A nurse is providing teaching to a parent of a child who has varicella. Which of the following statements should the nurse include in the teaching?

Rationale: A. "Your child can return to school 24 hours after beginning antibiotics.": Varicella (chickenpox) is a viral infection, so antibiotics are not effective unless there is a secondary bacterial infection. B. "Your child can return to school once the fever has subsided.": Although the fever may resolve, the child remains contagious until all lesions have crusted over, so returning at this stage risks spreading infection. C. "Your child can return to school after a negative titer result.": Titer testing is used to assess immunity, not for determining when an active infection is no longer contagious. D. "Your child can return to school once the lesions have crusted over.": This is the correct statement because a child with varicella is contagious until all vesicular lesions have dried and crusted, usually about 5–7 days after onset.