Ottawa Public Health believes it has identified the source of skin irritation at Meadowlands Public School.
"It involves white glue, contact lens solution and there's some chemicals in there that can cause some irritation to the skin." said Dr. Robin Taylor, Associate Medical Officer of Health with Ottawa Public Health.
The Ottawa Carleton District School Board and Ottawa Public Health confirmed several cases in which students and teachers developed rashes and redness.
Fears from parents of rashes on their kids at school though at this point @ottawahealth says there is no reason to believe the rashes are contagious at Meadowlands PS @ctvottawa pic.twitter.com/5wcJb2mdQr
— Mike Arsalides (@MArsalidesCTV) March 1, 2019
"In consultation with Ottawa Public Health, we took steps to remove potential irritants from the classroom environment. The affected classroom (219) was thoroughly cleaned and then rinsed with water. An inspection of the building was performed, and as a precaution, the ventilation has been increased to draw additional fresh air into the building. All of these precautionary actions were taken in order to eliminate possible irritants." said school officials in a letter sent home to parents Friday.
The school said children who experienced skin irritation could have come in contact with 'slime'; a goop-like product made from glue and contact lens solution.
"As a precaution, we ask that no students bring this product to school. Please consider discarding any “slime” at home as well." said the release from Meadowlands Public School.
Play slime is the source of skin rashes according to @ottawahealth after several kids and teachers at Meadowlands PS broke out with rashes in the last two weeks in Nepean @ctvottawa pic.twitter.com/XrLOOzWULU
— Mike Arsalides (@MArsalidesCTV) March 1, 2019
Parents said children were sent home with the skin irritation two weeks ago; and not much information was provided on a cause or solution to the problem.
"Now they're saying it's gone from one room being cleaned and the carpets ripped up and disinfected to a second room and now it's apparently going through the school." said Greg Drysdale, whose daughter believed she had rashes; along with some of her friends.
"My daughter said there was 8 currently but yesterday she said a couple of the girls in her class had developed a rash; one on her cheek and the other on her arm." according to Drysdale.
Ottawa Public Health does not believe the skin irritation in Nepean has anything to do with a recent outbreak of measles in B.C.
"In this situation we have no concerns." said Dr. Taylor. "There are no cases of measles in Ottawa and there is nothing that would lead us to believe this would be spread from child to child."
Students are expected to return to class on Monday. The school has recommended any households with 'slime' products discard them as a precaution.
