How to Protect Your Child From Swine Flu - H1N1 By Norbert Georget At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

School is back in session, and with it are growing concerns over the management of flu outbreaks, particularly with the new strains of flu, like Swine Flu, that are more and more difficult to combat with regular treatments or standard flu shots.

If you have spent any time listening to the news about Swine Flu (H1N1), you are probably wondering whether or not you should even be sending your child to school. Already in the U.S. and in Canada, there have been reported cases of Swine Flu outbreaks. What can you do to keep your child safe and healthy?

While there is no way you can prevent your child from getting Swine Flu altogether (at least not until the World Health Organization comes up with a vaccination), you can help your child or teen in several ways to improve his or her immune system and reduce the chances of infection.

Washing Hands and Cleaning Surfaces

The Swine Flu virus can live for several days on inanimate objects. Things like door handles, student desks, cell phones, and computer keyboards. You should encourage your kids to wash their hands regularly or use hand sanitizer if there is no easy way to get to the bathroom to wash hands. Washing hands is the number one way to prevent the spread of Swine Flu and other illnesses. You can provide your child with a small container of hand sanitizer to keep in a desk or locker to help. To prevent germs from coming home from school, make sure your kids wash their hands as soon as they come home (the bus is another place where germs like to gather).

Make sure you keep surfaces in your home clean. Invest in some disposable anti-bacterial wipes and wipe off door handles, toilet flushers, and sink handles regularly. Wipe down counters, chairs, and keyboards. Wipe down phones and cell phones as well. Keep an anti-bacterial spray available for killing germs around the house. Don't forget your vehicle – if you have not wiped down the door handles, steering wheel, and other areas of your car recently, now's the time.

Boosting Immunity With Nutrition

Making sure your kids have healthy foods to eat and get plenty of rest can also make a huge difference. Make sure your child's diet has plenty of fruits and vegetables, milk and yogurt, and protein. Have your child start taking a daily multivitamin to help bridge any nutritional gaps. Enforce bedtimes to ensure that your kids' bodies are getting adequate rest to fight off any invading germs.

Get Moving!

Another way you can help your children boost his or her immune system and have a better chance of surviving Swine Flu even if they get it is by making sure your kids get enough exercise. For at least 30 minutes each day, your child should be encouraged to run, walk, climb, play, and otherwise move their bodies. Hopefully, you will be encouraging habits that last a lifetime, whether or not we are fighting a Swine Flu pandemic.

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