To take care of your child and ensure the health and safety of our school community, it is important to take the following precautions:

• Children with symptoms of the flu should stay at home. As much as possible, they should be cared for by a single designated caregiver, kept in a separate room in the house and have limited contact with other household members who are not sick. 
• Your child should not return to school until at least 24 hours after there is no longer a fever (temperature over 100ºF or 38ºC) or signs of a fever (chills, flushing). This should be considered as the first 24 hours a child has been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medicines such as ibuprofen or Tylenol. Keeping sick students at home is the best way to keep flu from spreading to other students. A doctor’s note is NOT required in order for your child to return to school. 
• Parents are requested to notify their child's school of the reason for their child’s absence by 10 am on each day of absence.
• Encourage your child to drink plenty of clear fluids to keep from becoming dehydrated. Do not give any medicines containing aspirin to your child. Monitor the health of your sick child and all other household members closely by checking for fever and other flu symptoms. Testing for flu and treatment with antiviral medications may not be needed for most children over 5 years of age without underlying medical conditions who have mild flu illness. 
• If your sick child or any well household member is at high risk for more severe disease from influenza, please contact your doctor as soon as possible to ask for advice about antiviral medications. People at higher risk for flu complications include children under the age of 5 years, pregnant women, people of any age who have chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, cancer or heart disease), and people age 65 years and older. 
• Contact a healthcare provider and seek medical care immediately if your child is having difficulty breathing, has altered mental status, or is getting worse.
• Please remind all household members to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer regularly. Also continue to remind children to cover their cough with their elbow or sleeve, and to wash their hands before and after touching their face.

For more information about flu, call 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit www.flu.gov. More information on how to take care of a sick child is available at: www.cdc.gov/flu/homecare/index.htm. Dallas County influenza resources and updates are available at: www.dallascounty.org.