Steps to Help Protect Your Family
•
Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based
hand rub.
•
Teach your children not to share personal items, such as drinks or food,
and to cover their coughs and sneezes with tissues. Covering up their coughs or sneezes with their elbow, arm,
or sleeve instead of hand when a tissue is unavailable is necessary.
•
Teach your child not to touch their eyes, nose, or mouth . Germs are often spread in this
way.
•
Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include a fever (100 degrees
Fahrenheit or higher), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling
very
tired. Some people may vomit or have diarrhea.
•
Do not send children to school if they are sick. Any children who are determined to be sick
while at
school will be sent home.
•
Keep sick children at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have
signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children with fever at home will reduce
the number of people who may become infected.
•
Get your family vaccinated for seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu when vaccines are available.
