Parents battling back against H1N1

Posted on Oct 12, 2009 by Admin.

Lisbon Elementary second grader Megan Cornwell, 8, uses antibacterial gel to clean her hands after coming back from recess. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

When to call out sick or go to school. It’s a tough choice for some parents as they decide if their child is sick enough to stay home from school, given the concerns over H1N1.

“Parents have to take two, three, four, five days off of work,” parent and child care provider Jerri Romano of Hiawatha said. “They could be taking days off, even if it is just a cold.”

One Cedar Rapids physician spelled it out in a clear fashion. “They shouldn’t be at school with a fever and they are infectious if they have a cough,” said Dr. Tony Carter of the St. Luke’s Hospital Emergency Department.

Schools in Eastern Iowa have policies on when to keep a kid at home, all in a move to try and clarify what steps parents should take. Those calls keep coming, both to schools and emergency departments.

Angela Ulferts, nurse at Prairie High School in the College Community School District, said parents are calling with slightly more absences than usual. The school is trying to get the word out on what parents can do.

“We like students to stay home 24 hours, fever free without any fever reducing medication,” Ulferts said.

Pointing to the calendar, marking the current situation as H1N1-related is not a stretch. Dr. Carter said that ‘all of the flu’ the hospital is seeing is H1N1 and that the seasonal flu season has not started.

These concerns leave many parents and care providers with unanswered questions: When to burn a sick day. How much caution to take.

“I’ve got a 3-month-old,” said care provider Harmony Young. “She’s drooling and drooling. You can’t sit there with a bucket over their mouths.”

Dr. Carter also talked about when to keep a sick child at home or when to take a child, with H1N1 symptoms, for medical treatment:

- If the child is taking in fluids, even with a fever, leave the child at home to get better. Recovery could take up to seven days.

- However, if the sick child has a moderate amount of vomiting, diarrhea, is in clear pain or says they feel miserable, Dr. Carter said to get the child looked at.

Chris Earl, KCRG-TV