Sanitizing the school petri dish
Posted Sep 4, 2012 08:44:54 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A classroom full of kids combined with temperatures dropping will inevitably turn some schools into a petri dish for bacteria and viruses this fall, and that means coughs, colds, and sniffles.
As kids head back to school, doctors are advising parents of ways to keep their children healthy in a germ-packed environment.
Dr. Ron Low, Chief of Microbiology at Mount Sinai Hospital, says parents should watch what is being packed in lunchboxes.
“What we can do to minimize the risk is to make sure any raw product that we are going to put in there is well-washed beforehand because it can be contaminated with bacteria on the surface that can make you unwell,” Low told News 95.7.
Low also reminds parents lunches need to go in the fridge once prepared to keep bacteria from multiplying.
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, says lunchboxes and bags should also be attended to when they come back home.
“Make sure their lunch kit, and all the things in their lunch kit, are kept clean,” said Strang.
If and when kids do get sick, Strang says keep them at home.
“These illnesses are short lived,” he said. “I know that can be problematic, keeping kids home while parents are working. But you’re not doing your kids or other kids a favour by sending them to school.”
Most importantly, Strang is advising parents and kids to wash their hands so they don’t spread germs.
“I tell younger kids to sing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song, or some song that lasts for least 30 second in their head, and to wash their hands with water and soap while they’re doing that,” said Strang.
