Schools are starting: Hand hygiene is the most important thing to protect your child from infection

Child Health Specialist Dr. Cenk Çelik, who stated that children should have a health check-up days before the opening of schools, said that the most effective method to protect children from infection is hand hygiene. Underlining that routine vaccinations must be done, Dr. Çelik said, “The method we prefer and consider safe to protect children from infections is vaccination.”

The 2024-2025 academic year begins on Monday, September 9. Children will enter crowded classroom environments. With the gradual cooling of the season, infectious diseases will become more common. Child Health Specialist Dr. Cenk Çelik from Istanbul Beykent University Hospital made various suggestions for families to protect their children from infectious diseases.

Let them rub their hands for at least 30 seconds

“The most effective and most reliable method is to pay attention to hand hygiene,” said Dr. Çelik, ”Therefore, families should educate their children in detail about hand hygiene. They should teach their children the habit of hand washing. They should wash their hands with plenty of foamy soapy water on all surfaces, including the back of the hand, palm, wrist, between the fingers, especially the nail beds. They should rub for at least 30 seconds. Then rinse with plenty of water. There is no evidence of monkeypox yet. However, we know that it is transmitted through close contact and liquid contamination. Therefore, hand and personal hygiene will protect children in this regard as well.”

“They should try to cover their sneezes with their elbows or arms”

Stating that children can spread the infection with coughs and sneezes when they are sick, Dr. Çelik said, “In such cases, children should cover their mouths not with their hands, but rather with their elbows and arms or, if possible, with disposable tissues. They should acquire this habit.”

“It is useful to get the flu vaccine 2-3 weeks before the flu season opens”

Prof. Dr. Çelik said, “Vaccination is the method we healthcare professionals prefer and consider safe to protect children from infections. Therefore, it is very important for us that the routine vaccinations of children going to school are completed. Children who will go to school but whose school vaccinations have not been completed; It is easier to catch diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia, measles, which can be easily transmitted and can cause bad consequences when transmitted. Therefore, it is beneficial to have complete vaccinations. It is also beneficial that the vaccines currently in the special vaccination program are also completed in children who will go to school. It is especially beneficial for children with heart, diabetes, chronic diseases, who often get flu during the school period in the winter months and who have younger siblings at home to get a flu vaccine 2-3 weeks before the flu season opens.”

“It would also be useful to evaluate growth developments”

“With the clinical findings we detect in the examinations, we can predict whether children will get sick more easily in the winter and school period,” said Dr. Çelik, ”Therefore, they should be checked by a pediatrician or family physician before starting school. It is necessary to check whether they have allergies, whether they have large adenoids or whether there is fluid in the ear. It will also be useful to evaluate their growth and development.”

“Ideal eating habits should be acquired before school starts”

Dr. Cenk Çelik, who also made nutritional recommendations, finally said the following:

“It is beneficial that the ideal eating habits are acquired before school. For this reason, we recommend that families should provide their children with a diet rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, away from carbohydrates and fats. We also recommend that they do not skip breakfast in the morning during the school period and that they prefer foods that fit the balanced eating habits we mentioned instead of foods with additives such as junk food and fast food in school nutrition.”