Handy chart shows parents how long kids need to be off school or nursery with rashes and illnesses

Parents have been sharing a handy chart showing how long children need to be off school with different illnesses.

Families deal with their fair share of sickness bouts throughout the year, with bugs and infections spreading easily around nurseries and classrooms.

So it's no surprise that the easy to read chart is being widely shared on social media again.

Some people might be shocked to see the number of things children don't need to take any time off for, but the chart is based on guidance from the Public Health Agency, the main organisation for health protection.

These include:

• Conjunctivitis
• Glandular fever
• Hand, foot and mouth
• Slapped cheek
• Head lice
• Threadworms
• Tonsilitis

The illnesses where children are required to be off school include:

• Chicken pox - when all spots have crusted over
• Diarrhoea and vomiting - 48 hours from last episode
• Impetigo - when lesions are crusted and healed or 48 hours after commencing antibiotics
• Measles or German measles - four days from onset of rash
• Mumps - five days from onset of swelling
• Scabies - after first treatment
• Scarlet fever - 24 hours after commencing antibiotics
• Whooping cough - 48 hours after commencing antibiotics
• Flu - until recovered

The NHS website, which gives more information, states: "It can be tricky deciding whether or not to keep your child off school, nursery or playgroup when they're unwell.

"But there are government guidelines for schools and nurseries that say when children should be kept off school and when they shouldn't.

"If you do keep your child at home, it's important to phone the school or nursery on the first day. Let them know that they won't be in and give them the reason.

"If your child is well enough to go to school but has an infection that could be passed on, such as a cold sore or head lice, let their teacher know."

Conflicting advice from friends, relatives, or even nurseries and schools themselves can sometimes be to blame for parents mistakenly thinking their children need to be off.

We reported a number of years ago now how some nurseries were found to be going against NHS advice by wrongly making children with conjunctivitis take antibiotics and time off.

A study, published in the British Journal of General Practice, analysed the sickness policies of 164 nurseries and found that almost half required children with acute conjunctivitis to take antibiotic eye drops before returning.

However, some of the parents we spoke to felt children needed to stay off to prevent it spreading.

The full Public Health Agency 'guidance on infection control in schools and other childcare settings' can be found on the website here.