Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's cold and flu season! Most parents know when a child comes down with a cold it often goes through the whole family, but it doesn't have to be that way. Doctors say your best defense is stopping the germs where they breed, the classroom.
Woodrow Wilson first-grade teacher Andie Grant said when her students start missing class due to the cold or flu, she knows it's time to remind them about good hygiene. She pulled out her lesson about good hand washing and how to cough into your elbow. "I call it the vampire cough, because it's like you're a vampire," Grant said.
Grant also teaches the students about how germs are spread. "If I'm sick and sneezing in my hands and then I touch the door knobs, it's going to get dirty, but do you think I might get someone else sick too?" she asks. The students collectively answer, "Yes!"
These Woodrow Wilson students also know how to practice what they're taught. They use hand sanitizer before eating. They wash their hands with soap and water. And they sing the birthday song while washing, so they're sure to wash long enough.
School classrooms are one of main places where germs circulate. That's why the average American child has six to 10 colds a year. In fact, children's colds cause more doctor visits and missed school days than any other illnesses.
Cottonwood Clinic Family physician, Dr. Chad Spain, said, "Kids play with their friends. They hang out with others and they pick up these germs. They go home and get the whole family sick." But Dr. Spain says prevention is really the best medicine. He also advised to make sure your kids' immunizations are up to date. And if they still get sick, allow them to stay home, "particularly if they have a fever or if they are coughing up sputum or really having a lot of sneezing and discharge," he said.
Children's immune systems are also less mature than those of adults, making them more susceptible to germs. To help build that immune system, doctors suggest making sure kids get enough sleep, exercise and eat a healthy diet.
It's all an effort to keep all kids healthy and in school learning. Grant said, "It's very important to be healthy when you come to school, so you can be ready to learn."
