Flu Precautions for Schoolchildren
With the H1N1 flu looming large over the fall sickness season with schoolchildren at a high risk for the disease, the need for a vaccine is growing. But with not enough of the vaccine to go around, new restrictions will have to be implemented. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune says that schools will be cracking down on flu-like symptoms to avoid any risk of contaminating the entire student body. Even though the flu may seem like a necessary evil parents deal with during the start of every school season, the severity and pervasive nature of the H1N1 flu strain requires extra vigilence.
Any child showing up at school with a temperature above 100 degrees, will be sent home and not allowed to return until the day after his or her fever breaks. Schools will also be initiating more stringent rules during class hours like making sure kids cover their mouths when they cough and washing their hands regularly to keep infection away.
Local officials in Chicago, like district spokesman Tony Sanders, says that the risk is greater because of the unknown variables involved in the fast spreading flu that was sweeping the globe earlier this year, “Prior to H1N1, if a student came to school with a fever, it may or may not have been noted. There's nothing to say a child would be sent home…. With this new strain, if a student comes to school with a fever greater than 100, they will be sent home and parents will be contacted.”
The heat of the summer is supposed to kill off the flu but the voracious H1N1 strain has lasted through the summer, puzzling experts all over the world. Over 7,000 cases have been severe enough to require hospitalization with cases occurring in every state in America. A majority of these cases are occurring in school-aged children from kindergarten through college.
Dr. Martha Howard, M.D., from Chicagohealers.com has come to the rescue by recommending natural remedies for children against the spread of viruses big and small. Both Oscillococcinum and N-acetylcysteine are safe for children and according to recent studies can prolong health during the worst of seasons.
Dr. Howard explains there have been benefits with the elderly, “A recent study in the August 2009 issue of the American Family Physician Journal, showed that elderly patients taking 600 milligrams of N-acetylcysteine twice daily over the flu season were much less likely to have clinical influenza illness, and when they did have it, episodes were much less severe.” Dr. Howard continues that health food stores have recently been carrying homeopathic versions of these drugs and that parents can help lower risks at home by keeping the precautions natural, “Give children N-acetylcysteine, in a dose that is proportional by weight to the adult dose .of 600 milligrams twice a day.”
Oscillococcinum has been shown in clinical studies to quickly vanquish any symptoms within 48 hours. N-acetylcysteine helps to boost the immune system, break down mucus, and is a great way to detoxify your body while providing a great source of antioxidants.
From now until the H1N1 threat dissipates, schools will be on the lookout for germs and fighting with the best they’ve got at their disposal: common sense. Plenty of bottles of hand sanitizer and good manners may just be able to keep the flu away from most schools this September.
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