No More Tylenol

Tylenol isn’t provided by the nurse anymore because it was given to students too much. Some students are upset with this change because they don’t have access to Tylenol when they fill sick.

We wanted to get an inside look on the situation by asking some questions to our school nurse, Mrs.Larson. The first question we wondered was who decided to stop Tylenol, and why was it stopped. Mrs.Larson replied, “student home services decided to stop providing Tylenol. The main reason Tylenol was stopped was because the Virginia Department of Education updated their guidelines on providing over the counter medication.”

Some other questions we wondered were where did this issue start, why was the administration of Tylenol such a problem, and how did it affect our students. Mrs.Larson explained, “this problem began at the state level. The state felt as if we nurses were providing too much Tylenol to students.” This change affected students because those who are dependent on Tylenol can’t get it unless they [students] provide it themselves.

Not having Tylenol at Heritage High School has some advantages and disadvantages. Tylenol can help kids feel better and less students would be sent home. Although, it isn’t always safe and some kids could be allergic so it should be approved by parents. If a student is aware he or she gets headaches often then their parent should contact the school in advance to give them the right medicine the student needs and the school will not be responsible if the student does not have a good reaction to it.