It’s winter time in Iowa, which means more and more school-age kids are getting sick.

Greene County Elementary School Nurse Mary Pedersen gives some tips to parents and guardians of when they should keep their children out of school. She says if a child has a temperature of over 100-degrees, is vomiting or has diarrhea, along with a constant cough or wheezing, those are good indicators to keep them home. Pedersen adds that they encourage parents to bring their child back to school, when the child has been symptom free for at least 24-hours. Pedersen points out that kids should definitely stay home if they have a confirmed case of influenza.

“A lot of the physicians, doctor’s offices and clinics, they’re telling kids to stay home for five-to-seven days from school. Just because that influenza is so common, and it’s passed quickly. It can turn worse especially for kids with asthma or respiratorios symptoms.”

Pedersen talks about how this year has gone so far with sick kids.

“This time of year, I’d say it is pretty common, as far as numbers-wise goes. I don’t feel like right now it’s a whole lot worse than it has been in the past. But this time of year, right after Christmas break, everybody has been around each other, they’ve been with family, that’s when it usually tends to spread a lot quicker.”

She says the most important factor in preventing a child from getting sick at school, is to constantly wash their hands with soap and water.