.

Certain kinds of bacteria can cause infections like conjunctivitis with an incubation period of only three (3) to five (5) days with treatment- antibiotic eye drops or ointments. About 50% of cases are bacterial.

Viruses, like the kind that can give you a cold, can cause conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis is easy to catch just through touching. A child can get conjunctivitis by touching the hand of an infected friend who has touched his or her eyes if the child then touch his/her own eyes.Viral conjunctivitis has no treatment and will usually heal in a few days on its own.

Allergic conjunctivitis typically is associated with nasal congestion has little to no pus in the inner corner of the eye and are NOT contagious. Treatment with non-antibiotic eye drops can only relieve the itch but not cure the Pink Eye.

The school nurse can often help decide what type of infection a child may have and can help to medicate students when necessary during school hours.

Prevention: Washing hands with warm soapy water is the best way to prevent infection.Towels, make up, wash cloths, or eye drops should not be shared. Keeping hands out of the eyes is very important.

When students are sent home for infectious bacterial Pink Eye, it will be necessary for parents to obtain antibiotic treatment and to keep the student home for at least 24 hours after treatment has begun.

When Should You Keep your Child Home From School?

General Guidelines

If a student is really sick, he/she should be kept at home. This helps stop infection of other children. Children should not attend school if:

Temperature is 100 or above, children need to be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medication before returning to school.
If the student has been on an antibiotic for LESS THAN 24hrs.
They have had diarrhea or vomiting in the last 24 hours.
They have a rash with fever.
They have bacterial pink eye, (red or pink watery eyes that may have white or yellow discharge), they may not return until 24 hours after antibiotic treatment has begun.
They have Strep throat-they may not return until after 24 hours of treatment and with out a fever.
They have ringworm, they may return after 24 hours of treatment and area must be covered with a bandage while in school until area is resolved.
They have chickenpox, they must stay out of school until all lesions have crusted over.
They have a frequent OR persistent cough.
They have frequent OR persistent complaints of pain/discomfort

Am I Sick? S8 E1

Germs, Germs, Germs. S7 E24

Brush Your Teeth S5 E12