BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — As students head back to school, germs come with them as well.
Doctor Crystal Carney, the Chair of Pediatrics at Dignity Health Memorial Hospital, says it's common for kids to start getting sick as they return to school.
“When we have kids over the summer, they’re traveling a lot, and a lot of times they’re isolated to just their families. As they go back to school, they all start licking each other again. And so it makes sense that they’re sharing germs and weren’t sharing before,” said Dr. Carney.
Usually, this starts with the stomach flu in the Fall.
Dr. Carney said, “A lot of times kids will wake up vomiting and they’ll vomit for about 12 hours, and then they’ll seem better for a little bit, then they’ll start having diarrhea. Those are usually what we call self-limiting, so there’s not a lot to do except try to keep your kid really well-hydrated.”
But Dr. Carney says she’s seen a lot of mycoplasma cases, also known as walking pneumonia.
“If your kids are coming home and you’re noticing they’re having a fever for a day or two and then it goes away, it comes back; they’re not quite horribly sick, but you’re noticing this lingering cough, especially at night. It's what we call a staccato cough... And then they don’t seem super sick, but they’re just not quite getting better. It might be worth going to the doctor and having them tested for mycoplasma to see if they would benefit from the antibiotics,” said Dr. Carney.
This, among other viruses, is expected to pop up.
So what can parents and students do now to best protect themselves?
Dr. Carney says to start by encouraging kids to wash their hands.
“You can easily put it on their hands, teach them to rub their hands together and use hand sanitizer, and make that a regular occurrence before they’re going to eat, after they eat, even first thing when they wake up in the morning before they’re going to touch doorknobs, things like that,” said Dr. Carney.
For very young children, teach them not to put things that have been on the floor into their mouths.
“Telling them, ‘Hey, if you see something on the floor or if another kid just took it out of their mouths, be really careful, because they might be sick or they might have germs. And you don’t wanna put it in your mouth or you don’t wanna touch it cause that’ll get on your hands,’” said Dr. Carney. “For older kids, explaining not to share food that someone has eaten and not to share drinks and things like that.”
At the end of the day, Dr. Carney says it's inevitable that kids will get sick, but it’s important to support yourself and those around you during that time.
“Give everyone some grace as we go into the school year,” said Dr. Carney. “Don’t blame yourself when your kids get sick. Don’t blame your kids. Don’t blame their friends. Don’t blame the school. Don’t blame your friend’s parents. Kids are gonna get sick, and that’s okay.”
If you are notice symptoms such as a staccato cough, lingering fever, troubled breathing, or difficulty walking around, that is a sign that you should take your child to the doctor.
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