Another 25 students returned to Lindbergh High School today (Friday), continuing to bring the student population up to nearly normal numbers and convincing district officials that this week’s flu scare was just that — a scare.

A high-level decision was made Wednesday to keep Lindbergh open, after discussions with Public Health – Seattle and King County.

“What we’re seeing is that a lot of those students kind of misdiagnosed themselves,” said district spokesperson Randy Matheson.

Most or all of the 25 students who returned to school Friday, the 100 students who returned Thursday and the 60 who returned Wednesday probably had seasonal allergies, not the flu, Matheson says.

Once these students started taking over-the-counter allergy medications, they were fine, he said.

“With parents’ help, we’ve sort of figured out what it was,” Matheson says of the faux flu epidemic.

District officials have been giving daily updates to senior officials at Public Health since absences began increasing at Lindbergh.

Based on the reported symptoms — headaches, coughs and runny noses — Public Health officials figured Lindbergh’s ill students were suffering from either mild flu or seasonal allergies.

The reported symptoms didn’t require that Lindbergh close, Public Health officials told district officials, an action taken at other schools in the county when the swine flu was first reported. The symptoms also weren’t of enough concern to require sending additional medical help to the school, Public Health told the district.

Public Health left it up to the school district to decide whether to close Lindbergh. On Wednesday, district Superintendent Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel decided to leave Lindbergh open, Matheson says.

Even if some of the school’s classrooms were half empty, 750 students were still coming to school, Matheson said.

Although Public Health has declined to visit Lindbergh, officials did tell the district to have parents keep sick children home for at least seven days.

Public Health officials also told the district to ask parents to have children showing advanced signs of illness screened at Public Health offices.

Some of Lindbergh’s students were screened by Public Health, Matheson says, but results didn’t show that any of those students were infected with anything worse than mild flu.

Many of Lindbergh’s absences were likely caused by parents and students being more vigilant about any flu symptoms that might be linked to the swine flu, Matheson said.

A record 390 Lindbergh High students — more than one-third of the Renton school’s 1,140 population — were absent Tuesday, many out sick with flu symptoms. That number was down to 330 Wednesday.

Only nine staff members and teachers were absent Thursday, down from 14 Wednesday and 17 Tuesday.

“We’re seeing this thing turn around,” Matheson said.

About a dozen students were sent home with flu symptoms Tuesday, and sick students were also sent home Monday, when 300 students were absent.

About 20 of those students returned to school Wednesday, still sick. Those students were sent to the nurse’s office and then sent home.

Only two students were in the nurse’s office Thursday morning, Matheson says.

Last Thursday, Lindbergh’s student absences started creeping up from the typical 100 each day. By Friday, 200 students were out.

On Monday, the school district sent letters to Lindbergh families, informing them of the large number of illnesses at the school that day and urging families to keep students home for at least seven days when they show signs of the flu.

Any student showing signs of the flu would be seen in the nurse’s office, the letter read. Families would be called to pick up sick children and asked to consult with their doctor and keep sick kids home to recover before returning to school, the letter continued.

Three additional custodians would clean the high school Monday night, the letter read.

A Lindbergh student was diagnosed with swine flu just a few weeks ago, but Matheson says the girl was definitely not the cause of Lindbergh’s sudden rash of illnesses.

The district has “no reason to believe” the girl was at school while she was sick, Matheson says. She didn’t infect anybody at the school, he says, because she had recovered from swine flu at home a couple weeks before the Lindbergh students fell ill.

Before her return to school, one of the girl’s parents called confirming she was recovered, Matheson said.

“So there’s no way she would have been involved in any of this particular strain of flu and illnesses that we saw in Lindbergh because the timeline was too far disconnected,” Matheson says.

Another Renton School District student — a fifth-grader at Renton Park Elementary — had swine flu early this month. Renton Park is less than half a mile from Lindbergh.

Matheson ruled out the possibility of more swine flu at Lindbergh earlier this week.

“I don’t think we’re dealing with the swine flu at all,” he said then. “We’re dealing with something less severe.”

All district schools except Lindbergh, even Renton Park, have been reporting normal attendance this week, Matheson says.

He expected attendance at Lindbergh to creep back toward normal in the next few days, and to be up to typical numbers after this week’s three-day weekend.

“We’re certain that on Tuesday we’re going to see the full contingent of students and staff back at school,” Matheson said.

That’s good news for Lindbergh principal Tres Genger, who Matheson says has been inundated with media calls at home and work this week. Several local TV stations were filming at Lindbergh Wednesday.

As of Thursday, King County had 343 confirmed cases of swine flu, according to Public Health – Seattle and King County. The largest proportion of those cases — nearly 180 — were in people between 10 and 19 years old. The second largest group of infected people — nearly 100 — were under 10 years old.

Renton School District is urging students with flu-like symptoms to stay home from school for at least seven days. Flu symptoms include:

• Fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or more)

• Cough, sore throat, body aches

• Headache, chills and fatigue

• Vomiting or diarrhea, blistery rash, and heavy nasal congestion

Flu-prevention strategies

• Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze; cough into your inner elbow or sleeve.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

For additional information visit the Public Health Web site or call the Public Health flu hotline at 1-877-903-5464.