MARS — School nurses handle more than stuffy noses and fevers.

The five nurses at Mars School District, from the primary center through the high school, have various responsibilities, such as calling parents if an accident occurs, teaching staff about allergies, EPI pens and inhalers, and reviewing school snacks to ensure they’re safe for all students to eat.

Parents should check in with the nurse each year to make them aware of any medical updates.

“All medications in the school go through us, even inhalers and EPI pens, which students can carry with them if they have doctor’s orders,” said Melanie Haynes, nurse at the high school.

“We’re in constant contact with the parent and the physician, typically through doctor’s orders,” she said. “So at the beginning of the year, we just ask parents to update us with any medications coming to school.

“Any new health conditions, any injuries over the summer. Anything we need to be aware of to accommodate.”

What nurses see on a daily basis varies by age group. Brenda Gerber at the primary center said she calls parents more than the nurses that serve older students.

“I tend to call a little more frequently just because, with bloody noses, sometimes its their child’s first time ever having a bloody nose. And that’s sometimes the first time the child has ever been away from their parents,” Gerber said.

Julie Cunningham, a nurse at the elementary school, said she tries to use common sense for when to call a parent about a sick or injured child.

“My train of thought is, what would I want to be notified of if it were my child?” Cunningham said. “So if a child has a temperature that’s creeping up, if a child falls on the playground and gets hit in the face and has a mark. I wouldn’t want to see my kid getting off the bus with a black eye.

“Just call home, give them a heads up. Let them know what happened.”

Meanwhile, middle school and high school students have more sports-based injuries, like concussions, and deal with illnesses like mono frequently.

“Similar record keeping is pretty much throughout the district, but I think once you get into middle school and high school, you’re also dealing with adolescent-type issues and behaviors,” Haynes said.

Beginning of the year tasks include checking immunizations.

The state Department of Health requires students have tetanus, diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and chicken pox vaccinations, unless there are exceptions for medical, religious or moral reasons.

Other screenings include body mass index, dental, hearing, height and weight, medical, scoliosis and vision.

And when a child is sick, nurses advise them to stay home unless they’ve been symptom free of fever, diarrhea and vomiting for 24 hours.

It’s also OK if a student has been on an antibiotic for 24 hours.

“Twenty-four hours is a good general rule,” Cunningham said.

A physician’s recommendation is also helpful in some cases, such as mono, when the disease may or may not be contagious.

And at Mars School District, all snacks brought into the school are reviewed by the school nurse and must be peanut and tree nut free. They lead food allergy and child abuse training for staff.

Those nurses also oversee immunization and screening requirements at parochial schools. Elisa Hunter, the middle school nurse, goes to Holy Sepulcher School once a week. And Kate Swallow, Centennial School nurse, visits MHY Family Services.