Back To School: Staying Healthy at School is as Easy as Learning Your ABC's

NORTH CANTON, Ohio, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over 22 million school days are lost every year due to the common cold and on average children have between 6-10 colds per year.

Does it seem as if your child is sick all the time? In the early school years, your child's immune system is put to the test. After all, young children in large groups are breeding grounds for the organisms that cause illness. Here's why infectious illness is so common — and what your child can do to stay healthy in the classroom.

How Infections Spread

Many childhood illnesses are caused by viruses. All it takes is a single child to bring a virus to school for the spread to begin. Consider this common scenario — a child who is infected with a cold; coughs or sneezes in the classroom. The children sitting nearby inhale the infected respiratory droplets and the cold spreads. Or perhaps a child who has stomach virus uses the restroom and returns to the classroom without washing his or her hands. Illness causing germs might spread from the hard surfaces the sick child touches to other children who touch the same object and then put their fingers in their mouths or near their nose or eyes.

Washing Hands

Frequent hand washing is the simplest — and most effective — way to prevent illness, both at home and at school. Remind your child to wash his or her hands before eating and after using the restroom, blowing his or her nose, or playing outside. We recommend soaping up hands for as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday" followed by a thorough warm water rinse. If soap and water are not available, use an antimicrobial or antiseptic hand sanitizer as an alternative.

Common Sense Tips

In addition to frequent hand washing, using a little common sense can go a long way toward preventing illness in the classroom

• Use hand sanitizer. Give your child alcohol-based hand sanitizer to keep in his or her desk or locker. Remind your child to use the sanitizer before eating snacks or lunch and after using a shared computer mouse, keyboard, pencil sharpener, water fountain or other community object. You might also donate a bottle of a disinfectant like SpectraSan 24™ to the classroom for general use. SpectraSan 24 is safe to use, kills germs quickly, effectively, and continues to provide protection for 24-hours.
• Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Give your child a package of tissues to keep in his or her desk. Encourage your child to cough or sneeze into a tissue — then put the tissue in the trash, and wash his or her hands or use hand sanitizer. If it isn't possible to reach a tissue in time, remind your child to cough or sneeze into the crook of his or her elbow.
• Keep your hands away from your nose, eyes and out of your mouth. Remind your child that hands are covered in germs. The nose, eyes, and mouth are the highways to runny noses, headaches, fevers, chills, and staying home from school.
• Don't share water bottles, food or other personal items. Offer your child this simple rule — if you put the item in your mouth, keep it to yourself. The same goes for hats and other headgear. If your child shares pencils, markers and other classroom supplies, stress the importance of keeping them out of his or her mouth. For added safety, all of these items should be sprayed with SpectraSan 24 in an effort to provide peace-of-mind and around the clock protection from a wide variety of communicable illnesses.
• Avoid anyone who's sick. Remind your child that sitting next to or playing with someone who's sick could lead to his or her own illness. The same is true with playing with toys, video games, computers or other school related learning devices and instruments.
• Use SpectraSan 24 to protect kids from contracting a virus or "Superbug" bacteria. Flu viruses and infectious diseases spread quickly in schools when kids touch contaminated hard surfaces shared by other kids.  These include toys, desks, play sets, door knobs, hand rails, keyboards, musical instruments, lab equipment, and other surfaces frequently touched by many hands. SpectraSan 24 is an EPA-registered broad-spectrum disinfectant that prevents the spread of bacterial infections, viruses and fungal transmission that inhabit hard, non-porous surfaces. Since SpectraSan 24's SDC patented technology continually kills germs for 24 hours, it is the obvious choice when trying to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and illnesses.

Of course, it's also important for your child to eat a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep and stay current on his or her immunizations — including a yearly flu vaccine. To prevent spreading illness at home, use the same tips for the entire family.

Visit www.SpectraSan.com to learn more about the first new patented disinfectant technology to arrive in more than 30 years. It kills germs faster than traditional disinfectants, is formulated specifically for childcare environments, and provides peace-of-mind residual protection.

About BioTech Medical, Inc.

BioTech Medical, Inc. is a North Canton, Ohio based division of privately held SCI, a leading international marketing company. SCI distributes hundreds of diversified products around the world and has established its success through product innovation and multi-channel marketing. BioTech Medical's multiple business segments are each focused on the distribution of innovative healthcare products, including the SDC-based SpectraSan 24 and Cruise Control hard surface disinfectants, and SpectraSan Water PURE, a revolutionary and new water purification product sold outside the United States. For more information, please visit www.spectrasan.com.

Contact:  Lauren Capo, 330-497-6866, [email protected]

SOURCE BioTech Medical Inc.