The return of school also marks the return of foreign germs and viruses entering your home. Germs are easily transferred from student to student, then from student to family members. Before you know it, your entire household is sick. While student to student interaction is usually encouraged at school, it’s important to encourage good sanitary habits to protect students and families. Use these tips to help ensure you and your family a safe and healthy school year.
- WASH, WASH, WASH your hands! Do so thoroughly and often. This could possibly be the most important habit to teach your child when trying to prevent the spread of germs. Hands should be washed after any activity that requires sharing.
- Use disinfectant. Disinfect backpacks and hard-surface school supplies daily. Also, it’s a good idea to disinfect doorknobs, handrails and any other surface in your home that is touched often by family members.
- Discourage the sharing of food. It’s not uncommon for kids to share and trade lunch and snacks, but keep in mind that they could also be sharing and trading germs in the process.
- Encourage kids to cough in the bend in their elbow, rather than in their hands. This helps decrease the spread of germs.
- Arm students with hand sanitizer. Place it in their backpacks so that they can use it throughout the day.
- Get an annual flu shot. This can help prevent the spread of the virus, and both children and adults are eligible to receive them.
Schools tend to serve as a breeding ground for germs and viruses. There are few things worse than a household full of sick individuals. Avoid the hassle of caring for sick students by teaching them healthy hygiene habits. While you may not be able to stop germs and viruses at their origins, it is possible to stop the spread of them. FastMed Urgent Care offers many services to help combat this school year’s germs and viruses. Some of these services include (but are not limited to) flu shots and strep throat tests, as well as care for colds, flu, sinus infections, sore throats and many other illnesses. To find the FastMed nearest to you, visit our website at fastmed.com.