February/ March 2017 HEALTH OFFICE NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 February/ March 2017 HEALTH OFFICE NEWSLETTER Lynne Bauer, RN, NCSN, Directr f Health Services In this issue: Winter Health Reminders Healthy Teeth Head Lice Transitin t Middle Schl / High Schl Winter Health Reminders: A healthy schl envirnment requires the cperatin and effrt f us all wrking tgether. During this time f year we tend t see a higher incidence f strep thrat, respiratry and gastrintestinal illnesses. The nurses f The Superir Schl District wuld like t remind everyne that they can help t prtect themselves and their families frm many f these airbrne illnesses. Fllw the Habits fr Gd Health listed belw recmmended by the Center fr Disease Cntrl. Habits fr Gd Health Cver yur nse and muth with a tissue when yu cugh r sneeze thrw the tissue away after yu use it. If yu d nt have a tissue, cver yur muth and nse with the inside f yur elbw. Wash yur hands ften with sap and water especially after yu cugh r sneeze. If yu are nt near water, use an alchl based hand cleaner. Stay away as much as yu can frm peple wh are sick. If yu r yur child gets the flu, stay hme frm wrk r schl. D nt g near ther peple s that yu dn t make them sick t. Try nt t tuch yur eyes, nse, r muth. Germs ften spread this way. Dress fr the weather. Cme t schl dressed fr the winter. Wear layers f lse fitting clthing. Wear mittens and glves. Wear a hat. Remember, the air that is trapped inside yur clthing, warmed by yur bdy heat, is the best prtectin frm the cld.

2 February is Natinal Dental Health Mnth! Lifelng habits begin at hme. Make dental health part f yur daily rutine and share these reminders with yur whle family: Brush yur teeth at least twice a day with fluride tthpaste, especially after breakfast and befre bedtime. Drinking water after eating als helps t clear yur teeth f fd particles. Flss every day. An adult shuld help children under the age f eight t flss. Older children shuld be ready t flss n their wn. Limit the number f times yu eat snacks, especially the sticky nes and lng lasting nes. Visit a dentist regularly fr a rutine checkup and a cleaning Prtect yur teeth by wearing a muth guard when playing sprts. Dn t frget t change yur tth brush regularly, and after an illness. Sweet snack facts: Eating a lt f snacks with sugar may cause cavities. Every time yu eat sugar, plaque in yur muth mixes with the sugar t make acid. The acid hurts the teeth and causes decay ver time. This can be painful! The schl nurse can help yu find a dental hme fr yur family! HEAD LICE Head lice are small parasitic insects that live n the scalps and necks f peple. Head lice live n peple and nt n animals. The adult luse is flat, wingless and crawls. Lice cannt jump r fly. They have 6 legs with claws t grip nt the hair. They are cntracted 98% f the time by head-t-head cntact. Head lice prefer clean hair the cleaner the better! Since lice glue their eggs t the hair shaft, clean hair allws fr easier attachment.

3 The life cycle f the luse cnsist f three stages. Stage 1 Eggs: The head luse begins life as an egg, cmmnly referred t as a nit. Nits are laid by the adult female. The nits are firmly attached t the base f the hair shaft, next t the scalp, by a glue-like substance prduced by the luse. Nits range in clr frm white, yellw, tan t grayish, depending n the stage f develpment an whether r nt they have hatched r been killed by treatment. Nit are val r teardrp shaped, smth and very small (abut the size f a knt f thread). Nits are hard t see and ften are cnfused fr dandruff, hair spray drplets r ther debris. Stage 2 Nymphs: The nits are incubated by bdy heat fr abut 7-12 days befre they hatch t release a nymph. The nit shell remains n the hair shaft after hatching and becmes a dull yellw r translucent white and may have a wrinkled lk. The nymph lks like an adult luse, but is nly abut the size f a pinhead. Nymphs need a bld meal within hurs f hatching t survive. During the next 7-10 days, the nymph cntinues t grw and mature, ging thrugh three mlts, until it becmes a full adult luse. Stage 3 Adults: The adult luse is abut the size f a sesame seed. The life span f an adult luse is abut 3-4 weeks. The female usually is larger than the male and can lay up t 10 nits per day (nly nits that are fertilized will develp and hatch). The live adult luse needs t feed n bld every 3-6 hurs. Withut bld meals, r nce away frm the human hst, the adult luse can usually survive fr n lnger than hurs. Detecting Head Lice: The gld standard fr diagnsing head lice is finding a live luse n the head. Nits that are viable are usually fund at the nape f the neck r behind the ears, within ¼ inch f the scalp. Signs & Symptms: Fr many peple, head lice cause n symptms. When symptms are present, they include: Itching Itching f the head is the mst cmmn symptm. Itching is caused by the saliva-prducing txin that the luse injects int the scalp when it feeds. The amunt f itching may be slight t severe. The degree f itching that ccurs is ften dependent upn the extent f infestatin. Itching may be very mild if the infestatin has just ccurred, r it may be severe if the infestatin has gne untreated fr a lng time.

4 Sres n the head Occasinally, very tiny red areas n the scalp may be seen due t the bites frm the luse. Sres n the head may develp frm cntinued itching and scratching. Smetimes these sres can becme infected. Yu shuld cntact yur health care prvider if yu think a sre has becme infected. Mst lice infestatins d nt lead t infectins. Tickling feeling f smething mving in the hair Anther symptm reprted by sme peple is a tickling r crawling feeling in the hair. Sleeplessness Difficulty sleeping is als a cmmn sign f lice infestatin as the lice are mre active at night and may disrupt sleep. Management and Treatment f Head Lice Includes: 1. Careful inspectin and screening f the hair and scalp t identify lice and/r nits crrectly. 2. Use f a pediculicidal (head lice) prduct if live lice r viable nits are fund. 3. The cleaning f persnal items and the envirnment. 4. A repeat treatment with pediculicdal prduct 9 days fllwing initial treatment, if nt therwise indicated n the prduct label. Head lice may be brught int the hme after a persn has had head-t-head cntact with an infested persn at child care, schl, camp, sleepvers, etc. The mst rapid spread f head lice ccurs thrugh the hme because f the clse prximity f family members. Whenever ne persn in the family has been identified t have lice, everyne living in the hme shuld be inspected. Any friends, family member r ther peple wh have had clse head-t-head cntact with the infested persn ver the previus week shuld be ntified s they can be inspected fr head lice as well. Cleaning f persnal items and the envirnment: It is imprtant t remember.. Head lice generally cannt survive mre than hurs at rm temperature ff f a human hst. The viable nits attached t hairs that becme separated r detached frm the human hst may remain viable fr between days; hwever, there needs t be an ideal temperature fr them t hatch and nce the nits hatch, the nymphs must find a human hst within hurs t survive. Yu d nt need t spend a lt f mney fr cleaning supplies. Sprays fr the huse and furniture are nt needed and are nt recmmended. Even thugh cleaning the envirnment is imprtant, excessive cleaning such as scrubbing the walls is nt necessary. Cncentrate n heads, where lice live and feed. Apprpriate initial treatment and a repeat treatment nine days fllwing will g much further in managing head lice than excessive cleaning.

5 Family cmbs and brushes: Sak hair-care tls in ht water (130 F) fr at least 10 min. When pssible, make sure every member f the husehld has his r her wn cmb r brush. Tell children nt t share these items with thers. Encurage and educate yur child abut nt sharing cmbs, hair accessries and hats. Articles f clthing and bedding: T kill lice and nits, machine wash all washable clthing and bed linens used by the infested persn(s) during the 2 days befre treatment. Use the ht water (130 F) cycle during the washing prcess. Dry laundry using high heat fr 20 minutes. Washing clthes t remve lice and nits des nt need t be repeated daily and is nly necessary n the day f treatment and retreatment. Articles that cannt be machine washed, such as stuffed animals, pillws r cmfrters, can be vacuumed, dry cleaned r stred in a sealed plastic bag fr 2 weeks. Anther ptin is t place the item in a ht dryer fr 20 minutes. Encurage yur child t hang their cat in their cubby r lcker and put their hat and mittens inside their cat sleeve. Treatment f the envirnment: The spread f head lice by cntact with inanimate bjects may ccur, but is very uncmmn. Head lice wuld have difficulty attaching firmly t smth r slippery surfaces such as plastic, metal, plished synthetic leathers and ther similar materials. Flrs, carpet, uphlstered furniture, pillws, and mattresses shuld be vacuumed t pick up any hairs that may have living lice r nits attached t them. Vehicle care seats and child safety seats can be cleaned by vacuuming r running a lint remver (rllers with sticky surfaces) ver the seats. Head lice are a cmmn cmmunity prblem. They are nt dangerus and d nt transmit disease. The schl nurse will ntify parents f the student with lice r nits and recmmend treatment that evening. The student will be sent hme at the end f the schl day unless the parent chses t cme and pick up their child early and the student may return t schl the next day if they have received treatment at hme.

6 Incming 6 th graders and 9 th graders: The end f winter / beginning f spring always brings Transitin Night fr ur incming 6 th graders t Superir Middle Schl and incming 9 th graders t Superir High Schl. We wuld like t highlight a few reminders fr parents regarding these transitins: All incming 6 th graders will need a Tdap and a 2 nd varicella n file at the start f the schl year. Please try t btain this early (this can be dne nw!) and give yur child s immunizatin recrds t yur schl nurse. All incming 9 th graders als need t be up-t-date with all their immunizatins. Please check with yur middle schl nurse if yu are unsure if yur child still needs t have immunizatins. All immunizatins can be btained thrugh yur primary care prvider r thrugh the lcal health department if yu meet the guidelines fr the VFC (Vaccines fr Children Prgram). Children thrugh 18 years f age wh meet at least ne f the fllwing criteria are eligible t receive VFC vaccine: Medicaid eligible: A child wh is eligible fr the Medicaid prgram. (Fr the purpses f the VFC prgram, the terms "Medicaid-eligible" and "Medicaid-enrlled" are equivalent and refer t children wh have health insurance cvered by a state Medicaid prgram) Uninsured: A child wh has n health insurance cverage American Indian r Alaska Native: As defined by the Indian Health Care Imprvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603) Underinsured 9 th graders wh are interested in playing a sprt will need t have a Sprts Physical n file prir t the first day f practice. Sprts Physicals can be dne any time after April 1, 2017 and then are gd fr the next 2 years. A Sprts Physical frm can be btained frm the Activities Directr, Ray Ksey, r frm the Superir High Schl website.