CDC director explains when to keep your sick kid home from school

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- How do you handle a sick child during the school year? The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention visited Pittsburgh on Thursday and shared new suggestions on when to consider keeping your kids at home.

Back to school means kids are bringing a lot of things back home from the classroom. Schools are the source of a lot of things, including nasty bacteria and viruses.

"We want to make sure kids are healthy and in school and learning," said CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen.

She says when it comes to a child being under the weather and determining whether they're ready to go to school, it's better to be safe than sorry.

"When kids are sick, we do want kids to be home," Cohen said.

Cohen said if your child has a high fever, active cough or is vomiting, "Stay home, right? Keep those germs to yourself."

The CDC's rule of thumb is if the child hasn't had a fever without using fever-reducing medicine, isn't coughing and isn't dealing with significant upset stomach issues, 24 hours should be enough.

But you know your child best. And Cohen says, "If you know things aren't right, talk to your pediatrician."