For an adult, getting the flu can be extremely annoying. It makes you feel terrible, distracts you from your work, and makes it difficult to complete day-to-day activities. For a child, getting the flu can be extremely dangerous and result in weeks of bed rest, or even a stay in the hospital. In order to make sure that your child stays well during this flu season, take these three steps to protect him or her.
1. Teach Good Hand Washing
Whether or not your children learn good hand washing skills is up to you. The first thing that you can do to teach good hand washing is to model excellent practices. Make sure that your child takes notice that whenever you go to the bathroom, get ready to handle food, or cough or sneeze, you wash your hands. Once your child takes notice of this, he or she will begin to do the same.
Next, talk to your child about how you're washing your hands. Discuss how you need to wash your hands for a certain period of time and make sure to really scrub with the soap, not just rinse. Consider telling your child to sing a short song while he or she washes up, such as "Happy Birthday" or "Row Row Row Your Boat." This will make sure that your child is washing for an effective amount of time. Also discuss where on your hands you're making sure not to miss, such as under your nails or your wrists. By drawing attention to these areas, you can make sure your child washes effectively.
2. Teach How to Cough
It's very easy for germs to spread through the air. To keep any colds contained and make sure that they don't spread to the rest of the family, teach your child to cough into the crook of his or her elbow. This will keep the germs from getting on his or her hands, which could be spread easy around the house, and also prevents the germs from getting into the air.
3. Use Disinfectant
Use a disinfectant solution to regularly wipe down any surfaces that are touched frequently, such as light switches, tables, door knobs, and computer keyboards. This will keep the germs that accumulate there to a minimum and keep your family healthy.
Talk to your pediatrician, such as Ada Pediatrics PA, about more ways that you can protect your family from the flu.
I was badly injured a year ago, and it took a long time to get back to my normal level of ability. One of the things that helped more than anything was the time that I spent in physical therapy. I didn’t always love going to physical therapy – in fact, sometimes, I really didn’t enjoy it at all. But ultimately, the therapists and other patients I worked with helped inspire me to get better, and the exercises facilitated my healing process. I started this blog to talk about all of the things I learned about physical therapy and healing during my recovery time. I hope my blog reaches other accident victims. I want to offer encouragement, hope, and information for people who are in the same boat that I was in.