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Area schools believe they may have already seen the worst of the flu season for students this winter.
The flu hit area students hard last week, but officials say attendance is becoming normal again.
Edgewood Middle School in Warsaw may have had the most students absent during the flu epidemic, averaging 80 missing students a day. The school's normal absentee rate is 20 students.
Lynn Mansfield, the health room assistant at Edgewood, said the sick students complained of different illnesses, with headache and upset stomach or respiratory complaints of runny nose, sore throat, aches and fevers.
Warsaw High School officials reported an average of 150 students absent per day last week, considerably higher than the typical 100 students a day. Troy Akers said the high school has had only 90 percent of students in attendance, compared to the normal 95 percent. But he said the illnesses are documented, with many of the students going to doctors for treatment.
Nancy Zelner said Warsaw High School has had a steady flow of sick students, last week with nausea, this week with fevers. But she said the numbers are "not overwhelming. It's not terribly unusual this time of year."
Jody Hamman of Harrison Elementary agreed. "There are more than usual (absences) but not out of the ordinary," she said. Harrison's population was at 90 percent over the past two weeks, lower than the usual 97 percent, with kids suffering from bronchitis, vomiting and fevers. But Harrison has also seen attendance level out over the past week, Hamman said.
The Tippecanoe Valley School system felt the flu two weeks ago, with most kids suffering from respiratory problems. Tippecanoe Valley Middle School nurse Debbie Potter said their attendance dropped from 96 percent to 87 percent two Mondays ago. Potter also said that students were sick long enough to miss more than one day of school.
Reports from other counties show that Lake and Porter counties were among the hardest hit in the state this flu season. Some schools have seen as many as 10 percent of students home sick.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Indiana and 44 other states have reported a widespread case of the flu. In Indiana, the flu usually hits between November and April. Some health officials believe that unseasonably warmer temperatures have not killed the airborne germs as quickly as in past years.
Area school nurses recommend that parents should keep children home if they are running a fever or vomiting. Warsaw middle school nurses do not give medicine to students, but will allow parents to provide pain relievers if parents sign a note and leave the medicine with the nurse to dispense.
Nurses agree that it is a hard decision for parents to choose to send students to school or let them stay home. But the choice can be made only by parents who know the complaints and limits of their child.
The flu and colds may be hard to avoid when sneezing and coughing students are all around, but three school nurses gave some tips to help prevent getting sick.
Zelner recommends "the basics, people tend to forget," including frequent hand washing, drinking plenty of fluids and getting a lot of rest. She said students often push themselves in school and then get sick when their immune systems are weak. High school students are also involved in many gatherings that allow germs to transfer quickly among students. She recommends," Take good care and take Tylenol."
Mansfield said that good nutrition can help strengthen the body to fight off the flu. "A lot of kids like to sleep in and not eat breakfast," she said. "That's not good. Then they eat junk food for lunch. When germs come, they get it right away." She said that many students further weaken their bodies by staying up late at night. She strongly recommends good nutrition, sleep and vitamins.
Potter agreed, telling parents to "make sure kids get plenty of rest this time of year or they will be more susceptible." She also said lots of hand washing and good nutrition can help a student avoid the flu.
