Does this sound like overkill?

Connor was sent home from school early yesterday with a slight fever and a sore throat. The nurse gave me a letter that the pediatrician had to sign to say that Connor was okay to come back to school. I understand that they are concerned about H1N1 and everything else but seriously? He woke up this morning with no fever, slightly sore throat still. I took him to the ped and the doctor couldn't believe that the school wants a signed note saying he is okay to go back. The doctor made a comment about it being a long winter. The doctor said Connor has a cold and the sore throat is from his nose dripping down his throat. The doctor was going to write a note for Connor to go back to school today.

So it is just me or is this overkill? I could see maybe if they had an extremely high temp. (Connor's was just around 100) or had some other symptoms.

 

Seems like overkill but there are a lot of parents who send their kids to school sick....no fever via motrin.

 

I can understand that but needing a doctor's note to get back into school after 1 day seems really drastic to me.

 

I definitely think it's overkill and it really won't prevent people from sending their kids to school with a fever reduced by Motrin. What it will do is force people to waste a doctor's time and spend money on an appointment that they might not necessarily need. When my child is truly sick, I'd hate to think I wouldn't be able to get him or her into see the doctor in a timely manner because the doctor is bogged down with having to see children that have a cold with a slight fever...something that cannot be remedied with a prescription OR a trip to the doctor. And for people on a tight budget or without health insurance, these trips to the doctor would be out of the question. I realize that there is concern over H1N1, but from what I have read, it is no worse than a typical flu season.

 

That seems extreme. One of my girls test positive for flu last Thursday which they are 97% sure is H1N1 and since she had no fever over the weekend she was allowed to go back to school on Monday and she did not need a doctor's note.

 

I think it's overkill, too.

During the big swine flu scare (was that in spring?), Hayden got very sick and I took him to the ER, because the media was making such a big deal about getting checked and treated. The docs and nurses were already fed up with it, saying they were overloaded with people nervous about swine flu who really didn't belong in the ER. Schools demanding doctor notes to get back into school after only one day out and no real flu symptoms will really add to the problem!

 

Overkill. DS2 had a flu that he came down with on Thursday, and I sent him back to school on Tuesday, no note. We know it was a flu because he got it from his friend, who saw a doctor and was diagnosed with flu, but because the treatment is the same, they didn't bother to test if it was H1N1 or just seasonal flu. Luckily for me, DS2 is 15 and was willing to stay in his bedroom and bathroom (which are in the basement) for 96 hours. I delivered food to his hallway. So far, so good, no one else has caught it. He did have a laptop in there.

 

Thank you! I was so worried that I was the only one thinking that this is overkill. One of the after-school care teachers told me yesterday when I picked Maddie up that the nurse tends to be very overbearing and go to extremes. So my guess is that if they went to a different school, I wouldn't have had to take him to the doctor.

I understand that they are being cautious and I am all for that, but wasting doctor's time with colds that don't need medical treatment is just ridiculous to me.

 

I agree with Jennifer completely. Definite overkill.

Here lots of area schools have closed due to such high rates of absenteeism from the flu. So far, our school has remained open.

 

Definitely overkill. Peyton even had a note sent home that anything over 100 degree had to stay home and remain home until the child is 24 hours free of fever without using meds to lower it. Brooke has a cold (she got it from Jake and Peyton) and was running a very small fever last night of about 99. I can't believe one more little degree and she would had to have stayed home. It's crazy.

 

Way overkill. That would get so expensive for us if our schools implemented a policy like that. We have to pay $60 per office visit, and to have to go for every low fever would put us in the poorhouse.

 

I am not so sure it is just because of the swine flu scare. Two years ago Caitlyn was sent home from school for something (I can't even remember what) and she had to have a doctor's note to go back to school. If she had been sick that morning and I kept her home, she would not have needed a note.

I agree. Definately overkill.

 

Overkill by far.

We cant afford to go to the Dr every time the girls have a fever!!! I just took one DD in after 3 days (I called after the 1st day and they said to wait--I called back the 3rd day and they saw her)--the Dr's are getting swamped with 'fear' visits.

I was told to treat her w/ Motrin and humidifier. No note needed to go back to school---she missed 3 days of PreK.

 

At my high school, if we were sick enough to stay home from school, we had to have a dr's note to have it count as an excused absence. Parents were calling their kids in "sick" so they could leave on vacation early and abusing sick days. So, if you were sick enough to stay home, you had to have a doctors note.

So, yes, it seems extreme, but it's not the first time I've heard of it.

Marissa