In the next couple weeks, children are returning to school–packing into classrooms, trading pencils, hugging one another, trading food at lunch. As usual, the germs will be flying. And with the recent swine flu outbreak, parents might be more worried than usual about the passing of germs. Should they be?
“Parents should be concerned and aware but not panicked,” says Dr. Jay Tureen, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at UCSF Children’s Hospital.
At this point, the swine flu has shown no signs of being more severe than the regular seasonal flu. The main difference is that the majority of the population hasn’t been exposed to the H1N1 strain so few people have immunity to it, says Dr. Tureen. In 1957, similar strains of this virus broke out, and researchers have detected antibodies in the blood of older people that neutralize the new flu bug. But the younger population doesn’t have the same immunity.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still closely studying the virus and can’t predict the severity of the fall and winter flu season. Because of the uncertainty Dr. Tureen advises parents sending their kids to school this fall to take a little extra precaution. He offers these three key tips.
1) Keep sick kids home. “If your children have respiratory symptoms, keep them home,” Dr. Tureen says. “If they’re coughing or sneezing or if they have a runny nose, they’re contagious so don’t send them to school.” You should consult a doctor if your child is running a fever. You should know that hospitals and local health departments are no longer testing for swine flu unless the patient is hospitalized for extreme illness.
2) Get flu shots. The CDC recently announced five groups, including children and young adults 6 months to 24 years old, that are most vulnerable to swine flu. The CDC is recommending that these people get the vaccine that’s on track to be available in October. Dr. Tureen also advises families to get the seasonal flu shot. “35,000 people in the U.S. die from influenza every year,” Dr. Tureen says. “Even if you and your children are healthy people, there’s a problem with you spreading the virus to infants, toddlers, grandma and grandpa. It’s not only about protecting yourself. It’s also about helping to stop the spread of the virus.”
3) Remind children to wash hands. It’s easy to make sure your little ones stick their hands under the faucet at home, but at school it’s an entirely different story. They might need a few reminders–or tricks. Teach them to wash their hands for as long as it takes to sing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and put a small bottle of hand-sanitizer in their backpacks.
Are you concerned about your child catching the swine flu at school?