Students need to have good attendance for them to learn along with their peers.  Practicing good handwashing and getting their vaccinations helps children keep healthy for school.   Children get about 6-8 colds per year.  Attending school with the sniffles is ok.  Students with fevers, vomiting, diarrhea or a disruptive cough should stay home. Non-stop coughing spreads germs.  Teach your child to cover his mouth with his inner elbow instead of his hand.  Coughing into the hand spreads germs to all surfaces touched afterwards.  Symptoms of a cold include possible low grade fever, sore throat, stuffy, runny nose, hacking cough, and lasts for about 2 - 5 days.  Complications include sinus congestion, ear infection and asthma-like symptoms.  There is no treatment for the cold.  Prevention is key.  Wash hands and use hand sanitizer often especially before eating. Teach your kids how to wash their hands properly making lots of bubbles with the soap while they sing a short song like the ABC's.  Also instruct them to keep their hands away from their face and out of their mouth.  Let them know that the germs that make us sick enter our bodies through our mouths and nose. Symptoms of Influenza (seasonal flu) include fever over 100 degrees, headache, general aches and pains, fatigue and weakness, chest discomfort, and can last 5-10 days.  Treatment with antiviral medication can sometimes be used if started within the first day or two of the illness, but is expensive. Complications of seasonal flu include bronchitis, pneumonia, bacterial infections. For more information about the  flu, click here. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Vaccination and handwashing are very important in preventing the spread of communicable diseases. If parents work, have a back up plan for your children when they are sick. The Center for Disease Control  recommends that people who are sick with flu-like symptoms should stay home for at least 24 hours after the fever is gone.  Fever should be gone without the use of a fever reducing medication. Help send the message to your children that school is important, but keep them home for fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and continuous coughing.