Back to school: What to teach kids so they don’t get sick

Frank McGeorge, MD, Local 4's Good Health Medical Expert

Sarah Mayberry, M.P.H., Senior Medical Producer

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Each fall, pediatricians and urgent cares see a surge in illnesses among school age children.

Getting sick may seem unavoidable with so many students in such close quarters, but health experts say there are many simple things children can do to help reduce the spread of germs in the classroom -- and the risk of bringing those germs home to the rest of the family.

Consider it a refresher course in Hygiene 101.

“It’s stuff that seems kind of common sense to us, but with real small kids, that might not,” said Sean Sullivan, a nurse practitioner at the CVS MinuteClinic on State Street in Ann Arbor.

The first lesson: Teaching kids when not to share.

“I caught my kindergartner once trying to share a lollipop with his friend, so it’s something that I really stress to parents, making sure that they are not sharing food,” Sullivan said. “This also includes water bottles and juice boxes.”

Parents and guardians should stress the importance of not sharing certain items, including with older children and teenagers.

“You can get lice by sharing hats, so that’s another common one,” Sullivan said. “Towels [are] another.” Sharing towels can increase the risk of getting a difficult-to-treat bacterial infection, like Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, known as MRSA.

Lesson No. 2: Wash your hands, especially before eating, after using the bathroom, and when arriving home from school.

“Hand washing, hand washing, hand washing, that is the big one, and the CDC recommends that they do it for at least 20 seconds,” Sullivan said.

To make that easier for children to time out, that’s about how long it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.

Lesson three is to cover your coughs and sneezes.

“They should be sneezing in their elbow,” Sullivan said. “A lot of people want to sneeze in their hands, but then the problem is then it’s all over your hands, so sneezing into your elbow is ideal -- or coughing, even.”

It’s not just little children who tend to get sick when school starts. Be sure to urge college students to not ignore symptoms like high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, sensitivity to light, or any symptoms that concern them or aren’t improving.

“Especially if they’re going to be living in the dorms, this is going to tend to be kind of a sick time, just because you’re living in that kind of communal setting, and lots of stuff is going to be getting spread around,” Sullivan said.

“But you know, when in doubt, have them get it checked out.”

Finally, make sure students of all ages get a flu shot. It will reduce their own risk, as well as their ability to spread the flu to others.

“Even if the kid is healthy, it’s going to reduce the chances to other family members that might not be as healthy. And then there [are] those unfortunate cases where healthy kids with no other medical conditions end up in the ICU with the flu,” Sullivan said.

An extra credit assignment for parents: Try to work out a plan now for when your child is sick and needs to stay home. Keeping sick kids home not only helps them recover more quickly, but also reduces the risk of spreading that illness to other students and teachers.

If you’re an employer, you can help by having policies that support parents who need to stay home with a sick child.

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