School Nurse

There ahs been a recent increase in pertussis (whooping cough) in Greendale and surrounding communities. the best way to prevent pertussis is to get vaccinated.  Please keep your child home and contact your child's healthcare provider if they exhibit any of the following symptoms: persistent cough, coughing spasms, whooping sound with cough, or a cough that wakes the child during the night.  Pertussis is a contagious infection that is easily treated with antibiotics.  Please call the Greendale Health Department at 414-423-2110 if you have any questions about pertussis or the vaccine.

Is it a Cold, Flu or Pertussis

• Greendale School District: Allergy Action Plan -                                                               Signed by the Parent and Physician / Health Care Provider

Allergy Action Plan Form

• Emergency Medication to be kept in school
  • All Medications are required to be labeled and in their original containers.
  • Medications should be kept in the school office.

*** OR ***

• Allergy Action Plan Waiver Form: If you desire not to have an allergy action plan or medications in school for your son/daughter, the waiver form is REQUIRED to be filled out and returned to school.

Environmental or Food Allergy Action Plan Waiver Form

It is the responsibility of the parents to monitor their children for signs of head lice. Click here for a fact sheet from the National Association of School Nurses.

Children usually have an extremely itchy head, especially around the crown and nape of the neck.  Red areas of scalp may be noted.  A careful observer might see live lice or small grey or white “droplet” shaped eggs (nits) on the hair shaft.

A quick head check is especially helpful after a child attends a sleep over camp or a sleep over at a friend’s house.

If head lice are discovered, it is the parent’s responsibility to notify the child’s school.  This information is kept confidential, but close contacts can be screened by the School Nurse and classmates can be observed for signs of lice infestation.  Parents are notified when there are several unrelated cases in a classroom or grade level.

Greendale School Board Policy on Head Lice

Head Lice Treatment Verification Form

Here are a few general guidelines:

• Fever.  If your child has a temperature over 100 degrees, keep them home.  Ideally, your child will be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school.
• Vomiting/Diarrhea.  Same guideline—24 hours symptom free before returning to school.
• Too sick to participate.  If your child has a non-stop hacking cough, they will not be able to participate and learn and neither will anyone around them.  Keep them home until they can resume normal activity.
• On antibiotics.  If your child has been given antibiotics for strep throat, they should be on the antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.

If they’ve been given antibiotics for an ear infection, they can return to school when you feel they can participate.  Remember to have your child take ALL of the antibiotics, even after they start to feel better.

If your child has been prescribed antibiotics for Whooping Cough (Pertussis) they usually need to stay out of school and outside activities for five days.  Notify your child’s school of the diagnosis for follow up.

• Contagious skin rashes such as ringworm, impetigo.  Follow your health care provider’s recommendations.
• Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis).  It is usually recommended that a student can return to school 24 hours after treatment has started.
• Head Lice.  The Greendale School District Policy requires students to be lice free to return to school.  

• Acetaminophen is an ingredient in more than 600 over-the-counter and prescription medicines, including pain relievers, fever reducers, and sleep aids as well as cough, cold, and allergy medicines.
• It is the most commonly used drug ingredient in the U.S. It appears in over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol and NyQuil and prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet. On prescription labels, acetaminophen may be listed as “APAP,” “acetam,” or other shortened versions of the word. Because it’s in so many different medicines, people may be taking more than the recommended amount without realizing it.
• Acetaminophen is safe and effective when used as directed, but there is a limit to how much you can take in one day. Taking more than directed is an overdose and can lead to liver damage.
• You should always read and follow the label of any medicine you are taking. And you should never take two medicines that contain acetaminophen at the same time.
• If you have questions about dosing instructions or the medicines that contain acetaminophen, ask your healthcare professional.
• You can learn more about acetaminophen at KnowYourDose.org, where you can get tips on reading over-the-counter and prescription labels and view a list of common medicines that contain acetaminophen. 

When these vaccines first came out, they were recommended for students in college, especially those living in dorms.  More recently, the recommendations have been for children to get this vaccine at age 11 or 12.

The most recent recommendations now include a booster dose for those who got the first dose before their 16th birthday.  If the vaccine is given after their 16th  birthday, a booster dose is not required.

Even though this immunization is not required for school attendance in Wisconsin, parents are strongly urged to consider it for their middle and high school children.  The vaccine has saved countless lives.

Meningococcal disease can appear quickly or over several days.

Signs of meningococcal disease are very much like signs of flu, and for this reason, diagnosis can be delayed.  Things can take a serious turn for the worse very quickly, and about 10% of infected people die even with appropriate treatment.  Another 20% suffer permanent body damage.  There are about 3,000 cases in the US each year.

Signs of meningococcal disease include fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, light sensitivity and altered mental status.   The incidence of meningococcal disease peaks between the ages of 16 and 21.

You can get the vaccine for your child through your Health Care Provider.