prevent flu

Closing Schools During Flu Outbreak
Health and Fitness

Would You Support School Closures During a Flu Outbreak?

Flu season's here, and while only 45 percent of you plan to get your kids a flu shot, there's no doubt that stuffy noses are popping up all over the place.
by

Flu season's here, and while only 45 percent of you plan to get your kids a flu shot, there's no doubt that stuffy noses are popping up all over the place. A new study by the US government suggests that one of the best ways to prevent kids from needing a visit to the ER during a flu outbreak is to shut down schools. The study looked at two school districts in Texas during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak and found that in the district where schools were closed, there was "no increase in flu-related ER trips, while that rate doubled in the community where schools stayed open."

Though such decisions are left to individual districts, would you support such a move?

Tips For Preventing Flu
Health and Fitness

Flu Fighters: 5 Tips For Keeping the Flu at Bay This Year

There's no bigger germ catcher than children.
by

There's no bigger germ catcher than children. On the playground, at a restaurant, or simply playing with friends, tots have a way of picking up germs wherever they go. We can keep them locked up inside in hopes of protecting them during cold and flu season, but that really isn't very practical. Rather, consider a few small changes to your daily routine to help protect them during the height of the germy season.

  • Dapple Travel Size Natural Surface Cleaner Wipes ($4): When sitting down in a restaurant, one of the first things many mamas grab is an empty high chair for their tot. Who knows what was on the previous child's hands before you sat down. Dapple's travel-size wipes use natural ingredients like baking soda to quickly clean off surfaces.
  • Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo ($13): Help teach older tots to take better care of themselves with a silly tale of a little girl who infects all of the animals in the zoo with a virus when she wipes her runny nose with her hand instead of a tissue.
  • Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Antibacterial Hand Soap Mousse ($6): Tommee Tippee has just introduced an entire line of eco and baby-friendly antibacterial soaps to moms, so they don't have to worry about their lil ones ingesting chemicals when the tots decide to feast on mama's finger right after she's washed it.
  • Scotch-Brite Botanical Disinfecting Wipes ($2): Made entirely of botanical plant extracts, Scotch-Brite's new line of cleansing wipes are safe for kids' toys, high chairs, and cribs, wiping out 99.9 percent of household germs.
  • My Tiny Hands 'Please Wash" Sign ($8): Created by a mom who was tired of strangers reaching into her tot's stroller to stroke her hands and face, these silicone rubber signs attach directly to strollers and car seats, offering a warning to passersby and keeping germs at bay.

Buggin' out about the FLU
prevent flu

Buggin' out about the FLU

My house has already suffered through the first wave of this flu season.
by

My house has already suffered through the first wave of this flu season. Sometimes I feel like my kids are petri dishes disguised as "super cuties." At the doctor's office recently, for some malady or another, I quizzed her about the flu. I got some facts and I am going to share them with you.

  • It is possible to pass the flu along up to 24 hours before you become symptomatic. Yikes - you could be spreading contagion all over your loved ones and not even know that you're sick.
  • It can take anywhere from 1 - 3 days to become symptomatic after becoming infected. I really don't like the delay since I like to know what is going on in my body.
  • Althought the flu virus is spread by coughing and sneezing, it can remain viable and ready for spreading for several hours on a surface like: hand rails, door knobs, and phones. You touch the surface, then touch your mouth, nose or eyes and the virus can get in you.
  • You know you have the flu if you have common cold symptoms plus fever, chills, body aches, and a pounding head ache.

I really don't mean to make you paranoid, although sometimes I do feel that I live in fear of the flu. But the best way to avoid catching the flu, other than wrapping your children in plastic wrap or never leaving your home, is to wash your hands often.

Hand Washing 101
Hand Washing

Hand Washing 101

You watch Dr. McDreamy and Dr. Grey have extended conversations about love, the future and their future love at the pre-op and post-op sinks.
by

You watch Dr. McDreamy and Dr. Grey have extended conversations about love, the future and their future love at the pre-op and post-op sinks. It might seem like a dramatic device, but they’re really just acting like good doctors by washing their hands for at least 20 seconds.

It seems obvious, but we want to remind you that hand washing is the best way to avoid catching a cold or the flu. All those herbs and vitamins help tone your immune system, but killing the germs before they get in you is the best medical advice out there.

For the extended lesson on hand washing, read more.