By Susan Taplinger
Read time: 4 mins.
What will students need from the school health office this year?
Some needs come with forms, medications, and care plans. Others first appear as a knock on the door, a question from a parent, or an unexpected situation. This back-to-school season, we’re taking a closer look at three issues that can bring students to the health office, and the details that are easy to miss.
Dynarex school supplies keep health offices stocked with essentials for the school year.
Lice: Going to the Head of the Class
Few school health issues generate as many questions, or misconceptions, as head lice. Families look to the school health office for clear answers about what requires action and what doesn’t.
The National Association of School Nurses identifies five key areas for family guidance:
- Prevention: Lice cannot jump or fly. Most spread occurs through hair-to-hair contact during close play, leaning over a screen, or squeezing into a photo. Sharing brushes, hats, hair accessories, and towels can also spread lice.
- Identification: Nits, or lice eggs, cling firmly to hair but can resemble dandruff, hairspray residue, or dirt. Check especially behind the ears and near the nape of the neck.
- Home screening: Check household members and close contacts; treat affected people and bed-sharing contacts together.
- Treatment: Options include OTC and prescription medications and pesticide-free treatments. Treatments that don’t kill eggs may require retreatment in 7–9 days.
- Removal: After treatment, use a fine-tooth nit comb every 2–3 days for 2–3 weeks.
Menstrual Health: Periods in the Plan
Meeting students’ menstrual needs is part of supporting their health, comfort, and ability to stay in class. Research shows that inadequate access to period products can contribute to school absences. Support can take several forms, including:
- Flow and fit: Period needs vary. Athletes and dancers may prefer thinner, less bulky pads, while heavier flow calls for greater absorbency. A useful mix includes pads in multiple sizes and absorbencies, tampons in multiple absorbencies, and liners.
- Preparedness: Health offices can offer ready-made kits with items such as pads, tampons, and wipes in a pouch students can carry with them.
- Ready access: Depending on state requirements, schools may provide free pads and tampons in restrooms through wall dispensers, countertop baskets, boxes, or drawers.
- Rest and relief: Some health offices offer students with menstrual cramps a cot or quiet area for a short rest. Wearable heat patches can provide targeted warmth for additional comfort.
Emergencies: When the Bell Rings
Emergency response is another key part of the health office’s role, encompassing both individual medical needs and broader schoolwide preparedness. One recent national study found neurologic, psychiatric/substance-use, and trauma emergencies among the leading reasons for school-based EMS response.
Guidance for school emergency preparedness covers several key areas, including:
- Care plans: Keep Individualized Healthcare Plans (IHPs) and Emergency Care Plans (ECPs) current. Include medications, equipment, emergency contacts, and instructions for transportation, field trips, athletics, and other school-sponsored activities.
- Emergency medications: State law and school policy may allow school health offices to stock rescue medications such as epinephrine, albuterol, glucagon, and naloxone under standing orders. Review orders annually and keep medications and related supplies readily accessible. Clearly labeled allergy and overdose emergency kit cases can help support quick identification and access.
- EMS coordination: Periodic drills with local EMS can identify barriers before an actual emergency and familiarize responders with school operations, floor plans, and access routes. Establish entry points and designate someone to meet EMS and direct responders to the emergency.
- Follow-up: Review the response and documentation after a significant event, including whether emergency protocols and care plans worked as intended. Incident records can also reveal patterns in injuries or illnesses that may point to preventable risks and necessary procedural changes.
Keeping It Real: The Evolving Health Office
Preparation takes many forms in a school health office. It means facing the real-life issues that students and families bring through the door, from common concerns to situations with serious consequences. As students encounter new challenges, staying attuned to their evolving needs can lead to sharper insight, stronger preparation, and more meaningful ways to help them thrive.
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