While parents realize that all children get sick, it doesn't make it any easier when it is your child coughing and sneezing all over the house. Sanitizing hands and surfaces helps keep infectious germs from spreading, both before and after illness has manifested. There is no magic number for how often to sanitize, but regular good hygiene practices can decrease the duration of your child's illness. Use soap and water or hand sanitizer for hands and use disinfectant wipes on surfaces.
Before Eating
One of the main avenues through which microscopic germs can enter the body is the mouth, which is open and engaged during mealtimes. To keep germs at bay, both sick and healthy family members should wash or sanitize their hands before eating or preparing food. As an extra precaution, you can also encourage your children to wash or sanitize their hands after meals to ensure that any germs from silverware or tablecloths will not be accompanying them away from the table.
After Coughing, Sneezing or Nose-Blowing
It is not enough to teach your children to cover their mouths after coughing. While this prevents germ droplets from traveling through the air, those droplets have been transferred to the child's hands and will be passed on just as easily by touch. Children should wash or sanitize their hands immediately after coughing, sneezing or blowing their nose, before they touch anything or anyone else.
After Using the Bathroom
Germs can be transferred through urine or stool as well, and bathrooms are prime places to pick up disease. Teach your children not only to wash their hands after using the toilet, but to sanitize them again after leaving the room. Germs can be picked up in a variety of places from the toilet to the door, including sinks and counters that may appear clean.
Floors and Surfaces
Hands are not the only things that can be sanitized to limit infection. Surfaces around the home should be disinfected regularly in any case, but when a sick child is home, sanitizing should become a daily routine. Be diligent with tiled floors and counter tops, as germs can lurk in the cracks between the tiles. Don't forget to include table tops, door knobs and anything else that is frequently touched, including favorite toys.
Member Comments