Action steps
for Parents to Protect Your Child and
Family from the Flu
The Center
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 4 main ways you and your
family may keep from getting sick with the flu at school and at home:
1.
Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with
soap and warm water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also
effective.
2.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or
sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue,
cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder; not into your hands.
3.
Stay home if you or your child is
sick for at least 24
hours after there is no longer a fever or signs of a fever (without the use of
fever-reducing medicine). Keeping sick
students at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than
sharing them with others.
4.
Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu
when vaccines are available.
Follow these steps to prepare for the
flu during the 2009-2010 school year:
·
Plan
for child care at home if your child gets sick.
·
Plan
to monitor the health of the sick child and any other children in the household
by check for fever and other symptoms of flu.
·
Identify
if you have children who are at higher risk of serious disease from the flu and
talk to your healthcare provider about a plan to protect them during the flu
season. Children at high risk of serious
disease from the flu include: children
under 5 years of age and those children with chronic medical conditions, such
as asthma and diabetes.
For more information visit the
following websites: