Fall and Winter Cold and Flu Prevention Advice

 

Call your doctor and decide if your child or other family member needs a flu vaccine. Now is the time to get those.

 

Colds and flu are spread at home and school when the respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes move through the air and are deposited in the mouths or noses of people near by.  These droplets are also spread when they land on a surface like a .desk or door knob.  The germs (bacteria and viruses) are the picked up on the hands of another person. Keep hands away from the nose and mouth.

 

You can help stop the spread of these germs at home and we can help at school by enforcing a good hand washing habit. Another important habit is to cover coughs and sneezes..

 

Cough or sneeze into your arm or elbow if you don’t have a tissue handy.  You should wash your hands every time you cough, sneeze, before you eat and after you use the rest room.  You should wash your hands with soap and water for 15-20 seconds.  That’s about as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice or recite the alphabet. 

 

If soap and water is not available, use a dime-sized drop of hand sanitizer, then wash when you can. Soap and water is best, however.

 

By consistent practice of the proven health habits above we may all have a healthier winter.