H1N1 is the most talkative topic among parents right now who concern about their children health and safety. Of course, as an adult ourselves, need to take care ourselves too so that we are safe from the dangerous disease. Prevention is the best policy at all times. Prevention is not just limited to the school itself but also our home and our environment.
In our country, H1N1 cases are increasing every day. There are schools closed for a week once H1N1 is detected among the students. The students, teachers, staffs and family members are to detain at home for at least 7 days to prevent the virus from spreading. Fortunately, there is no death reported from the disease as at today.
Lets get to know about H1N1 flu
H1N1 is a new influenza virus that able to spread from person to person. It is highly contagious and can cause severe illnesses, even death. Symptoms of H1N1 patients include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some patients are also reported to have diarrhea and vomiting.
High risk people to have infected by H1N1 virus include people 65 years and above, children below 5 years old, pregnant women, and people of any age with chronic medical conditions. These groups of people tend to have lower immune system, therefore they are at higher risk towards the flu virus.
The H1N1 flu is spread from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people get infected because they touched their nose or mouth after touching something with flu viruses.
If we have those flu symptoms as mentioned above, the best way is to see a doctor. Let the doctor examine us and confirm our sickness if it’s just normal flu or H1N1, and then take the medication given by the doctor. Do not be our own doctor!
How can we prevent and teach our child to prevent H1N1 flu?
- Cover mouth and nose with tissue when sneeze or cough. Wash hands with soap or cleanse with hand sanitizer. Throw the used tissue in the dustbin.
- Wash hands frequently - before and after meals, after playtime or coming back from outside the home.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- Teach and show our child the proper way or technique of washing hands. Most children just rinse their hands under running water from the tap without rubbing.
- Watch our child’s activity. Most of the time, he tend to touch here and there as he loves to explore his surrounding. Then he may touch his nose or mouth or even put his finger into his mouth without washing. Therefore, the risk of getting infected is much higher.
- Try to avoid crowds or public places such as park, shopping complexes, cinema.
- Find out if your child’s school is taking any precaution steps to prevent H1N1 flu. If the school does not have any, do suggest to the school to check temperature of each child every morning and remind children to wash hands as frequent as possible. Also ensure the school wipe the materials or toys frequently to keep the environment hygiene and safe from flu risk.
We are responsible to our surroundings as well as the people around us. Lets take all the precaustion steps to prevent H1N1 flu from spreading wide.
