Bakersfield Memorial Hospital says they have seen a huge spike in the number of children around Bakersfield with the stomach flu virus. 23ABC’s Adam Bowles has the details on how you can stay safe and prevent this from happening to your child.
One woman is doing everything she can to make sure this doesn’t happen to her daughter or any other child.
Dr Crystal Carney is more than just a doctor. She is a mother, a mother who wants to protect her child from getting sick.
"Right now we are seeing a pretty bad case of stomach flu, its lasting a long time and I am having a lot of kids come in with dehydration," Carney says.
Bakersfield Memorial Hospital has seen a spike in elementary school children coming in with diarrhea, vomiting, and dehydration because of one thing.
"So I think school is whats making it worse. I think that we got the perfect storm and all of a sudden all of these kids are back in an area together, you know touching each other, sharing food, sharing drinks, and playing with the same toys," Carney says.
Adam Bowles came to Bakerfield Memorial Hospital to see what you can do to protect your children.
"The best things that families can do is hand washing and good hand hygiene, and the best thing for a kid is teaching them not only to wash their hands in a sink but if a sink is not readily available how to use things like these little hand sanitizers that are easy to put in their backpacks, they even come with these cute little cases to make them fun and shaped like monkeys and things that are easy to add to lunch boxes and backpacks," Carney says.
So before your little one goes out to explore whats around them. make sure they’re prepared so they can share hugs instead germs.
Dr. Carney also says to remember the rule of 24’s. If they haven't had a fever in 24 hours or hasn’t thrown up in 24 hours they can go back to school. And always remember to use hand sanitizer so you don’t spread illness.
