It seems to happen every year during this time — kids end up with all kinds of illnesses when they head back to school. That's because schools are a breeding ground for germs.
As part of News 5’s back-to-school team coverage, we spoke to experts about what parents need to be on the lookout for, and what their kids can do to keep them out of the doctor's office and at school.
Pediatricians typically see an increase in young patients a few weeks into the school year.
A nurse practitioner at Minute Clinic said they see a lot of cases of strep in elementary-age kids, and they also see a lot of cases of pink eye.
But Jennifer Heller said there are things parents can do right now so they can avoid these illnesses. She says it is important for parents to have a conversation with their children about hygiene and sharing food and drinks.
Heller said basically anything shared among students spreads germs.
She said it’s important that kids are “not sharing cups, not sharing drinks, not sharing snacks that somebody's already eaten.”
Don't share your water bottle with anybody, she added. These simple and easy steps are very important in preventing the spread of disease.
Heller said if you want your child to stave off disease, make sure they wash their hands using soap and water for a full 20 seconds.
It's also important for them to cover their cough so that when they're coughing, they're not spreading germs all over the place.
Heller said with strep and with pink eye, it's also important for kids not to touch their faces a lot. If they do rub their eye, they should know that they need to wash their hands again.
One more fun fact — some of the worst "hot zones" for germs are water fountains. They are germier than toilet seats and don't get disinfected as often.
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