Illness updates and return to school information
Parents:
We have had an increase in illness at the school this week with several students testing positive for strep, hand, foot, and mouth, or both. I would like to share some information on both illnesses with you.
Strep is a bacterial infection that will require an antibiotic to get rid of the infection. If you or a student has strep, you must be on antibiotics for 24 hours and FEVER FREE for 24 hours without Tylenol or Ibuprofen before you can come back to school or work. It is important that after you have been on antibiotics for 24 hours to throw your tooth brush away and get a new one. This is to ensure that you don’t reinfect yourself from your tooth brush. Don’t share drinks or utensils, wash hands often and cover your cough/sneeze. Be sure to complete the ENTIRE course of antibiotics given to make sure that it clears up all of the infection.
Hand, Foot, and Mouth is a virus that passes from person to person through saliva, respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes, fluid from blisters, or stool. Taking an antibiotic will NOT make this go away. Viruses are an illness that has to go away on its own with support from you. Staying hydrated, resting, and taking Tylenol or Ibuprofen to help with pain and fevers. You must stay home from work or school if you have a fever, drooling, or uncontrolled diarrhea. Once these symptoms have subsided you may return to work. Wash your hands often, cover coughs/sneezes. Clean “dirtied” or contaminated surfaces and soiled items first with soap and water, and then disinfect them with a dilute solution of chlorine-containing bleach (made by mixing approximately ¼ cup of bleach with one gallon of water).
PLEASE DO NOT start any left-over antibiotics that you may have at home before ruling out strep. If you only have hand, foot, and mouth the antibiotics will NOT be effective in treating this illness.
Regular handwashing and cleaning shared items reduce the risk of spreading strep and hand, foot, and mouth, but catching it is a normal part of being exposed to common germs, not a sign of poor cleanliness.
