At 05:04 PM 5/20/98 -0700, Duncan wrote:
>Public schools at least here in LA do not have a full time nurse.
The schools
>do not know who is immune suppressed nor even who is on chemo.
>
I certainly agree with you and others who are concerned about children
who are immune suppressed or susceptible pregnant women, but the reality
is that Varicella, Strep, and almost every other non-vaccine-preventable
disease will be entering the classroom at some time. And because
Varicella and many other diseases are communicable prior to any symptoms
showing, the exposure is totally unavoidable and people in these
catagories are
continually at risk.
But just because we know inadvertant exposure will at times occur, is
this a reason to intentionally send children with Varicella to school?
Probably not (for the reasons you and others have mentioned). I was just
throwing the topic out for discussion in my initial post.
>In addition, some children do not feel up to attending when first
>breaking out with varicella. Are these children to sit in the main
office
>all day? There is no other provision for sick children.
In the hypothetical situation of a child with Varicella attending school,
I would of course assume it would only be those kids who are afebrile and
feel fine except for a little itching. I remember clearly my bout of
Varicella (with minimal symptoms) when I was about nine, and if my best
friend (who gave it to me two weeks earlier) hadn't been able to come
over I would have gone stir crazy (and my mother would have also).
Michael Sachs, M.D.
General Pediatrician