Ways Parents and Teachers Can Help Prevent the Spread of H1N1 Flu in Schools

Approximately 55 million students and 7 million staff members are thrown together on a daily basis when they enter the more than 130,000 schools across the United States. These schools and their large number of people in close quarters provide a perfect environment for the rapid transmission of the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as swine flu. While no amount of precautionary steps can completely prevent people from becoming sick with swine flu, there are steps parents, teachers and school systems can take to help each other prevent the spread of H1N1in schools:

Encourage vaccinations: When the H1N1 vaccination becomes available, schools should notify parents and encourage them to contact their child's doctor about receiving a vaccination. A list of area doctors, pharmacies and organizations that provide flu shot clinics, discounted or free vaccinations should be provided as a way of encouraging families who have limited financial resources to vaccinate their children.

Parents need to speak to their child's doctor as soon as possible, even before the H1N1 vaccination is available, to become educated on the vaccination and to determine if one is appropriate for their child.

Conduct daily health checks: Keeping children who are sick away from healthy children is key to preventing the spread of swine flu in schools. Both parents and teachers should know the symptoms of H1N1 and watch for any signs of them in children throughout the day.

Symptoms include:
Fever
Cough
Sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Body aches
Headache
Chills
Fatigue
Diarrhea
Vomiting

Parents need to check their children each morning for symptoms and keep their child home if any are in evidence. Ask your child how they are feeling and pay attention to the little signs that may show they are beginning to fight an infection, such as a change in appetite or moodiness.

Teachers can perform a daily health check on children as they arrive at school or during a homeroom roll call, and then continue to watch throughout the day as they interact with the children. If a child appears to be getting sick, teachers should take steps to isolate them from the other students and staff. Once the child is isolated, teachers should arrange for the school medical staff to do a more detailed health check and arrange for the child to be taken home by a parent or pre-arranged caregiver.

Daily health checks should also be performed on school staff members. If a staff member appears to be ill, they should be removed from contact with the children and arrangements should be made for them to have time off.

Teach proper hygiene methods: Using good hygiene methods is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of H1N1 in schools. Parents and teachers should instruct children in the proper way to wash their hands, how to properly use hand sanitizers if soap and water are unavailable, and to cough and sneeze into their elbow or a tissue instead of their hands. After teaching these steps, parents and teachers need to set a good example by being consistent in doing these things themselves.

Schools should provide children ample opportunities to wash their hands thoroughly before lunch or classroom snacks and make sure supplies are well maintained in washrooms. Parents should provide their children with a personal supply of alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If the local school system does not allow alcohol-based sanitizers, parents should give their children a non-alcohol alternative.

Parents and teachers should also routinely remind children not to share cups, utensils or food with one another. In very young grades where children may still be inclined to put toys in their mouths, teachers need to watch playtime closely and remove any toys that may have become soiled with saliva until they can be thoroughly cleaned.

Increase distance between students: Teachers can help prevent the spread of swine flu by taking steps to avoid close contact between students. This may include increasing the distance between desks, arranging classrooms in rows instead of table-like groups of desks, creating smaller playtime circles, and not arranging for activities that bring multiple classrooms together.

Do routine cleaning: Teachers and schools can help prevent the spread of Swine flu by making sure any item that is commonly touched by several hands is routinely cleaned with a disinfectant. This includes items such as desks, doorknobs, computer keyboards, and shared art or writing supplies. Books that are routinely used by several students, such as encyclopedias, should have their covers wiped. Any items that are visibly soiled, such as a keyboard after someone sneezes, should be cleaned immediately.

Allow for time at home: Schools can help prevent the spread of swine flu by allowing sick children and staff members the needed time to recover. Parents should cooperate with the school system by keeping their child home until they are well. Individuals with H1N1 may need up to 7 days to fully recover and should not return to school until they have not had a fever (100F or higher), without the use of fever-reducing medications, for at least 24 hours.

The key to preventing the spread of H1N1 in schools is for parents, teachers and the school system to be diligent in their efforts and to work together.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Teacher Fact Sheet - Action Steps for Teachers to Prevent the Spread of Flu

Action Steps for Schools to Prevent the Spread of Flu

CDC Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials and School Administrators for School (K-12) Responses to Influenza during the 2009-2010 School Year

CDC Guidance on Helping Child Care and Early Childhood Programs Respond to Influenza during the 2009-2010 Influenza Season