Germ transfer units
DISCLAIMER: The following advice is of a general nature only. Information from online sources, including this one and the sites I link to, can not take into account all of your specific needs. For individual advice, please seek out a trusted health professional.
Kids are seriously good at sharing germs!
Kids don’t
Cover their mouth when they cough
Wash their hands
Stay away from you when they are sick
I’ve worked as a GP since 1990 and, like most GPs, especially female GPs, I see more women and children than men. So much so that I realised some years ago that I really didn’t see men from about the time they stop getting acne or hurting themselves (mid-late teens, unless a keen athlete) until the time their kids start to bring home germs (usually late 20s-early 30s). Oh, and then it starts big time! Coughs, colds, conjunctivitis, tummy upsets, influenza: you name it, the kids bring it home from day care or school! Of course, they don’t just share it with dad — oh no! Mum, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles or anyone who happens to be within their bubble are also potential targets.
How do germs spread?
There are a variety of ways, but mostly:
Directly (by physical contact with a sick person)
Indirectly (touching something that has germs on it)
Droplet or airborne (via sneezing or coughing)
So, thinking about kids and germ transfer:
Kids put their fingers up their nose and then touch your face or stick their fingers into your mouth
Kids sneeze or cough in your face
Kids want to share drinks and food with you, especially when they are sick
Kids can have a snotty/grotty nose for months and months at a time
Kids don’t wipe the benches, clean the toilet or consider isolating themselves — when they are sick, they usually want contact and cuddles, not a face mask and hand gel
Face masks are better at stopping a sick person spreading germs than they are at stopping a well person getting sick
How do I stop the germ transfer?
Keep your child well
Teach them to cover their mouth when they cough
Teach them to blow their nose
Teach them to wash their hands
Toilet and household hygiene
Wash your own hands
Immunise
Keep your child well
Healthy diet
Good sleep
Regular movement
Regular bath/shower
Keep them away from sick people, where possible
Immunise them on time, consider early immunisations when possible and appropriate (e.g. measles from 6 months of age during an outbreak)
Teach them to cover their mouth when they cough
With their elbow, rather than their hand (you don’t usually shake hands or touch door handles with your elbow!)
With a tissue, which is then thrown away
Teach them to blow their nose
With a tissue, which is then thrown away
Not into your face/arms/clothing, but better your clothing than your face!
Teach them to wash their hands
Of all the things you teach them, this is one of the essential life skills
Don’t just have them run their hands under water, teach them to wet, soap, rub, rinse and dry
ALWAYS wash hands after going to the toilet (for wees as well as poos)
ALWAYS wash hands before eating
It takes 20 seconds to do a proper job of washing hands — about as long as it takes to sing “Happy birthday to you” twice. Yup. Twice. Get used to it. Teach this to your kids
Wipes are convenient, but less effective than hand washing or using gel
Toilet and household hygiene
Flush the toilet, wash your hands (see above)
Sick with vomiting and diarrhoea? (spewing and/or have the runs?) If only one toilet, wipe down the toilet seat, flusher, tap, door handles (i.e. any surface that may have been touched) after it’s been used by whoever is sick. Two toilets? Sick person gets one, everyone else uses the other one! Ditto for shower/bath
For cleaning when there is a sick person in the house, use a detergent first (I just use washing up detergent and warm water) and then diluted bleach e.g. White King Bleach (sodium hypochlorite 4% chlorine) 1-part bleach, 7-parts water. No doubt the supermarkets will have a combined spray to do this, which will be OK to use
Do clean your hand-held devices and computer keyboards, but NOT with bleach. Alcohol wipes (e.g. lens cleaners) or alcohol sprays (available at chemists, supermarkets, hardware stores) can be used
Sick person is excused from setting the table, cooking, washing up and unpacking the dishwasher
Change sheets and towels regularly (e.g. weekly or more often if unwell)
No sharing of food or drink that’s been in contact with the sick person, into the bin with their leftovers!
Wash your own hands
I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but please, it’s not what you say it’s what you do that matters most in the long term
Learn to do it right yourself, then show your children how to do it
Resources are available from a number of sites, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC
Washing with soap and water is better, but hand gel is a good alternative if the hands are not actually dirty or if there is no other option
Immunise
We can’t immunise for everything, but please don’t let what we can’t do stop you doing what you can do
Immunisation uses the body’s natural defenses to protect us from infections
The infections we immunise for were chosen because they are deadly, dangerous and/or there is no other treatment available
Immunisation is safe
Immunisation is effective
Immunisation is not 100% effective, but don’t let what we can’t do stop you doing what you can do
Imagine a bubble…
Parents/carers, if you are inside the bubble, be mindful of trying to avoid touching your face and sharing food. Wash your hands and consider spraying down surfaces when extracted from the sick child bubble
(Author: Dr Kat McLean)
Don’t touch your face!
This means don’t touch your mouth, your eyes or your nose (or anyone else’s) if your hands are not clean/freshly washed/treated with hand gel. Germs transfer best when they can get in via surfaces less tough than the skin — so, the mouth, eyes and inside the nose are no-go zones. Likewise, for germs that cause skin infections, avoid touching broken skin.
