Do your child's school and teachers encourage hand washing in students? If not, talk to them about doing so.
Proper hand washing, especially during cold and flu season, is a simple and easy but vitally important step in guarding against illness. An estimated 80 percent of all infection may be transmitted through the hands, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A study of school-age children in Denmark published last year in the American Journal of Infection Control found that mandatory hand washing reduces absences from infectious illness among schoolchildren.
Besides talking to your child's teacher and school about instilling good hand washing habits in kids, you can do the following to protect your child against illness this winter:
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