On the night Oct. 31 of 2017, current junior Lola Gingerich broke her arm in a car accident. After being taken for treatment, Gingerich immediately returned to school the next morning, essentially transitioning from a late night hospital visit, to a new school day.
In the life of a high school student, feeling ill is nearly inevitable, according to a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 71 percent of those studied missed at least one day of school because of illness or injury, especially between December and February, when flu season runs. Whether it is caused by stressful situations or pure clumsiness, being unable to attend school for health reasons is not uncommon.
According to the CDC, severe symptoms of sickness, such as a fever or flu-like illness, require time to recover with medicine or rest. Still, students, like Gingerich feel even their physical health should be pushed aside for the sake of being on top of school work, as proven by her hospital experience.
“Although I don’t miss much school anymore,” Gingerich said, “I feel pressure in the sense that I shouldn’t be missing school in the first place.”
While school is a major priority for students like Gingerich, there are some guidelines set by the RBHS nurse staff for what people should and shouldn’t qualify as school-absence worthy.
Nurse Tammy Adkins, RBHS’s head school nurse, sets some standards for how students determine if they are well enough to come to school.
“There are some [students] who maybe shouldn’t have come to school when they weren’t feeling well because of tests they didn’t want to miss,” Adkins said. “However, we do have some guidelines, like you have to be fever free for at least 24 hours, and you can’t have active vomiting or diarrhea that isn’t from a previous medical condition.”
Adkins also said the rules should apply to teachers and staff. During the winter, when flu and colds are more prevalent, the school sends out information reminding faculty to avoid coming to work if they have a fever running over 100 degrees.
The winter season is especially prone to the spread of disease for students in high school, Adkins said. With the sheer amount of people in one building at the same time, germs can quickly pass from one person to another.
“It can start from a cough out in the air, and then the particles travel to someone else’s mucous membrane, like into their nose or mouth,” Adkins said. “The diseases can also result from touching doorknobs to classrooms and then rubbing your eyes.”
The respiratory system is especially prone to illnesses through airborne particles from other factors as well, including sneezes and germs when people blow their nose.
A child’s age is a vital factor in whether or not they will risk going to school and outspreading the disease they have contracted, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at Tiger Pediatrics Shawn Neyens said.
“Most of my patients, when they come into my office, have not been to school,” Neyens said. “In upper grades, like high school, most kids will go to school sick, so then more people are exposed to that, but, when they are younger, they are more likely to abide to the rules, and they will stay home.”
Neyens also stated that the age range of students is a consideration in if they should come to school when they are sick or not, as high schoolers have a more substantial workload than elementary school children.
The stress of completing missed work on time is harmful for teenagers and a valid point when contemplating taking a day off of school, according to Neyens.
“I think the main reason a lot more kids go to high school when they are sick is because they don’t want to miss, so that they don’t get behind in their school work. Also, they don’t want to miss athletic or extracurricular activities as well because you can’t do those at home,” Neyens said. “There is more pressure on adolescents to go to school when they are feeling sick, and struggling with the workload can have an impact on the mental health of the student, causing anxiety.”
Ultimately, Adkins said the solution to preventing absences from school is to dodge getting unwell in the first place. Keeping a steady sleep schedule is important, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, because it revitalizes your body and supports healthy brain function. Sanitization in a large public place, such as a high school, is key to remaining healthy, whether it be through cleaning up after yourself, or simply washing your hands.
“Handwashing is the best preventative,” Adkins said, “Practicing cough etiquette is good as well.”
For Gingerich, this strategy seems to be working, and learning from her past experiences is helping too. The stress no longer affects her as much as she has learned to manage her school and health life.
“It’s not too difficult to catch up on a missed block or a missed day,” Gingerich said. “I haven’t missed as much school anymore, so I haven’t dealt with that problem again either.”
