With quite a few different illnesses doing the rounds, it is a good time to remind everyone about how they can minimise their risk of becoming unwell:

Keeping hands clean

While cold and flu germs can float through the air on the invisible droplets of an uncovered sneeze or cough, touching an infected surface is the most common way to pick up the influenza virus. 

This makes good handwashing hygiene vital for school-aged children who are used to touching surfaces around them without giving it a second thought. 

Encourage your child to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds using soap and warm water frequently throughout the day, especially before eating and when arriving home from outdoors.

Avoiding touching the face

Your child may not realize it, but it’s likely that they touch their face an average of 16 times per hour. Rubbing their eyes, scratching their nose, or chewing on their fingernails is a route for influenza to travel into the body. It’s best to avoid touching their face, and encourage them to use hand sanitizer throughout the day.

Keeping surfaces clean

Everyone in your family picks up germs throughout the day, and some of those germs find their way into your house. Even if no one is sick, it’s important to keep surfaces clean. Wiping down surfaces and using disinfecting wipes helps to reduce germs so that your family stays healthy.

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