Posted on August 27th, 2008 by Craig Maltby, Editor
Kids back to school: germs back to home
Every year we hear the same tips to help back-to-school kids reduce their chances — and mom’s or dad’s — of getting sick. Wash hands many times a day, eat a nutritious diet, get plenty of sleep and exercise etc., etc. And now schools are doing more disinfecting of lockers and desks with antibacterial solutions. But is there anything new? A study done in Avon, Ohio, highlighted in the NY Times WellBlog, (research funded by Clorox) showed a 9% reduction in elementary kids’ sick days for gastrointestinal illness, but no reduction in absences due to upper respiratory illness.
So is there anything new that could make a difference? One tip from WebMD suggested equipping the kiddies with mechanical pencils, the kind that let’s you pump more led into the tip, to avoid using the pencil sharpener, which is called “the dirtiest thing in the classroom.” That’s fresh. Also, hang backpacks on hooks if the kids take them to the bathroom. Don’t set them on the floor. The WebMD piece said 25% of the bottom of women’s purses have fecal material on them because they set them on the floor near the public toilets. Yecccchhhh.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:11 am
What are your thoughts on flu shots for kids? My guess is no way. Our pediatrician lays the guilt trip on me every annual visit for our 9-year-old son’s physical saying w/ his health history (some upper respiratory issues when he was a baby-age 6, but nothing uncommon or requiring more than a nebulizer), he is a candidate for a flu shot, hands down. I override her recommendation w/ a bit of guilt and a roll of the dice. So far, we’ve had only a mild case of the flu each year, no extra shots and no unnecessary medications in his body.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Sara:
Thanks for the comment. I checked with Larry Robinson, a senior scientist at Embria Health. He said that getting a flu shot is no panacea for flu prevention, especially since the key to real vaccine-based prevention is the ability for health officials to forecast what type and strain of influenza will be prominent in the U.S. in the coming flu season, and producing — a year ahead of time — flu shot inventory to contain that particular type and strain of the weakened virus. However, some theorize if the flu shot doesn’t match the strain going around, there still may be some cross-reactive efficacy anyway.
And, if there is a 5% or 10% chance that a flu shot may help prevent catching the flu this year, why not endure a few bucks and a needle prick to get that extra percentage upside. If kids are really young (or adults very old) and naturally possess a weakened or underdeveloped immune system, a flu shot is considered very important. People with compromised immune defense can die from influenza.
Keep in mind these thoughts are my own interpretation. While Larry is a highly experienced Ph.D. microbiologist/biochemist, I am not. And, no one affiliated with this blog is an M.D. (not yet anyway), so this is not a physician consultation. Just some general thoughts. As always, discuss further with your doctor.