When Should Your Child Stay Home?

The nurses at Keisha's preschool gave us this information at the Open House. Some of it is self-explanatory, but some of it might not be.

If your child has any of the following symptoms he/she should be kept at home and the teacher notified of the reason for the absence.

• Fever
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea (one or more loose stools in a 24-hour period)
• Unexplained rash
• Red, watery or draining eyes
• Open sores, especially around the nose or mouth
• Bugs or eggs in the hair
• Earache or ear drainage
• Yellow or green drainage from the nose
• More than an occasional cough
• Wheezing/difficulty breathing
• Unable to eat or drink a regular diet

If your child is not interested in playing and eating and wants to lie down, he/she should be watched and the child's temperature checked. Do not send the child to school if you give a fever-reducing medicine such as Tylenol.

Question for you, gentle reader: what is it about the symptoms above that makes them important enough to warrant keeping a child home from school?