Here are steps you and your family can take to stay healthy this winter:
Perhaps the simplest and most effective way is to wash your hands often-- with soap and warm water. Rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces. Wash for at least 20 seconds. (Tip: have your children sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice while washing.) It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs. Use regular soap. Antibacterial soap is not necessary. These soaps may contribute to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
When soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers. If using a gel, rub the gel in your hands until they are dry. The gel doesn't need water to work; the alcohol in the gel kills germs that cause colds and the flu. However, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers do not remove dirt.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when people touch something that is contaminated with germs and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs can live for a long time (some can live for 2 hours or more) on surfaces like doorknobs, desks and tables.
Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing. Viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs cause illnesses like the flu (influenza). The flu can spread from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the droplets from the cough or sneeze move through the air and are deposited onto the mouth, nose or eye of nearby people. It is always best to cough or sneeze into a tissue and then throw it away, followed by hand washing. If a tissue is not available, a “Dracula cover” (using the inner elbow) will still help prevent spread of germs.
It is imperative to stay home from work/school if ill, especially if experiencing a fever greater than 100.4 accompanied by a cough, runny nose or sore throat. It is acceptable to return to work/school after the fever has been gone for 24 hours without the aid of a fever reducer such as Tylenol or Motrin. Children should also stay home from school if they have vomiting or diarrhea, and should not return until symptom-free for at least 24 hours.
For more information please call the North Reading Board of Health at 978-664-6042 or the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Division of Epidemiology and Immunization at 617-983-6800, or visit www.mass.gov/handwashing. You may also call me with any questions or if you need guidance in determining whether to keep your child home from school.
Sincerely,
Lois Bisson, RN
Hood School Nurse
978-664-7817
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