Communicable diseases

1. Student Health Services:
Student Health Related Issues

2. Objective:
• This section will give direction and practices to
follow when addressing student health related
issues in the school setting.

3. General Guidelines
• If you have a question regarding a student health issue,
please contact the Director of Student Health Services, Nicole
Proffitt, at gina.proffitt@mnps.org.
• Do NOT send out letters or calls to parents regarding a health
situation (meningitis, scabies, lice, staph infection, etc.) prior to
speaking with the Director of Student Health Services.
• MNPS works closely with the Metro Public Health Department
(MPHD). If or when a letter needs to be sent home, MPHD will
direct MNPS to do so.
• The Office of Student Health Services will provided individual
guidance based on the health situation.

4. When to Stay Home
When a child has the symptoms below they must be kept
at home the next day from school. They also need to be
without symptoms for a full 24 hours before returning to
school.
Fever: Temperature above 100˚ F (taken by mouth)
without the use of fever reducing medication.
Diarrhea: Any watery stools not contained in under
clothes.
Vomiting: Throwing up.
Rash: Covering entire body.

5. When to Stay Home
If a child has:
• Strep Throat: Students must be on antibiotic therapy
for at least 24 hours and not have a fever over 99.9
(under 100˚ F), without the use of fever reducing
medication.
• Communicable Disease: If a child has chickenpox,
mumps, measles, rash all over their body, strep
throat, or “pink eye,” they have to stay home until
they have a note from a health care provider
stating the child is not contagious and may return to
school.

6. Ringworm
• What is Ringworm?
Ringworm is a fungal infection that grows into a lesion with a smooth center and a red,
scaly border. There are two types, tinea corporis (ringworm of the body) and tinea
capitis (ringworm of the scalp).
• What does Ringworm look like?
Scaly red patches that grow into characteristic rings. On the scalp, ringworm is more
likely to appear as weepy lesions with some hair loss. Both are only mildly itchy.
Certain types of scalp ringworm are more difficult to detect because the rings are not
obvious and flaking may be confused with dandruff — which is a skin malady that is
not common until the teen years. If you see dandruff in a young child it should arouse
suspicion of ringworm.
• What is the incubation period?
Four to ten days
• How is it spread?
Person to person through contact with lesions, although tinea capitis can be passed
from pets to kids, too.

7. Ringworm
• How is it treated?
Treat scalp ringworm with an oral antifungal agent, such as griseofulvin. Patches may
respond in two weeks, but medication should be taken for four to six weeks. Body
ringworm may respond to topical antifungal creams applied one to three times daily
for about four weeks. If the infection is extensive or does not respond to topical
treatment, oral fungicides are prescribed. Once the weepy lesions heal the child is not
contagious anymore.
• Who needs to be treated?
Only the infected person.
• How can I stop it from spreading?
Treat infected pet and keep family members away from them. In the case of scalp
ringworm, hats, hairbrushes, hair accessories, and combs should be thrown out. Do not
share an infected person’s towel, which provide damp, hospitable environment for the
fungus. Launder towels and clothing with hot water. The house does not need to be
decontaminated; a fungus does not survive well in a dry environment, so are rarely
picked up from toys or other dry surfaces.

8. Head Lice
• In the event a student has head lice, a brochure needs to be sent home
with the student who has the head lice.
• The student may return, once the lice has been treated and with a
doctor’s note.
• We do not notify other student’s parents.
• We do not do routine head checks. If you choose to do a head check
then you will use school staff not the nurse.
• Once the child returns to school with the physicians note stating he/she
has been treated, we do not do rechecks unless there are symptoms
again (head scratching, etc.)
• MNPS Policy:
• Head Lice Plan – If a student is positive for live head lice, the student is to
be sent home with information to the parents regarding treatment and
control measures. A student may return to school when the parent or
guardian obtains a note from their private health provider or the
Metropolitan Health Department stating that the student has been
treated and is lice free. An excused absence for up to three (3) days per
infestation will be granted.

10. Bed Bugs
• Bed bugs are a nuisance, but do not cause or
spread disease. Schools are not habitats for bed
bugs and when one is found at school, it usually has
been brought in unknowingly on clothing or
backpacks.
• Even though it is unlikely for bed bugs to spread in
schools, MNPS will continue to work to identify these
and all pests, provide a thorough inspection of the
school, and implement a pest management plan
as necessary.

11. Bed Bugs
• If you suspect a student
has bed bugs, first
contact Louis Burnett in
MNPS Environmental.
• After confirmation from
MNPS Environmental,
notify the
parent/guardian by
phone if a bed bug is
found on or in their child’s
belongings and following
up with a letter and a
copy of the brochure to
that parent/guardian.

13. Scabies
• When a student has a diagnosis of Scabies it is best
practice to follow the CDC (Center for Disease Control)
recommendations.
• Students can return to school with a provider’s note and
once treatment has begun, if they have any
rashes/blisters they need to keep them bandaged and
covered with clothing when possible.
• It is not necessary to send letters home, this is not highly
contagious in a setting such as a school setting;
prolonged and direct skin to skin contact is needed to
pass along this condition.
• For additional information you may visit the CDC
website:
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/scabies/gen_info/index.htm
l

14. Contact:
• If you have questions or concerns, please contact:
Nicole Proffitt
Director of Student Health Services
615-259-3282 Ext 858033
Gina.proffitt@mnps.org