The Band-Aid Bulletin: Respiratory Infections

The Stanwood-Camano School District posted this on its website on 2026-01-27 16:00:00.

Winter in the Northwest brings cozy sweaters, chilly afternoons — and a familiar wave of sniffles, coughs, and sore throats.

As families spend more time indoors together, respiratory viruses tend to circulate more easily, especially in schools and classrooms.

Respiratory viruses may affect both the upper respiratory tract (the vocal cords and above) and the lower respiratory tract (below the vocal cords). Common viral illnesses include influenza, COVID-19, RSV, adenovirus, rhinovirus/ enterovirus (the common cold),  Fifth disease, and more. Some viruses that affect the nose and throat can progress to cause serious lung infections, such as pneumonia.

Symptoms

• Runny or stuffy nose
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Cough 
• Headache
• Muscle or body aches
• Fever
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Weakness
• Decrease in appetite
• Vomiting or diarrhea

Tips

• Stay up-to-date on your immunizations
• Staying home if you are ill 
• Choosing to wear a mask over your nose and mouth in indoor public spaces when flu or other respiratory viruses are circulating at high rates
• Covering coughs and sneezes
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and use hand sanitizer when soap and water isn’t available.

Treatment

Treatment with antiviral medication can reduce severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Flu and COVID-19 treatments are widely available and are recommended for those at higher risk for severe illness. Treatments for flu and COVID-19 work best when taken as soon as possible. Please call your health care provider if you or your child has any of these symptoms:

• A fever that doesn’t go away or goes away and comes back.
• Painful swallowing
• Coughing that lasts more than 2 or 3 weeks  
• Congestion and pain around the eyes and face that stick around for a week 
• Stiff neck 

The BIG question: When should I keep my sick student home?

Symptoms that indicate staying home from school:

• Cough (new, changed, or worsening); any cough that would be distracting to yourself or others
• Temperature 100 degrees or greater within the past 24 hours
• Vomiting or diarrhea within the past 24 hours
• Runny nose with drainage that is cloudy, yellow, or green
• Mucous or cloudy drainage from the eye or pink eye
• New crusty rash on face or around nose
• New body rash, especially with a fever or itching
• Sore throat, especially with fever or swollen glands in the neck
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• New loss of taste or smell

Neither staff nor students should attend school until symptoms are significantly resolving even with a mask.

Learn even more on our district’s Health Services page.