Creative Tutors of Wake County, North Carolina

Swine Flu Ways to Stay Healthy

As we begin the new school year, the Swine Flu (H1N1 Flu,) has families and school officials concerned. The H1N1 strain appears to be a combination of human, pig and bird flu. The H1N1 virus is also known as Swine Flu and is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes which allows the germs to spread to other people. Another way to pick up the virus occurs when a person touches a surface which has the swine flu germs on it and then the person touches their mouth, nose or eyes. To date, the Swine Flu cases in the USA have been less severe than in Mexico.

Follow up:

The best way to protect yourself and your family from contracting this virus is to practice good hygiene. Be sure you teach your children these techniques including hands-on practice with hand washing. Things that you can do include: Wash your hands often with soap and water scrubbing for 15-20 seconds. Keep your hands away from your mouth, nose and eyes. Cough or sneeze into a tissue (throw the tissue into the trash after using it) or cough or sneeze into your sleeve, if you sneeze or cough into your hands wash them immediately. Try to avoid others who are sick. If you or your children are sick, stay home from work, school and childcare centers.

Swine Flu symptoms include fever greater than 100 degrees, chills, body aches, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, headache, and fatigue. Vomiting and diarrhea have also been reported. Call your doctor immediately if you have symptoms of the Swine Flu. Antiviral medications may help shorten the illness and make the symptoms milder. As this disease is a virus, antibiotics are not prescribed as they are ineffective against a virus. As always, never give a child an aspirin to treat symptoms of illness as there is a risk of the child developing Reye Syndrome.

Should the flu season hit hard and schools close or you find your child is missing a lot of school time, you may want to consider tutoring to keep your child from falling behind.

Categories: General Education | Permalink | 2 feedbacks »

Comments:

Comment from:Bree [Visitor]

08/12/09 @ 19:15

Good point on coughing into the sleeve. My daughter learned this great program at pre-school called Germy Wormy Germ Smart, which shows kids just how to do that. It also teaches them to understand how germs spread and how to NOT spread them. It was so much fun for her, and amazing how quickly the kids learned healthier hygiene habits! The website speaks for itself: www.germywormy.com

Comment from:Kim Ashby [Member]

08/12/09 @ 22:06

I really liked the germy wormy website. Thanks for sharing!

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Meet Kim Ashby | Owner

Kim Ashby earned a BS in Nursing from The Catholic University of America and, when she worked outside the home, was a Certified Emergency Nurse with a special interest in trauma nursing. She lives in Raleigh, NC with her husband and three sons. The Ashbys have home schooled their children since 1999. They graduated their oldest son in May 2007. He is attending UNC Wilmington. Kim continues to home school her younger boys. Her oldest son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in the public school system in the second grade. Her second son has cerebral palsy which has resulted in multiple/global developmental delays. Her youngest son has undiagnosed, mild auditory processing issues.

Kim has co-instructed graduate level courses at UNC Chapel Hill for ST/OT students and Early Intervention students. She is the founder and President of the Board of Directors of GIFTSNC, Inc., a home schooling special needs support group. Kim has presented workshops at a variety of state home school conferences as well as local support group parent meetings and is often a guest speaker at homeschool conferences and is found on many guest speaker lists including Balancing the Sword. She is a Steering Committee member and former Treasurer for Dayspring Home Educators in Cary, NC. She served on the Board of Directors for the Family Support Network of Wake County. She holds a North Carolina Wildlife Permit for Small Mammal Rehabilitation and enjoys working with orphaned and injured wildlife.

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Mark Twain