Some Tips For The Flu Season

Filed in archive Influenza , Kid's Health on October 1, 2008

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Image# 6186051

With influenza season beginning Wednesday, there is no time like the present to take precautions against colds and flu. School-age children are most likely to get infected with flu and to spread it, recent studies have found.

We know that in the U.S. on average: 200,000 hospitalizations result each year from flu complications. Ten percent of those hospitalized are under 18 and 5% to 20% of the population will get the flu this year.

To help, PTA is putting out a call for parents to help clean up classrooms and work together to reduce the spread of germs in schools across the country.

Also, below are some tips to keep kids healthy this year:

• Get Vaccinated: Effectiveness varies from 70 percent to 90 percent. It is recommended for children 6 months through 18 years of age.


• Wash your hands frequently: Germs are a huge culprit in causing the flu.


• Help Stock Up: More than 56 percent of teachers buy their own cleaning supplies. You can help by donating cleaning supplies, such as disinfecting wipes, to help your teacher stock the classroom and keep it clean.


• Honor a Healthy Hero: Nominate the teacher that is making a difference by keeping his/her classroom clean in the Clorox® Healthy Classroom Heroes Contest. Submit an essay on why your teacher should be named the Healthy Classroom Hero and you could both with a trip for two to New York for three nights and a guest appearance on "The View." The nominating parent also receives $200 in Clorox product, while the winning teacher receives $10,000 for him/herself and another $10,000 grant for the school. Visit CloroxClassrooms.com for details.


• Take Five: Experts believe that up to 80 percent of infectious illnesses are spread by touch and students can touch up to 300 surfaces in just 30 minutes. Take 5 minutes to wipe down commonly touched surfaces in the classroom such as desks, pencil sharpeners and keyboards to help reduce the spread of germs.


• Teach Healthy Habits: Remind kids to share wisely. It's great to share items like books, toys and pencils, but not items like combs, brushes, hats, toothbrushes, tissues, whistles, cups and forks.


• Do the Elbow Cough: Cough into your elbow, not hands (where you're more likely to spread germs through touch).


• ABCs of Sneezing: Keep tissues handy and teach kids how to blow their noses early - instead of doing the icky sleeve swipe. The key is tossing tissues in the trash right away to keep germs at bay.


• Visit CloroxClassrooms.com for additional tips and information.

[Many thanks to Alexis Black of Current for the hat tip.]