School nurses advise what's sick enough Your kid wakes up feeling lousy and complains of a stuffy head and sore throat.
Parents weigh many factors when deciding if a child is too sick to go to school.
The Philadelphia Inquirer collected a list of conditions commonly given by schools nurses that parents might use in deciding when to keep their child at home. Of course, kids can look and feel fine when they leave for school in the morning, but then crash hours later with the onset of some illness. Parents obviously can't predict such sudden sickness, but they can make sure every child knows to go to the school nurse if he or she feels ill. Although that may seem like obvious advice, it often doesn't happen. The medicine may temporarily reduce the fever, but it may only mask the symptom of an infection that might be passed to other children.