Another summer has passed and once again we are in the middle of back to school planning. Between shopping for school supplies, starting after school activities, and getting used to the routine of school days, it’s easy to forget about the medications that kids need to take back to school. Your local pharmacy can be a great resource for starting a healthy and safe school year!
Medicines for the School Nurse
If your child requires prescription medicine to be kept with the school nurse, be sure to check that all medications are not expired and have the original pharmacy label. You can ask your pharmacist to receive a duplicate label or bottle to be kept at school. If your medication is expired or you need additional doses to be kept at school, call your pharmacy to reorder the medication as soon as possible. Before bringing medicine to schools in the Austin Independent School District (AISD), you will need to complete the age and medication appropriate form available at https://www.austinisd.org/student-health under Student Health Forms.
“As Needed” Medications
Auto-injectors, glucose, and rescue inhalers are “as needed” medications that are often forgotten since they are seldom used. Be sure you:
- Have a dosing device for home and school. Meet with your school’s health team so they are familiar with administering your student’s device.
- Ensure the inhalers are cleaned and primed. Cleaning device regularly maximizes performance, and we are always happy to teach you inhaler maintenance at Brodie Lane Pharmacy. Sometimes an inhaler a patient thinks is defective or broken just needs to be cleaned!
- Insurance companies may limit how many devices a patient can have at one time and how often they will pay for new devices. Your pharmacy’s staff is available to review your insurance coverage with you and look for ways to maximize your treatment.
- Lastly, some of these devices tend to have short expiration dates so make sure they haven’t expired before sending to school!
Non-prescription Medicine
The last thing to consider is the administering of nonprescription or “over the counter” medications. Luckily many over the counter medications can be given once daily at home. However, pain medicines, allergy medications or cold & cough medications may need doses during school hours. Your pharmacist may be able to help you find longer-acting alternatives that can be given solely at home instead. AISD allows the use of nonprescription medications for up to two weeks. You can find the appropriate forms here https://www.austinisd.org/student-health. Keep in mind that the directions must be within the dosing range on the manufacturer’s label. If your student needs a higher dose or needs the medication for longer than fourteen days you will need to get a note from your doctor.
Back to school can be stressful, but count on Brodie Lane Pharmacy to help you prepare for a healthy school year! What questions do you have about school medications?