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Red Cross Club Blood Drive Information! If a student has a severe or life threatening allergy, please remember to inform Nurse Diane Bower at 847-582-7335. If the student's allergies require the use of an Epi-pen and/or Benadryl, please make sure that an annually renewed Medication Authorization Form is on file in the Health Office. One Epi- Pen should be left in the Health Office and one Epi- Pen should be with the student at all times. Likewise, if a student needs an asthma inhaler, please notify the Health office and provide Nurse Bower with the appropriate medications. Please call 847-582-7335 with further questions or concerns. Medication Use at School. The Health Office needs to have a parent's and Doctor's written permission for your student to take ANY PRESCRIBED OR OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATIONS at school. Please note: the Health Office provides most OTC medications. All we need is the permission slip, which is valid to June 6, 2008. and your student is free to come to the Health Office as needed for medicine. Students carrying medicines on them will be subject to disciplinary action. The only medicines that students are allowed to have on them, with a doctor's order are insulin, epi-pen and an inhaler. If you have any questions, please contact Diane Bower RN @ 847- 582- 7335. The Medical Emergency Form (Yellow). We need an updated copy if information has changed since the last form was submitted. We hope families of all returning students will complete a new copy with updated information including new phone numbers, added cell phone numbers, work numbers, addresses, etc. Emergencies do occur during school hours. Keeping this form current will help expedite notification to you and timely appropriate care for your child. The information remains confidential and is only used in an emergency. Please return this form to the Health Office. If you print this form from your home or office, it must be printed on yellow paper! All prescription and NON-prescription drugs, as required by law, are administered only through the Health Office. This policy is stringently adhered to for the safety of the child who receives the medication as well as the safety of all other students within the school. For this reason, a School Medication Authorization Form (White) must be completed annually listing any medication, including over-the counter drugs, brought in for the student by the parent or guardian. No medication may be dispensed without this authorization. In order for the Health Office to administer any type of medication during the next school year, this form must be filled out with both a doctor’s and parent’s signatures and returned to the Health Office.What you should know about... MRSA- Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - November 2007Allergies/Asthma Season for Allergies/Asthma A recent CDC survey finds that one in five High School students have asthma. Although, temperatures below 32 may eliminate many pollens and weed triggers, indoor substances can also aggravate the allergy/ asthma combination. In addition to dust mites, molds and pet dander, holiday decorations that have been in storage can also be major allergy/asthma triggers.* Use gas fireplaces instead of woodburning. * Wash with warm sudsy water all packed away decorations. Rewash when storing them back. * Avoid scented candles, incense and potpourri. * Very cold temperatures can be a trigger for asthma. Wear a scarf around the nose and mouth while outside and even in the car till it warms up. Many individuals who have asthma also suffer with allergies. This winter season has seen zero temperatures mixed with rainy weather in the 40's. Unfortunately, this allows molds and moisture to reappear offering little relief for the allergy sufferer. If possible, leave shoes, boots and wet outerwear in the garage or porch to dry before bringing them into the house. Controlling and preventing symptoms is always preferable to having to treat full blown symptoms. Bacterial Meningitis All parents should be aware that it is in their student's best interest to be vaccinated against bacterial meningitis. The old Menomune vaccine's coverage was only 4-6 years. Therefore, we were only recommending that students receive it in their senior year of high school. The highest incidence of bacterial meningitis is freshman and sophomore year of college. However, the new vaccine Menactra, has 8-10 years coverage. Therefore, many of the pediatric groups are offering this vaccine to 12-13 year-olds. Please ask your doctor about this for your student. Also, PLEASE be aware that you may receive this vaccination at the Board of Health Immunization Clinic, 2303 Dodge Ave in Waukegan (847-377-8470) from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday. It is also offered at Lake Forest Hospital on the fourth Saturday of every month from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. You are eligible to receive this vaccine for $8.00 if you do not have medical insurance, your medical insurance does not cover vaccinations, or by using Medicaid or Kidcare card. Please call Diane Bower, RN at 847-582-7335 with further questions. Chickenpox Recently, we have seen a small outbreak of chickenpox in students who have been vaccinated. Since we do not know if these pox are "wild" or if they are vaccine related, we need to keep the students at home until five days after the appearance of eruption or until the vesicles become dry. We do not know everything about the immunization potentiality of the chicken pox vaccine but we do know that no vaccine is 100% for 100% of the patients, so we will always choose to err on the side of caution to protect all of our students and staff. Please call with any question: 847-582-7335. or visit the site http://www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/varicella/ for further information. Infectious Mononucleosis There is a wide spectrum in the severity of symptoms. Sometimes symptoms
may be so mild that many people don't even realize they have had it. Interestingly,
90% of adults will test positive for the Epstein Barr Virus, yet most of those
people can't remember having "mono." Adults are often misdiagnosed
if they do have mononucleosis when they present with symptoms due to the rarity
of infection in the adult population. I am often asked if a person can get
mono more than once. True Mononucleosis is thought to be caused by the Epstein
Barr Virus. However, other "bugs" can cause similar symptoms; hence
the confusion. Dr. Virginia Kaperick, a pediatric hospitalist at Lake Forest
Hospital, states that the "greatest majority of cases are caused by EBV(Epstein-Barr
Virus). Other pathogens can cause mono-like illness:CMV(Cytomegalovirus), Adenoviruses,
HSV(Herpes Simplex Virus), Toxoplasma, etc., Transmission is through saliva
of an infected person throughout the duration of symptoms: there is no air
or blood transmission. Many healthy people can carry and shed the virus intermittently
for life." 1.) rest according to the degree of illness until the fever is gone. 2.) Plenty of liquids. 3.) Tylenol or Advil for elevated temperature or discomfort. 4.)Warm saline gargles. 5.) No contact sports. 6.) Antibiotics only if there is a Strep infection which happens in 10-30% of cases. 7.) Steroids are only used if there are life threatening threats of airway obstruction (Recent studies have linked their use to encephalitis and myocarditis.)
Mumps An outbreak of the mumps which is believed to have started in Iowa last spring (06) has moved into DuPage County, Illinois. In previous years, only 10 cases of the mumps were annually reported in Illinois. So far this year 598 cases have been reported. Wheaton College alone has 19 confirmed cases. The childhood vaccine that is usually given to protect against the mumps is the MMR. In one dose, it is 80% effective and in two doses, it is 90% effective. Because mumps are spread through respiratory droplets, students should practice vigorous hand washing, not sharing eating and drinking utensils and covering their mouths when they cough. Symptoms include glands close to the jaw and/or fever, headache or muscle aches. Complications are rare but can include deafness, inflammation of the testicles that could lead to sterility, pancreatitis and meningitis. Pertussis (whooping cough) Information Q&A Questions and Answers Question: My 15-year-old agonizes about the acne breakouts she gets. Should I take her to see a dermatologist? Answer: Yes. Taking her for professional advise will accomplish 2 things. The first has to do with the medical problem itself. Acne can occur in several different ways. Some types, cystic acne for example can cause pain and scarring. The cure could consist simply of over the counter topical treatments containing benzoyl peroxide. However the cure may involve antibiotics, hormonal treatment or Accutane (reserved for severe cases that don't respond to other medications.) The second has to do with your daughter's mental health. The teenage years are often complicated by emotional issues as the young adult struggles to define their independence, self esteem and confidence level. Improving her skin can also help increase her self esteem. With any of the treatments, it may take over 4 weeks to see improvement and they may needed to be used for several years. Please call me if you have anymore questions: 847-582-7335. (back to top)
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