As the cold and flu seasons approach, we are all striving to protect ourselves from the vicious viruses that threaten our health and immune systems. Despite our efforts to boost our immunity with vitamin C and frequent hand washing, it is still essential to rely on others to act responsibly and avoid exposing others to their contagious germs.
This becomes even more critical when it comes to kids, who have a habit of touching everything in sight, licking their palms, and wiping their noses with communal items like crayons.
Hence, a recent Facebook post by a concerned mother urging parents to keep their children at home when they have a fever has gone viral, receiving over 170,000 shares. Samantha Moriá Reynolds shared a picture of a thermometer showing a temperature of 101.4 and urged parents to be vigilant and act responsibly.
This morning, Sam woke up and noticed her son wasn’t feeling well.
Sam took her son’s temperature, and wow! A fever.
Sam gave her son Tylenol and then…
Sam did NOT send her son to school.
Even after the fever went down a couple hours later, Sam did NOT send her son to school.
Sam missed work knowing that the well-being of her son and the kids who attend his school is more important than work missed.
Sam’s son was invited to THREE birthday parties over the weekend. Sam’s son has been so excited to go, but he will unfortunately also have to miss them because Sam’s son is SICK. Sam knows passing along a sickness would not be a great birthday gift regardless of how bummed her son may be.
Sam knows her son is still contagious until he is fever-free, WITHOUT medication, for 24 hours. If Sam’s son is running a fever at 7am on Sunday, Sam’s son will also not be attending school on Monday.
As we enter cold and flu seasons, it’s essential that we take measures to protect ourselves and others from these demon viruses. While we can increase our vitamin C intake and practice good hygiene, we also rely on others to be considerate of the germs they may be carrying, especially when it comes to children.
Many parents will give their children fever-reducing medication and send them to school, thinking that the medication will cure the illness. However, these medications only mask the symptoms and provide temporary relief, while the child is still sick and contagious.
The same applies to adults who try to tough it out by taking medication and going to work, putting their coworkers at risk of infection. While finding childcare or taking time off work can be challenging, employers and society need to work together to ensure sick children stay at home until they are no longer a threat to others’ health.
While the coronavirus outbreak is making headlines, the seasonal flu is already killing thousands of Americans each year, and this year is no exception. The best way to prevent the spread of illness is to stay away from others when sick and keep children at home until they have been fever-free for 24 hours.
We must all do our part to keep ourselves and our communities healthy. Follow the example of Sam and keep sick kids at home. It takes a village to stay well.