Download Childhood Illnesses Jan 2016 - Great Kimble C. of E. School

GREAT KIMBLE Cof E SCHOOL
Common Childhood Diseases
The following is a list of common illnesses/diseases that our pupils may occasionally suffer. Parents have
asked that we have a list of what to do regarding keeping children from school. Please note that we have
put this list together with support from the internet, so this is a guideline. Do check with your GP or NHS
direct if you are ever anxious about your child!
This is a summary table: look below for further information:
Infection or
complaint
Chickenpox
Recommended period to be kept away from
school
Until all vesicles have crusted over
Conjunctivitis
Diarrhoea and/or
vomiting
Hand, foot and mouth
Headlice
Impetigo
None
48 hours from last episode of diarrhea or
vomiting
None
None
Until lesions are crusted and healed, or 48
hours after starting antibiotic treatment
Four days from onset of rash
(Notifiable disease)
None
Measles
Molluscum
contagiosum
Mumps
Threadworms
This is a notifiable disease. Doctors must
report to proper officer of the local
authority.
Exclusion not usually required
Child can return 24 hours after starting
antibiotic treatment
(Notifiable disease)
None
Exclude only if the rash is weeping and
cannot be covered
None
Tonsilitis
None
Whooping Cough
Five days from starting antibiotic treatment
or 21 days from onset of illness if no
antibiotic treatment
(Notifiable disease)
Ringworm
Scarlet Fever
Slapped cheek
Shingles
Comments
See details below
See separate policy
See details below
Preventable by vaccination
Self-limiting condition
Treatment is required
See details below
Spread by very close contact and
touch
Treatment is recommended for
child and household contacts
Many causes, but most cases are
due to viruses and do not need an
antibiotic
Preventable by vaccination
Chickenpox
It starts off with a few red spots or bumps (often mistaken for insect bites). Fever is common. The next
day many more bumps will appear, and the first bumps will have turned into blisters. On the third day, more
new bumps will appear, and the second-day bumps will start to blister. On day 4 the original blisters will
start to crust over. Usually by day 5, no new bumps will appear, and more blisters will crust over. By day 7,
most or all of the blisters will be crusted over. The fever can last for 5 days. The total number of spots is
around 200 on average.
Childhood illness advice updated January 2016
The key to diagnosing chickenpox. Watch the progression of spots from bumps to blisters to crusts, and to
have a mix of all three types during the illness. Very important note – it is nearly impossible to diagnose
chickenpox on day 1, and still difficult to know for certain on day 2. Therefore, doctors request that you
do not take your child to the doctor until day 3 if you expect a definite diagnosis. If you think its
chickenpox, then quarantine your child until day 3. If the spots have progressed as described above, then
you probably don't even need a doctor to confirm it. Your child is contagious starting the day before fever
or spots appear, until 24 hours after all the blisters have crusted over. This usually takes about 7 days
from beginning to end. We ask that you keep your child off school until all the blisters have crusted
over.
Impetigo
Impetigo is a highly contagious skin infection. Small red spots typically appear on the skin of the face
(especially around the mouth and nose), neck or hands, although any part of the body may be affected. The
spots may be clustered or merge together. The centre of each one rapidly becomes a blister, which then
bursts, oozing a typical golden fluid. Crusts form over the red spots, which may be itchy or slightly sore. If
impetigo is suspected, you must take your child to see your doctor as the condition is infectious, and
antibiotic treatment is important. In mild cases, antibiotic cream applied locally to the spots may be all
that is needed, but in more severe cases antibiotic tablets or syrup must be taken.
In most cases impetigo heals within a week if treated with antibiotics.
Because the condition is contagious, children with impetigo must be kept from school until all the
spots have crusted and dried.
Threadworms
Threadworm is passed from person to person and is usually spread via children. The female worms lay eggs
on a person's skin around the anus. This leads to itching and scratching of the area and then leads to eggs
being transferred onto the fingers. The eggs can then be passed by direct contact, or through sharing
toys, pencils, food, etc. You can often see threadworms, a 1cm thread-like worm, in your child's stools or
their bottom.
Threadworms do not cause serious damage but they are an irritating problem. Besides the intense itching,
which can be distressing and embarrassing for the sufferer, they can also lead to disturbed sleep, tummy
aches, irritable crying, loss of appetite or an unusually large appetite.
Good hygiene is essential to stop the infection being spread, including washing hands and scrubbing under
the nails before eating and after visiting the toilet.
To help prevent the spread of threadworms and other infections, it is important to encourage young
children to regularly wash and dry their hands.
Threadworms are very easy to treat. The same kind of threadworm treatment most prescribed by doctors
is available from pharmacies without a prescription. There is no reason to keep your child off school,
but do please inform us so that we can remind ALL children about the need for careful hand washing.
Diarrhea and Vomiting
The main symptoms of viral gastroenteritis are watery diarrhea and vomiting. Other symptoms are
headache, fever, chills, and abdominal pain. Symptoms usually appear within 4 to 48 hours after exposure
to the virus and last for 1 to 2 days. The viruses are commonly transmitted by people with unwashed hands.
People can get the viruses through close contact with infected individuals by sharing their food, drink, or
eating utensils.
We request that pupils who have suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting do not return to school until
48 hours after their last vomiting attack or loose bowel movement.
Head Lice
Head Lice, sometimes called nits, are very common in children. They are insects that live on the human
head, which is the perfect warm, humid environment for them to thrive. These parasites feed on blood
Childhood illness advice updated January 2016
from the scalp. This can cause itching, and although they don't carry disease, scratching can break the
skin, leaving it open to infection.
Each head louse has an adult life span of 30 days, during which it could lay up to 300 eggs. While alive, they
can be difficult to get rid of because they can survive washing by holding on tightly to the hair, and closing
the holes along the sides of their bodies that they breathe through for long periods of time. There are a
number of solutions on the market to help treat lice; but if your child has long hair please do tie it up
in bunches, a pony tail, plait etc. Once you have treated the hair with a treatment shampoo, please do
use conditioner and a Head Lice comb every time you wash your child’s hair until all the treated eggs have
gone. If you spot lice in your child’s hair, please do treat IMMEDIATELY. Thank you.
Slapped cheek
Slapped cheek syndrome is a common childhood viral infection. However, it can affect people of all ages.
The most common symptom of slapped cheek syndrome is the appearance of a bright red rash on both
cheeks (hence the name). In children, slapped cheek syndrome is almost always a mild, self-limiting
infection, which means that it will get better by itself without the need for treatment.
The incubation period between catching the virus and showing any symptoms is one to two weeks. Slapped
cheek disease often occurs in outbreaks because children can be infectious for up to two weeks before any
signs appear. It is no longer infectious once the rash has appeared. Once your child has had slapped cheek
disease, he or she will not catch it again. As a virus causes slapped cheek disease, antibiotics won’t help to
treat it, and children do not need to be kept off school. If, however, your child suffers from any
discomfort a mild paracetemol such as Calpol can be administered before school.
Scarlet Fever/Scarlatina
Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, gets its name from the fact that the patient's skin, especially on
the cheeks, is flushed. The disease primarily affects children. A sore throat and a raised, sandpaper-like
rash over much of the body are accompanied by fever and sluggishness. The fever usually subsides within a
few days, and recovery is complete by two weeks. After the fever is gone, the skin on the face and body
flakes.
Although scarlet fever often clears up spontaneously within a few days, antibiotic treatment with oral
antibiotics is usually recommended to reduce the severity of symptoms, prevent complications, and prevent
spread to others. This is a contagious disease, spread by sneezing and coughing. Please keep your child at
home for 24 hours after diagnosis.
Childhood illness advice updated January 2016