What if your child needs medication while he or she is at school? Many antibiotics and other medicines call for three doses a day. Taking medicine at school is not as easy as it once was.
Due to drugs and dangers with over the counter and prescription medicines, schools have cracked down on students taking medications while at school. If you plan on having your child take some type of medicine while he or she is at school, plan on filling out paper work and jumping through hoops.
In most school districts, no medicine is allowed at school unless the parents bring it. The medicine has to be in the original container and approved by a doctor. Even over the counter medicines must be prescribed by your physician.
In some incidents, parents have brought over the counter cold medicines or pain relievers to school for their child to take if needed. The school nurse has to approve the medicine through the child’s primary care doctor. Doctors are now much more cautious about approving the medications for the children. Several times, the doctor has told the school nurse that the medicine is not necessary.
In one case, a doctor had prescribed a student a medication to be taken three times daily. The parents brought the medicine to school. When the school nurse faxed the forms for the doctor to complete, he said it was not necessary for the child to take the medicine at school. He noted that the medication could be taken in the morning, as soon as the child gets out from school, and then at nighttime.
Students are not allowed to carry pain relievers or menstrual medication in their purses. Students at some schools have been suspended for having these medicines. The schools have a zero tolerance policy for drugs.
Usually the only medication that teachers or students are allowed to keep is epi pens and inhalers. These have to be signed in through the school office.
As a kindergarten teacher, I have had many parents send medicine to school for their child. They are unaware of the schools strict policies.
If you feel that your child needs to take medicine while he or she is at school the best thing that you can do is to bring it and give to your child yourself. This is usually perfectly accepted by school systems.