ʻĀINA HAINA SCHOOL

Health Services


If a student becomes ill or injured, he/she will be sent to the Health Room. When a student needs to be sent home or requires doctor’s care, the Health Aide will contact the parents or authorized persons listed on the student’s emergency card. If no one can be reached, the student will remain in the Health Room until school is dismissed.

RESPIRATORY ILLNESS GUIDANCE

 Stay home and away from others (including people you live with who are not sick) if you have respiratory virus symptoms that aren't better explained by another cause. These symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose, and headache, among others.*
When you may have a respiratory virus…

You can go back to your normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:
  • Your symptoms are getting better overall, and
  • You have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).
  • When you go back to your normal activities, take added precaution over the next 5 days, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors.
  • Keep in mind that you may still be able to spread the virus that made you sick, even if you are feeling better. You are likely to be less contagious at this time, depending on factors like how long you were sick or how sick you were.
  • If you develop a fever or you start to feel worse after you have gone back to normal activities, stay home and away from others again until, for at least 24 hours, both are true: your symptoms are improving overall, and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication). Then take added precaution for the next 5 days.
If you never had symptoms but tested positive for a respiratory virus‎
You may be contagious. For the next 5 days: take added precaution, such as taking additional steps for cleaner air, hygiene, masks, physical distancing, and/or testing when you will be around other people indoors. This is especially important to protect people with factors that increase their risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses.

How it works
When you have a respiratory virus infection, you can spread it to others. How long someone can spread the virus depends on different factors, including how sick they are (severity) and how long their illness lasts (duration). This is not the same for everyone.

When, for at least 24 hours, your symptoms are getting better overall and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication), you are typically less contagious, but it still takes more time for your body to fully get rid of the virus. During this time, you may still be able to spread the virus to others. Taking precautions for the next 5 days can help reduce this risk. After this 5-day period, you are typically much less likely to be contagious. However, some people, especially people with weakened immune systems, can continue to spread the virus for a longer period of time. For COVID-19, taking an antigen test can help you know how likely you are to spread the virus. A positive test tends to mean it is more likely that you can spread the virus to others.

UKU (HEAD LICE) POLICY (Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani Complex Area Policy)
  • The school health aide will inspect the hair of students who are showing symptoms of ukus.
  • If a student is noted to have live ukus, parents will be notified by phone. The Health Aide or Administrator will advise that treatment be started that evening.
  • Parents have the option of picking up the student right away to start treatment.
  • If not available, the student will go back to class and remain in school until the end of the school day.
  • At the end of the school day, a note with information on treatment will be sent home with the student.
  • The student may return to school the following day.
  • Classroom and school-wide screenings will no longer be done as these efforts have not been shown to decrease the presence of ukus in schools.

Facts About Ukus
  • Ukus DO NOT jump or fly. They crawl.
  • Ukus can affect everyone equally
  • Having ukus is NOT a sign of poor hygiene
  • Ukus may be present for at least one (1) month before you may notice them
  • Treatment is the ONLY way to get rid of ukus; this includes treating your home.
  • Ukus are bothersome but they are NOT harmful and DO NOT spread disease
  • They spread primarily through DIRECT head-to-head contact

Helpful Tips
  • Check your child’s hair at least once a week and if ukus or nits are found, treat promptly. You can call your primary care provider for possible treatment solutions, some of which may be covered by insurance.
  • The best prevention measures are to educate yourself and your child on how ukus spread and to treat as soon as they are found.
  • Consider keeping your child’s hair slicked back or tied up to help prevent live ukus from spreading. Remember, checking your child’s hair once a week at home will help keep ukus out of your home and our school community.

Contacts and Resources
Public Health Nurses Office for East Honolulu: 733-9220
Vicki Bunao, RN Stacy Gibo, RN Kathleen Garo, RN Ivy Okasako, RN

Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) on Head Lice https://health.hawaii.gov/docd/disease_listing/head-lice-ukus/

Kids Health webpage on Head Lice http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/head-lice.html