Germiest places in schools: How to help your students only come home with homework
NORTH TEXAS – As the new school year gets underway, those fresh, sweet back-to-school faces won't stay that way for long. With the oppressive heat keeping students confined indoors, they're sharing toys, the "tea" and a lot of germs.
"I wouldn't say 'freaked out,'" said Kyle Oholendt, a Methodist Dallas internist, pediatrician and dad to an adorable toddler. "I am excited for kids to go back to school. But yeah, I definitely think there's ways we can maybe keep them from bringing those germs home."
For Pre-K mom Pilar Villalba, it all begins with prevention.
"Like eating vegetables, fruit… and yes, the vaccines, too," said Villalba, while adding that she's glad that 4-year-old Eduardo has been healthy. She says she trusts her school to help keep him that way.
Dr. Oholendt says the guidance for avoiding school-day germs will vary with the age of the scholar, but parents need to practice healthy habits at home.
"One hundred percent. I think modeling good behavior is something I would recommend for any parent," Dr. Oholendt said. "And as a parent myself, I know it is not easy to always do. But washing hands, covering your mouth when you cough, teaching them about germs and just telling them, 'here's how Mommy or Daddy keep themselves safe from this.'"
Doctors say including some hand sanitizer in that back-to-school supply list is also a good idea. So where are those school-day germs lurking?
According to Lysol, a manufacturer of disinfectant products, the germiest places in schools are the restroom door, cafeteria trays and lunch boxes, desks, classroom supplies and the drinking fountain.
"Going back to school is just the big time for colds. Flus," Dr. Oholendt said. "We've already started to see more COVID than we were seeing over the summer. So, I definitely expect—not a surge—but for there to be a bump in how many, you know, sick people we're seeing."
He said the best way to avoid a sick visit to the doctor is to stay current with recommended vaccines.