When children return to school after the long summer holidays, they are thrown back into contact with large numbers of classmates, teachers and shared equipment.
Busy learning in shared classrooms, catching up with friends at playtime and lunchtime and using school equipment; all make it easier for germs to spread.
However, it’s not all bad news, as following simple infection control practices such as regular handwashing and ensuring that children stay at home when they’re unwell, can all significantly reduce the spread of infection.
Children should be encouraged to see handwashing as an important way of staying healthy and protecting themselves and other people from being unwell, rather than it being a boring chore. However this can often be easier said than done!
Turning ‘handwashing’ into a fun activity can often be a helpful way of teaching children the importance of washing their hands before eating, after going to the toilet and after playing outside.
Teaching children that germs are ‘troublemakers’ can be educational as it empowers children to know that they can keep themselves, their family and friends well through healthy habits, such as handwashing; a bit like a superhero using a shield to protect them from germs and to help stop bugs from spreading!
Keeping our homes well-ventilated can be a very simple yet effective way to halt the spread of ‘Back to School Bugs’.
Ensuring to open windows regularly; even for short periods, allows fresh air to circulate and can help to reduce the accumulation of germs in our kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms.
Considering fresh air as a natural method of ridding our homes of bugs and germs can also decrease our reliance on chemical cleaning products – providing an overall healthier home environment.
Even throughout the winter months, opening our windows for just very brief periods can still help us to combat bugs and germs without losing too much valuable heat from our homes
Gastroenteritis, often referred to as a “tummy bug”, is a very common condition usually caused by a bacteria or virus and can spread extremely easily within a school or other childcare setting.
Tummy bugs can cause diarrhoea and vomiting; either separately or together, as the affected individual can have both diarrhoea and vomiting at the same time, or perhaps experience only one of these unpleasant symptoms. A tummy bug can also cause a headache, mild fever and general body aches.
The best guidance to remember is the “48 hour rule” and to keep children at home until they have been free from diarrhoea and vomiting for at least 48 hours after the last episode. This timing is important as it is known to help prevent widespread outbreaks of tummy bugs such as Norovirus.
In line with Government guidance, it’s fine for your child to attend school or nursery with a minor cough or common cold, as long as they are otherwise well and do not have a high temperature.
However, if your child does have a high temperature (fever), then they should be kept home from school until their temperature has returned to normal and they feel well enough to resume day-to-day activities.
This is important advice to follow, as a fever can often be a sign that the body is fighting an infection and can indicate that your child is contagious.
A normal temperature can vary amongst children, but a high temperature is 38c or higher.
Children who have chickenpox should be kept home from school until all of the blisters have dried and ‘crusted’ over. This recognisable crusting happens when the body’s immune system has successfully neutralised the Varicella-Zoster virus within the blisters, causing the fluid-filled blisters to dry, flatten and develop protective scabs.
Typically happening around 5 days after the first appearance of the rash (although it can be a little longer in some cases), this crusting can be directly linked to the end of the child’s infectious period.
Measles is known to be a highly contagious viral infection that can rapidly spread among children and adults who are not protected.
If your child develops measles, you should keep them at home and they should avoid contact with other people for at least four days after the rash first appeared.
Parents and carers should seek prompt medical advice and also inform their school or childcare setting, so that precautions can be taken to help protect other children and staff too.
Just one child with measles can infect around 15 other unprotected people and it’s due to this high contagion that measles is a legally notifiable infection, meaning that Health Care Professionals must promptly notify the local health protection team of any suspected cases.
Scarlet Fever is a common childhood illness caused by a bacterial infection and is known to spread easily in schools and childcare settings.
Following a diagnosis of Scarlet Fever, you should keep your child away from school until they have finished at least 24 hours of their prescribed antibiotic treatment.
This is because once antibiotics have been started, they begin to kill the bacteria that causes the infection and after 24 hours we know that the risk of Scarlet Fever spreading to others is significantly reduced.
By keeping your child home for the correct amount of time, you can help to prevent others from becoming unwell, ensuring a quicker return to normal activities for everyone.
While back-to-school bugs are often unavoidable, there are practical steps parents can take to reduce the spread of illness:
By promoting healthy habits and knowing when to keep children at home, families can help minimise the spread of common childhood illnesses and support a healthier school community.
Please remember that every child is very different and illnesses can therefore vary in severity. The information in this article is for general guidance only.
If you are concerned about your child’s symptoms or their recovery, or have any doubt – please seek medical advice from your GP or NHS 111.
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