BackToSchoolitis

As I often do, I worked the last weekend of February Vacation. As an urgent care pediatrician, there are some seasonal illnesses I can always count on and this weekend was no exception. The overwhelming #1 diagnosis of this past weekend was what I have endearingly dubbed backtoschoolitis.

What is it? That vague notion that your child is sick coupled with the need to have said child "fixed" before school starts up again. All tolled, I saw 2 truly sick kids for every 10 that came through the door.

So, this seems to be a great time to remind everyone of some basic kid-facts. The Mayo Clinic has a really nice review of Top 5 Illness Causes of Missed School. Not surprisingly, most are viral and self-limited:

1. The Common Cold
2. The Stomach Flu
3. Ear Infection
4. Pink Eye
5. Sore Throat

This Mayo pieces emphasizes a few important points about kids and sickness:

Despite your best efforts, your child is going to get sick — especially during his or her first few years of contact with larger groups of children. But a child's immunity improves with time. School-age children gradually become less prone to common illnesses and recover more quickly from the diseases they do catch.

And, the article does highlight that these viruses can, and do, make some kids sick requiring them to miss school. Those are not the kids who have BackToSchoolitis.

The typical child with BackToSchoolitiss looks well and is feeling fine. He or she is often wondering why mom or dad made the doctor's appointment. The parent, on the other hand, is panicked that a week off from work will turn into more. As a working parent, I completely understand. But, parents, coming to me for this will not help your child get over whatever it is any quicker. True illness doesn't hide. If your school age child is telling you he or she feels fine, and your child looks well, trust that and let the situation evolve. True illness truly doesn't hide. You won't be missing anything, I promise!

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