You have your list in hand, are you ready for the school year? But do you have your anti-infective list for the return of germs?
Germs, even if they don't take a summer vacation, start again more diligently when school starts! Why not warn this year? A little effort that will save you a lot of worries… guaranteed!
Did you know…
More than 20,000 school children will be victims of lice this year in Quebec? That each parent will lose nearly 1.6 workdays to rotavirus, a virus that causes gastroenteritis? That a sick child costs his parents about $339 per six months? That they are absent three days longer than their colleagues who do not have children? That an infection control system in daycares and schools would save Americans over $1 billion?And these are just small examples…
You say to yourself, "Enough, enough, I get it!"
Good, you are now convinced! But how do we do it? Do we disinfect our children or the whole house? Absolutely not. One of the biggest obstacles to infection prevention is that people believe it's complicated or that you have to arm yourself with all kinds of disinfectants andantibacterial products. But if you are interested in the subject, here is an interesting article from the Canadian Pediatric Society: Antimicrobial products at home.
To get started, you'll need a few far from expensive items.
List of anti-infective items to obtain
- A good hand soap
- An alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- A nail clipper
- A fine comb for lice
- Handkerchiefs
We can see the fight against germs in two ways: Either we decide to strengthen our immunity or we avoid contact with germs. The ideal is to do both at the same time!
Strengthen your immunity
- Sleep enough
- Avoid stress or at least control it
- Do physical activity and avoid tobacco
- Eat well (be careful to have sources of vitamin C in your diet all winter long)
Avoid contact with germs
Wash your hands frequently, but especially when arriving home to show "WHITE PAWS" AVOID TOUCHING YOUR FACE!!! Germs all enter through a front door and these are virtually all in the face (eyes, nose, mouth)! Keep fingernails very short and clean. Tie back hair and check scalp (lice) weekly. Use alcohol sanitizer when sinks are absent. Let's check if our toothbrushes are not touching or dripping on each other, youyou will avoid many infections!
It looks so simple it's unbelievable? In fact, good lifestyle and hygiene habits keep us away from germs very effectively. However, you and I know how difficult it is to meet all these conditions in our busy lives today. Do your best, but don't forget to wash your hands!
Little things
Once a week, do a round: We cut the nails, we check the scalp, we examine our child's stress level and level of fatigue and plan our week accordingly.
When you get home, you have to wash your hands without exception, be firm! Avoid sick people and avoid going out when you are sick. Be selfish, keep your germs to yourself! Buy attractive soap dispensers (you won't have any trouble finding them, Dora in a soap dispenser is all the rage at home!)
Don't forget that you can't go to school, play soccer, join a choir, take swimming lessons, stay up late and effectively fight a germ at the same time time! When your child is sick, allow him to fight his infection by reducing his schedule enormously! Fighting germs takes energy and time.
