Tips from Nurse Blanchette on Keeping Kids Healthy
“Love is in the air but so are germs! Cover your cough and wash your hands!”
Cold and flu season are in full swing. As your child's school nurse, I care deeply about their health needs and well-being. Today I conducted some schoolwide lessons and I wanted to pass along the information as a means to keep you abreast of what your students are learning and provide a home school connection that will enable you as families to reinforce learned skills.
Proactively, students learned about hand hygiene as well as covering your cough/sneeze.
Most school nurses agree: The best way to keep students healthy during the school year is to make sure they wash their hands.
That simple tip matches the advice from experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): “Keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others.”
Hand Washing Is the Top Recommendation
A total of 271 school nurses responded to a KidsHealth in the Classroom survey in October and November 2013. When asked, “What do you think is the most important thing parents can do to help keep their children healthy during the school year?,” 28% of the nurses said parents should make sure kids and teens wash hands .
“Educate children on handwashing and how to cover their coughs and sneezes. We at the school cannot do all the education; it has to start at home,” said a school nurse from Fayette, Alabama.
“Teach them how and when to wash their hands and to keep their fingers away from their eyes, nose, and mouth, and how to cover coughs and sneezes using their elbows,” said a Bradford, Rhode Island, school nurse.
Cough or Sneeze Elbow Please
As part of the presentation, I also educated the students on the appropriate response to a cough or a sneeze.
The students were taught to do the following:
Bend your arm, and make sure you sneeze into, not over, your elbow. In the event, you sneeze or cough into your hands, don't panic. Find the nearest sink and wash your hands as soon as possible. On your way to the sink, try to touch as few surfaces as possible to reduce the spread of germ
The children had some great ideas on when they need to wash their hands. I was very impressed! Ask your child about the pretend sneeze and how far your sneeze can travel.
Please refer to North Reading Public School District Website for illness guidelines NRPS Nursing and Health Services
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Jessica Blanchette, RN
Jessica Blanchette, RN BSN
J. Turner Hood School Nurse