How to protect kids from back-to-school germs, viruses

You don’t need to tell local parents that there are nasty germs out there. They already know the viruses, the bacteria — even the bugs — are back.”One catches it,” said a mom having lunch outside with her two children. “And then a few days later, the next one. And it just ping pongs around the house.”With schools now open and vacations over, there’s more indoor time for germs to spread.”We’ve already seen an uptick in COVID-19,” said Dr. Vandana Madhavan, director of the infectious disease clinic at Mass General for Children. “We’ve started to see some RSV. We know we’re going to be headed into a true winter respiratory viral season.”However, local hospitals remind families that illnesses that may be new to your child are not typically new to them.”I see a lot of patients whose parents are worried,” Madhavan said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, it just seems like they’re just sick like every month. And I’m like, ‘Yes.'”Sometimes, the diagnosis sounds more scary than it is.Take ringworm.It’s not a worm. Instead, it’s a fungal infection that’s easy to treat, often with a topical cream.Then, of course, there’s lice — and sorry, it is a bug.”But those lice are not transmitting diseases,” Madhavan said. “They are not causing illness. It’s something that needs to be addressed, but I do want to reassure parents that they’re not spreading infections. I am much, much more worried about mosquitoes and ticks that actually do transmit actual infections.”Other “kid conditions” include scarlet fever and impetigo.Both illnesses may sound straight out of a history book, but the bacterial infections are still common today. Only now, there are antibiotics that children can take.That’s not true for viruses.”Most viruses don’t have dedicated antiviral therapy like bacterial infections do,” Madhavan said.That’s one reason why these germs often spread faster than others.COVID-19, RSV, and the flu are the Big Three right now, but there are also odd-sounding ones, such as hand, foot and mouth disease. It’s often confused with hoof-and-mouth disease — which affects cows, sheep, goats and pigs.Madhavan usually gets a lot of questions about it.”‘Is that coming from a farm?'” Madhavan said. “‘Is there some weird exposure?’ And like so many of these viruses that we see in little kids, it’s coming from other little kids. And especially if a child is younger, then immune systems are immature, and they’re more likely to have higher amounts of that virus. They’re likely to shed the virus for longer.”For otherwise healthy children, Madhavan recommends supportive care at home. That includes keeping kids comfortable and hydrated, but also washing your own hands a lot.”You’re holding them more,” she said. “You’re directly caring for them, changing diapers, bathing them, etc. And so, it’s a double whammy. They’re going to have higher amounts of that respiratory virus, and you’re going to be in closer contact with them.”Another excellent source of protection is vaccines.Madhavan encourages parents to stick to the immunization schedule. She also recommends asking your pediatrician about new options that may be available soon, especially for RSV and COVID-19.