Good hygiene for school-age children

It is during school age that children tend to get more viruses and infections. These are usually passed from other children through hand contact, sneezing, and sharing food. If a child attends daycare or preschool, she’s likely to start catching colds and germs even sooner.

While it’s good to catch a cold and allow the body to fight infection, thus strengthening the immune system, there are some school age problems to avoid. Colds are one thing, but there are other illnesses and conditions that run rampant in both elementary school and daycare. One way to avoid some of these common but highly concerning conditions is to teach your children to practice good hygiene both at school and at home.

The daycare or learning center where you send your child should also be well-versed when it comes to good hygiene for children. Parents should be aware of the fact that no matter how hard the school tries to keep the preschool germ free, germs will show up. It is important that the daycare inform parents of any type of germ that is around.

Head lice, impetigo, and strep throat are health conditions that occur in schools and should be avoided. Head lice are a common condition in schools where there are young children and parents must learn to look for nits in their hair. Impetigo is a staph infection that is usually the result of a child rubbing their nose with the back of their hand and can be transmitted by hand-to-hand contact.

Strep throat is a bacterial infection of the throat and needs antibiotics to clear up. The fever that accompanies strep throat is called scarlet fever. The daycare or school will usually send notices to parents if there are any instances of these conditions at school.

Parents can make sure their children practice good hygiene at home, wash their hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom or eating, and also avoid sharing food with other children. Children should be taught not to sneeze or cough without covering their mouths. Children who are sick should stay home from school.

Parents should work with the daycare or preschool so that both can do their part when it comes to helping children practice good hygiene. When good hygiene is practiced for school-age children at an early age, it becomes a habit in later life that can also prevent other illnesses, such as the flu and other contagious diseases.