Think the swine flu scare is long gone? Think again. H1N1 – which could stand for “Hog Nose” – made the rounds of several summer camps the last couple of months, and health officials fear it will raise its snout again in schools this fall.
Parents can help their children in this latest health battle by arming them with personal hand sanitizer bottles for their desks and backpacks.
Most schools provide wall-mounted hand-sanitizer dispensers. Students pause at the door and push a plop into their hands on the way out as well as on the way in to class.
However, having their own little bottle tucked away is a nice safety precaution. Don’t buy the push-down dispenser; get the smaller bottles with a flip-cap lid to prevent leaking and spills.
Hand washing and proper sneezing and coughing techniques are the best way to prevent spreading the virus, officials say. Teach your child to sneeze into her elbow or sleeve, not into her hands. Of course sneezing or coughing into a tissue that can be thrown away is the best method, but that’s not always possible.
So while you’re shopping this week for school supplies and new clothes, pick up several travel-size hand sanitizer bottles, and even a few small tissue packs. With economic woes pinching public school pockets, who knows if there will be enough tissues in the classroom when flu season rolls around?
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