How to Protect Children from Swine Flu H1N1 during Christmas

Billions of people around the world are taking precautions to protect themselves against the Swine Flu. The H1N1 flu is life-threatening and  can be fatal if not treated on time. The children, young adults and pregnant women are most susceptible to the disease.

Especially, the children are at high-risk of being infected due to their weak immune systems and have greater chance of contacting Swine flu. Children younger than age 5 are most likely to suffer from complications of influenza. This is mainly because they regularly come in contact with hundreds of other kids.

Christmas is close on the doors, and its time for celebrations. There will be parties to host and attend; gifts to exchange; holidays to enjoy. For kids, Christmas is a special time of the year when they visit friends or enjoy an outing. As they mingle with hundreds of other children at playground, picnic spots, parties, they might get infected from children suffering from Swine Flu.

There are several things that can be done to prevent children from getting the Swine flu. The key for protecting is preventing.

How to prevent Swine Flu

1.Educate Children on the Swine Flu

2. While toddlers won’t be able to grasp the concept of the Swine flu, older children can. Parents should teach children to keep a safe distance from sick children having colds, runny noises, coughs, and other Swine Flu symptoms.

3. Encourage children to wash their hands frequently.

4.Children need to be reminded not to share certain things, such as drinks, food, candy, or anything else that can come in contact with other children’s mouths.
5.Toys are another tool to spread the H1N1 flu. Protect kids by sanitizing toys that will be shared among other children. Smaller children should be prevented from exchanging toys that may have been in their mouths. If the toys are chewed, or gummed they should be cleaned thoroughly immediately before being in the reach of another child.

6.One of the best methods of protecting children from catching the Swine flu is to sanitize. Keep sanitizers such as liquid sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes, anti-bacterial soaps, and other sanitizing agents readily available for children.

7. One of the main reasons children are threatened by the Swine Flu is due to their low immune system. Children can strengthen their immune system and help prevent getting the H1N1 flu by eating healthy, taking a daily vitamin, consuming foods high in vitamins and drinking plenty of water.

8.Cover nose and mouth of your children with a tissue when they cough or sneeze. Ask them to throw the tissue in the trash after using it.
9. Children can’t catch H1N1 flu from pork that’s been properly prepared and cooked.

10.There are antiviral medicines to prevent or treat swine flu. There is a vaccine available to protect against swine flu.

11. Elmo Joins the H1N1 Flu Fight in seminars, videos, and other materials to educate children on how to protect themselves.

12.Stay informed. Avoid visiting places where the flu is known to exist with your children. If possible, avoid large crowds

The basic thing to combat swine flue is not to get panic and stop spreading rumor. Keep your child at home to reduce the spread of flue, make sure they rest and get plenty of fluids. A humidifier and salt water nose drops can help with the congestion; a spoonful of honey can help calm a cough (if your child is older than a year).
American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all children over 6 months be vaccinated against swine flu.

Though children are the highest-risk group for spreading the virus among themselves, prevention strategies, infection monitoring and many other factors can help parents save their children from the deadly H1N1 flu. Here comes our wishes for all the parents for a flu-free, colorful and wonderful christmas.