Kids are coming to school prepared for the swine flu this year. They are bringing their own hand sanitizer, kleenex and bottles of water.
It is widely known that some schools nationwide have had to close because the swine flu, also known as influenza A H1N1 was widespread.
Federal health officials, have suggested new guidelines including that closure of schools this fall need to be rare. "There are measures we can take to protect the students, protect the staff, and to allow learning to continue," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC.
One important change in the new guidance is that people with H1N1 should stay out of school for 24 hours after their fever is completely gone, whether they are taking medication such as Tamiflu or not.
A big propbelm is that even though parents have been told to keep their sick children at home, some continue to send their children to school with a fever, causing more school closings.
Some Tips to Help Avoid the Spread of Swinwe Flu, Include
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
- If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
- Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
School districts need to always take federal guidance into account, but no matter what each school will handle the H1N1 situation differently depending on the particular circumstances of the outbreak.
If there are cases of swine flu at a school, the federal guidelines suggest that children shouldn’t necessarily be sent home. The school might decide to send the students home anyways. The whole school may be sent home because the building would need to be sanitized. There is concern about creating panic among faculty, staff and students, and about making up lost days at the end of the year.
Some teachers considers school closures a waste of time if only one student has H1N1, but support dismissals if a quarter of the students become ill.
Sometimes the final decision about closing schools because of H1N1 is left up to the local school board with input from local and state public health officials.
Some school closures may be based on operational interruption due to a significant percentage of student and staff absences, while some school closures may be based on a recommendation of public health to reduce the virus spread.
In a study, face masks seem to protect against flu, U.S. trials for H1N1 vaccine announced The novel virus is known to have been circulating worldwide since April. There have been 353 deaths, and more than 5,500 people have been hospitalized for H1N1 in the United States so far, according to the CDC.
One option for continuing instruction if your school is closed is a Web resource called Edline, which lets teachers post lessons and assignments online.
Schools across the country are ramping up their cleaning efforts to prevent H1N1 transmission. Some will be disinfecting door handles during the upcoming school year. All schools should have hand sanitizer in every classroom.
A vaccine to fight the H1N1 virus should be ready for distribution in mid-October.
About The Author - Lisa Macfarlane is a professional health writer and editor who specializes in sexual health and health issues.
