Navigating Flu Season: Wisdom from a Nurse
As you may have noticed, flu season is upon us. Now come the dreaded questions: “How do I differentiate between the flu, a cold, allergies, or COVID-19?” and “What do I do if my child is starting to show symptoms?”
Practicing preventative care is the most important thing you can do as a parent to protect your child and other children at school.
To minimize the risk of getting sick, you should:
- Frequently clean your household surfaces
- Distance your family from people whom you know are sick
- Consider getting yourself and your family members the flu vaccine
- Teach your children to:
- Wash their hands frequently for 15 to 20 seconds.
- Avoid touching their eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Cough and sneeze into a tissue or their elbows and wash their hands immediately after.
- Eat healthy foods, drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep (ideally 8 hours per night)
- Not share food with others
Keep your child home if he or she:
- Has a fever of over 100.4 F without fever-reducing medications
- Has diarrhea with additional symptoms
- Has a runny nose that is uncontrollable or has green/yellow-brownish secretions
- Is vomiting with additional symptoms
- Is excessively coughing
When your child is sick:
- Do not send him or her to school (even if medicated)
- Ensure that he or she gets plenty of rest
- Ensure that he or she drinks plenty of fluids, including water, Gatorade, Pedialyte, coconut water, popsicles, and soups.
When to bring your children back to school:
- When all symptoms above have been relieved for 24 hours without medication.
Symptom Chart
| Flu/Influenza | Cold | Allergy | COVID-19 | |
| Cough | Usually | Usually | Sometimes | Usually (dry) |
| Muscle Ache | Usually | Sometimes | Never | Usually |
| Tiredness | Usually | Sometimes | Usually | Usually |
| Sneezing | Usually | Sometimes | Usually | Rarely |
| Sore Throat | Usually | Usually | Rarely | Usually |
| Runny/Stuffy Nose | Usually | Usually | Usually | Usually |
| Fever | Not Always | Sometimes | Never | Usually |
| Diarrhea | Sometimes | Never | Never | Sometimes |
| Nausea/Vomiting | Usually | Never | Never | Sometimes |
| New loss of taste or smell | Rarely | With a stuffy nose | Sometimes | W/O stuffy nose |
Please consider your child’s well-being (as well as his or her classmates') before sending him or her to school with symptoms.
About the Author
Ruth Choi is one of the School Nurses at TCS. After graduating from UMSON, she spent some time in Emergency Medicine before deciding to find a better way to pursue and honor God. That has landed her in this position where she loves interacting with the students and staff. In her free time she enjoys hiking, making pottery at the wheel, and volunteering for the teen ministry at her church.
