NEW ORLEANS – (Nov. 13, 2019) – As public schools in Orleans Parish experience an uptick in student and staff absences from school due to cold and flu season, NOLA Public Schools would like to offer tips to prevent the flu, as well as, remind families when it is best to keep their students at home.

Students should STAY home if he or she:

• Has a temperature higher than 100 degrees, with or without medication.
• Has pink and crusty eyes.
• Is throwing up or has diarrhea.

  Families should call the doctor if their student:

• Has a temperature higher than 100 degrees for more than two days.
• Has been throwing up or has diarrhea for more than two days.
• Has the sniffles for more than a week and they are not getting better.
• Still has asthma symptoms after using prescribed asthma medicine.
• Call 911 if he or she is having trouble breathing after using an inhaler.

Students can be sent to school if he or she:

• Has a runny nose or just a little cough, but no other symptoms.
• Has not thrown up or had any diarrhea for 24 hours.
• Has not taken any fever reducing medicine for 24 hours and has not had a fever during that time.

For more information and additional healthy tips, you can visit attendanceworks.org.

The Louisiana Department of Health also offers these tips to minimize spreading the flu:

• Get your flu shot
• Wash hands frequently.
• Try not to touch the eyes, nose and mouth.
• Cover coughs and sneezes.
• Avoid close contact with those who are sick.
• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.
• Call the doctor immediately to see if an antiviral medication is appropriate.
• If one has cold symptoms or fever, avoid others until it has passed for over 24 hours.

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ABOUT NOLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish, which includes the district’s elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board and the district’s administration led by NOLA Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis Jr. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 78 public schools. For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools