The colder months bring a higher incidence of colds and flu for children, especially for those who attend daycare or who are going to school. Most colds and flu occur during the fall and winter. Beginning in early September, the incidence of colds increases slowly for a few weeks and remains high until March or April, when it declines. In the course of a year, individuals in the United States suffer more than 1-billion cases of the common cold, according to some estimates from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Common colds are the main reason why children miss school and adults miss work. Studies show that the following steps could help

avoid the spread of cold and flu viruses.
• The CDC recommends administering the flu vaccine to children 6 months and older
• Hand washing is the simplest and most effective way to keep germs and viruses away from our family. Remind your children and everyone in your family to wash their hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Teach your children how to catch a sneeze, using a tissue instead of their hands. Make sure they throw the tissue in the trash after using it.
• Stay away from people who are sick.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs can spread this way.
• If someone in the household is sick, try to keep the sick person in a separate room from others in the household, if possible.
• Keep surfaces like bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, kitchen counters and toys for children clean by wiping them down with a household disinfectant, according to directions on the product label. Cleaning and disinfecting surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs and viruses that cause colds and the flu can help slow their spread.

If your child has the flu, the CDC recommends that your child should stay home to rest and to avoid giving the flu to other children or caregivers. The CDC also advises to keep your child home from school or day care for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone. For more information about how to protect your children during the fall, please visit FeverAll.com or facebook.com/FeverAll.