Post by olivegoose on Nov 25, 2014 15:00:21 GMT -5
I have a friend ranting on FB because she had to drive to the high school to give her teenage son ibuprofen because he isn't allowed to carry it and apparently has chronic headaches. She can have the nurse keep the medication if the doctor writes a note. Her suggestion to this solution is that they use the Internet to check pills to see what they are. I think that's ridiculous and a blanket rule makes much more sense, and that a chronic condition should warrant a note from the doctor. It's been over a decade since I was in high school and we had the same rules then.
It makes perfect sense to me. If the kid has chronic headaches, I'm sure his doctor wouldn't mind jotting down a note so he can keep ibuprofen at school.
It's a pretty standard policy, was when I was a kid, too. If he has chronic headaches, I assume that means his doctor is aware, so getting a note to leave w/ a bottle of ibuprofen shouldn't be a big deal.
My mom always allowed me to put a few in my pocket when I had my period. I'd probably allow my kid to do the same.
Post by rosesandpetals on Nov 25, 2014 15:18:35 GMT -5
Can people have serious allergies to ibuprofen? I know some people are allergic to aspirin. I used to bring ibuprofen to school and keep it in my backpack and it wasn't a big deal but now that I'm a parent, I'd probably feel better if the nurse kept it anyway.
Post by penguingrrl on Nov 25, 2014 15:46:36 GMT -5
That was standard when I was in school. I kept a bottle of ibuprofen in my backpack anyway because I got awful cramps and headaches with my period, but I understood that I could get in a lot of trouble if I was caught.
The reason my school gave was that some popular party drugs are in pill form and a teacher shouldn't have to determine if that's really advil or really ecstasy, so having a doctor's note and giving a nurse a sealed package takes care of that risk.
That is the policy at our schools as well. If he truly has chronic headaches, I'm sure the dr would sign a form or wrote a note for the nurse to keep meds.
Post by olivegoose on Nov 25, 2014 17:52:19 GMT -5
I am sure people can be allergic to ibuprofen, as well as it can have interactions with other medications. I know if you took enough Tylenol you could kill yourself via liver failure. Either way, I don't see how the rule can be as ridiculous as she was making it but apparently I'm not alone in that:
What is she so upset about? We weren't allowed to carry any meds in high school either; nurse kept everything. Although, I think they were allowed to dispense ibuprofen/acetaminophen - I remember having to go occasionally when I had cramps; the nurse never gave me any issues about it.
A high schooler? Honestly, how are they going to know if has a bottle in his backpack. Kid gets headache "Mrs. teacher, can I use the restroom?" goes to locker, takes pills, returns to class.
I mean, systems, etc, but the kid is in high school, not elementary, if he wants to keep IB in his backpack he should be able to.
A high schooler? Honestly, how are they going to know if has a bottle in his backpack. Kid gets headache "Mrs. teacher, can I use the restroom?" goes to locker, takes pills, returns to class.
I mean, systems, etc, but the kid is in high school, not elementary, if he wants to keep IB in his backpack he should be able to.
They aren't going to know but if the school has a policy in place it won't be the school's fault if something happens. Ime the school has over the counter meds but if the student doesn't have a permission slip the nurse won't dispense it.
A high schooler? Honestly, how are they going to know if has a bottle in his backpack. Kid gets headache "Mrs. teacher, can I use the restroom?" goes to locker, takes pills, returns to class.
I mean, systems, etc, but the kid is in high school, not elementary, if he wants to keep IB in his backpack he should be able to.
They aren't going to know but if the school has a policy in place it won't be the school's fault if something happens. Ime the school has over the counter meds but if the student doesn't have a permission slip the nurse won't dispense it.
This is how it has always been, but in my current district, which is incredibly litigious ( a teacher got scolded for playing the big bang theory theme song for funsies) and conservative, our nurses are not allowed to dispense any non-prescription meds (and my school nurse is actually a doctor).
It just seems ridiculous to me, like I always had advil on me in HS.
A high schooler? Honestly, how are they going to know if has a bottle in his backpack. Kid gets headache "Mrs. teacher, can I use the restroom?" goes to locker, takes pills, returns to class.
I mean, systems, etc, but the kid is in high school, not elementary, if he wants to keep IB in his backpack he should be able to.
There are plenty of kids who do this, and it's generally not a big deal. Our campus regularly did random searches and if a kid was carrying contraband (Advil, sharpies, razor blades, whatever) a note was made of it and the item was confiscated. They weren't suspended or anything. But I 100% understand and support the procedure in place, where the nurse is the only one on campus who is authorized to give medications AS LONG AS there is actually a nurse on campus 100% of the time. When your nurse is only there two days a week, or only in the mornings, it can get problematic.
A high schooler? Honestly, how are they going to know if has a bottle in his backpack. Kid gets headache "Mrs. teacher, can I use the restroom?" goes to locker, takes pills, returns to class.
I mean, systems, etc, but the kid is in high school, not elementary, if he wants to keep IB in his backpack he should be able to.
I generally agree except the school has no way to ensure that what he says is ibuprofen is ibuprofen. It's a waste of resources to have to identify every pill a kid carries in his backpack
If we had this policy in high school I wasn't aware of it. I took what meds I needed to school and took it there. I actually think I took Tylenol that a teacher had one time. I do see the benefit of the policy though.
A high schooler? Honestly, how are they going to know if has a bottle in his backpack. Kid gets headache "Mrs. teacher, can I use the restroom?" goes to locker, takes pills, returns to class.
I mean, systems, etc, but the kid is in high school, not elementary, if he wants to keep IB in his backpack he should be able to.
I generally agree except the school has no way to ensure that what he says is ibuprofen is ibuprofen. It's a waste of resources to have to identify every pill a kid carries in his backpack
No, I get that, I'm just kind of surprised this solution hasn't occurred to your friend.
If we had this policy in high school I wasn't aware of it. I took what meds I needed to school and took it there. I actually think I took Tylenol that a teacher had one time. I do see the benefit of the policy though.
That teacher is an idiot. I would NEVER give anything to a kid. I won't even give cough drops.
If we had this policy in high school I wasn't aware of it. I took what meds I needed to school and took it there. I actually think I took Tylenol that a teacher had one time. I do see the benefit of the policy though.
That teacher is an idiot. I would NEVER give anything to a kid. I won't even give cough drops.
People weren't as sue happy in the 90's. Now? No, now it would be stupid.
We had this rule at my HS. I assumed it was kind of like the no cell phone rule. Don't let it be seen and it's NBD. I think it's a way for the school to avoid liability. If a kid obviously swallows a pill in class and says it's IB the teacher has no way of knowing if it's IB, adderall or a narcotic. We didn't have random searches of our stuff though.
If we had this policy in high school I wasn't aware of it. I took what meds I needed to school and took it there. I actually think I took Tylenol that a teacher had one time. I do see the benefit of the policy though.
That teacher is an idiot. I would NEVER give anything to a kid. I won't even give cough drops.
Yup, this. We have a policy at my school that we are not allowed to give kids any medication, including cough drops. Everything has to go through the nurse and must have a Dr.'s note accompanying it. We had a student bring in a bottle of Tylenol and she got suspended for it.
Post by notreallyirish on Nov 26, 2014 11:38:22 GMT -5
We had this policy at my school and I had to go to the office when I had a migraine to get excedrin.
I did read an article once where a mother was trying to have schools make an exception for rescue inhalers. Her son had an asthma attack on the playground and died because it took too long to get his inhaler from the nurse.
We had this policy at my school and I had to go to the office when I had a migraine to get excedrin.
I did read an article once where a mother was trying to have schools make an exception for rescue inhalers. Her son had an asthma attack on the playground and died because it took too long to get his inhaler from the nurse.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I was allowed to keep my rescue inhaler on me with a doctor's note. I do agree that exceptions should be made for emergency situations like asthma attacks and allergic reactions.
We had this policy at my school and I had to go to the office when I had a migraine to get excedrin.
I did read an article once where a mother was trying to have schools make an exception for rescue inhalers. Her son had an asthma attack on the playground and died because it took too long to get his inhaler from the nurse.
That's horrifying. I definitely think that asthma inhalers and epi pens should be exempt from those rules since timeliness is critical for those. I think the child should be allowed to use it themselves and also that any adult present should be trained on use and allowed to use them since seconds matter for allergies and asthma.
I did have to go to school to give Julia asthma meds once last year. Her asthma usually takes a while to develop but it set on somewhat suddenly during the school day, so the nurse called me. I went in, gave her the inhaler, assessed after five minutes and started her prednisone as she wasn't responding to the inhaler. That was the reminder to me that we needed a doctor's note so it didn't have to wait for me.
Post by rosesandpetals on Nov 26, 2014 12:46:41 GMT -5
My school has a rule about inhalers. I think it is kindergarteners and older can carry it on them at the parents' discretion (it may be 1st grade, though). There is a spot on the yearly well check forms for chronic conditions so I think the dr would just write it there. The nurse can keep it for the preschoolers and less mature school age kids but it needs to come in a box from the pharmacy with the child's name on it.