When your kids return to school, you probably gearing up for morning routines and treating them for contagious diseases contracted in schools.
That is because, with classroom activities back, they will do what they do best — learning, playing with friends, going close enough to contact, and spreading illnesses.
A school is essential for youngsters to attain knowledge and develop interpersonal and mental skills. Since this always comes with a price —being a hotspot for the spread of various viruses and bacteria, you need to watch out and prepare for it.
The following are:
Contagious diseases that are easily picked up in schools.
Common cold
Of course, one hot spot in the contagious disease cycle in schools is the common cold. It is arguably the most prevalent and said to be caused by the rhinovirus, especially during the cold and flu season. It can spread like wildfire in classes that are nearby.
Symptoms include:
- sneezing
- runny nose
- watery eyes
- coughing
- headaches
- body aches and
- sore throat.
The Flu
You would want to be watching out for this, too in the back-to-school season as it has a high spread among kids.
The flu, also known as influenza, comes hard and fast. This contagion presents a fever, headache and muscle aches, runny nose, sore throat, and cough compared to a common cold. Vomiting and diarrhoea are also symptoms of flu.
Pink eye
Pink eye, or the condition known medically as conjunctivitis, breeds in school environments. Pink eye results from the inflammation of the part of the eye called the conjunctiva. All it needs to spread in school is rubbing your eyes and then touching a book or desk. Boom! To everyone, it goes.
Symptoms include:
- Redness of the eyes( pink eye).
- Sensitivity to light.
- Eye irritation.
- Swollen eyelids.
- Excessive tearing or eye discharge.
Bloodborne exposures
You must have been told to be careful with unknown sharp objects in school. This is because bloodborne pathogens can be disseminated when you have direct contact with blood or any potentially infectious material.
Such pathogens transmitted through blood involve the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C disease viruses.
Impetigo
Schools are another hotspot for this nasty, crusty bacterial infection of the skin. You want to watch out for impetigo when your kids return to school. It’s effortlessly spread. Close contact is enough, especially among kids who do sports together.
You can spot this through red sores around the mouth and nose. The sores form a visible yellow-brown crust in these places.