Children should be kept at home for fever 100 or more, vomiting, continuous cough or runny nose, contagious illness.

203-426-7672.  Please call all absences in to the Nurse's phone # listed above.  An answering machine will record your message after hours.  Please leave your child's name and the reason for absence (both illness and non illness absences should be called in to this #)

HEALTH WATCH
 
      How to tell if it’s the flu or a cold:

               -Flu symptoms typically include high fever, chills, severe headache,   

               body/muscle aches, exhaustion, dry cough, respiratory congestion,

               nausea/vomiting (rare in adults)

               -Cold symptoms typically include stuffy nose, sneezing, sore throat,   

               hacking cough, low grade fever
 

    October and November are the best times to get a flu vaccine, but it’s never too late according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The CDC recommends flu shots for the following people:

-         Anyone who wants to reduce their risk of getting the flu
-         Children aged 6 mos. to 5 years
-         Pregnant women
-         People aged > 50 yrs
-         People of any age with certain chronic medical conditions
-         People who live in long term care facilities
-         People who live with or care for those at high risk for flu complications
     There should be no shortage of flu vaccines this year.  The supply is the best ever!

           
The recent recall of over-the-counter children’s cold and cough medicines is another reminder of the need for great caution when administering medication to children.  Common ingredients in OTC cold remedies, such as dextromethorphan, diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and codeine, were not only found to have no effect when compared to placebo in relieving symptoms, but are also potentially dangerous especially in young children.  There is excellent information on this issue, along with guidelines for treating your child’s cold safely at the American Academy of Pediatrics website.

Lyme Disease is a serious health concern in Newtown.  Lyme Disease is the most common vector borne disease in the USA, and Connecticut is among the states with the highest number of cases in the country!  Spread by the tiny deer tick, Lyme symptoms can range from a bull's eye rash to flu like symptoms, headache, joint pain and neurological symptoms.  To help keep our students at HOM healthy,  they are taught about how Lyme Disease spreads and how to protect themselves.

Lyme Prevention:

    Don't play in long grass or leaf littered areas
    Wear light colored clothing to make it easier to see ticks
    Tuck your shirt into your pants and your pants into your socks
    Use insect repellent if wearing shorts
    Do a thorough tick check every day during tick season!

Walking Club was started to encourage HOM students to start a healthy lifetime habit of walking/running for fun and exercise.  It's free, it's easy and it's good for mind , body and soul. The Walking Club meets every Wednesday morning at 8:15 AM in the cafeteria.  Weather permitting, we walk outside on the playground.  in inclement weather, we walk and jump rope in the gym.  You can watch our progress on the bulletin board near the cafeteria.  Any third or fourth grader who would like to join us is welcome.  Permission forms are available in the nurse's office.