Medical Matters

PARENTS MAY FIND THIS PAGE HELPFUL – IT INCLUDES ADVICE AND GUIDANCE REGARDING COMMON CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES, AND ALSO THE TREATMENT AND CONTROL OF HEADLICE

School Nurse

Headlice

Chickenpox

Slapped Cheek Syndrome
 
Measles

School Nurse
 
Appointments to see the school nurse can be made at the office. Her phone number is also available from the school office if you need to speak to her at any time. 
Headlice 
 
From time to time, we do get headlice visiting the children in school! Please see below for our “Bug Busting” advice and click here to visit the NHS website.



Wash and condition hair as usual. Before you rinse the conditioner out comb hair with an ordinary comb, then comb section by section through dripping wet hair with a special ‘nit’ comb to check for any lice. Make sure that the teeth slot right into the hair at the roots and draw down to the ends. Wipe the comb on a tissue between each stroke to check for lice.If none are present, repeat the process every week.

Wash, rinse, condition and comb
Will leave the lice without a home!
 
If lice are present, clear the comb after each stroke – if necessary, poke them out with a cocktail stick. Keep combing until all lice are removed. Rinse hair thoroughly and towel dry.Comb through once more.

Although you have now removed all live lice, there will still be eggs in the hair. If you can see the eggs, usually around the ears and at the nape of the neck, you can pick them out with your fingertips. But you will need to repeat the combing process every three days, for a total of two weeks to ensure that all eggs have hatched, and live lice removed. This will then be the end of the treatment. You should then go back to a weekly routine check .

Headlice are not fussy about hair length or condition. Clean hair is no protection.
Chickenpox

Chickenpox is a common illness amongst children and we usually have a time during the school year when lots of children get it in close succession.

Symptoms can include:
  • Fever (temperature), aches and headache often start a day or so before a rash appears.
  • Rash. Spots appear in crops. They develop into small blisters and are itchy. They can be anywhere on the body. Several crops may develop over several days. Some children may be covered in spots, others have only a few or even none.
  • Dry cough and sore throat are common.
Some children feel quite unwell for a few days. Others appear only mildly ill. Most are much better within a week. Once the last blisters have dried up and scabbed over, the child may return to school. The blisters gradually fade, but may take up to two weeks to go completely.
'Slapped Cheek Syndrome'
 
We have had a few cases in school of a viral rash known as “slapped cheek” or “fifth disease”.

A distinctive blotchy red rash may begin to appear on the face of an infected child which gives the appearance of very hot, or slapped cheeks.In most cases, the rash is not painful.However, it may become itchy and spread to the body.The rash can take between 1 and 3 weeks to clear.

The incubation period is between 4 and 20 days.People infected can pass it on without knowing during the early part of the illness, but when the rash appears you or your child are no longer contagious to others.Therefore there is no need to keep your child at home if she/he feels fine in themselves.

The following symptoms may develop when you have slapped cheek:-

Mild fever, or flu-like symptoms
Headache
Stuffy or runny nose
Sore throat
Tiredness

In a few children there may be nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea.

Pregnant women who come into contact with the syndrome should seek medical advice.