Seriously thoughtful Run for the Hills! Swine Flu!

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by kazbates

That was one of my biggest pet peeves as a teacher and is still one as a parent. Now, Ryleigh's school district has started a new Perfect Attendance policy to encourage students not to miss any school time. They've even changed the attendance policy to mark against kids who leave school early, even if they come back. With everything in the media about NOT sending kids to school sick, you would think that our Superintendent would have held off on starting something like this until next year. I mean, really, these people are suppossed to be highly educated and it seems like they have absolutely no common sense.

And the kids are encouraged to use peer pressure in order to have perfect attendance for the whole class for the whole year. Stupid. It's just a number that they use to justify funding based on contact hours, but it doesn't take into account that kids are actually living breathing humans, it reduces them to 7hrs x 5day =35hrs/week x 20 kids = 700 contact hrs/week/classroom. There is nowhere in that equation to allow for the flu.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

dg, that's so true! We had a nurse in my office sent home for flu this morning, and they had to pull out the new policy and practically hit her over the head with it. It says that positive flu results are a minimum 7 day absence. The girl just didn't want to go home. Anyhow, we drenched her cube with Lysol wipes and spray, and it will have a good week to dry out.

REMINDER: Viruses can't live long on a clean dry surface.

Try finding a "clean dry surface" on the typical 6 year old.

We have boxes of kleenex on every possible surface..........but the hands seem to be the most popular nose wiping choice............then they love to hug you.........and I can't turn down a hug from a child. 'Sigh.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

dg, that's so true! We had a nurse in my office sent home for flu this morning, and they had to pull out the new policy and practically hit her over the head with it. It says that positive flu results are a minimum 7 day absence. The girl just didn't want to go home. Anyhow, we drenched her cube with Lysol wipes and spray, and it will have a good week to dry out.

REMINDER: Viruses can't live long on a clean dry surface.

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Try finding a "clean dry surface" on the typical 6 year old.

We have boxes of kleenex on every possible surface..........but the hands seem to be the most popular nose wiping choice............then they love to hug you.........and I can't turn down a hug from a child. 'Sigh.

Particularly when I was teaching 1st grade, whenever a child went home sick or was out sick, I took the Lysol wipes and wiped down their desk and chair. If it was obvious something was going around, I would spray their desks after they all went home for the day. The custodian told me that was against school board policy but he wouldn't tell anyone I was doing it since I was basically doing his job for him. In his defense, they had a pretty full load as it was and wouldn't have had the time to wipe down 1200 desks everynight.

DGma ~ You keep on hugging those little angels and then use hand-sanitizer afterwards. Sometimes, that's the only hug some of these kids get.

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

And, when I think of the word "Pandemic" I think of Stephen King's "The Stand".

Never mind that I know better........... still..............aaaaacckkk!!!

If people would only use their heads........but there you are. They don't. Kids are sent to school sick, and I swear we spend more time telling them to use sanitiser and ducking when they sneeze on you.

Also, I am continually amazed at adults lack of consideration when they sneeze/cough.

Sometimes I think adults are the worst when it comes to communal hygiene.

I often wonder if they were ever taught the basics of hygiene, manners and common sense:

cover your cough/sneeze

keep you fingers out of your nose/mouth

stop sniffing and blow your nose

and for goodness sake wash your dang hands after using the restroom and before you eat

I am always amazed (not at all shocked anymore) to notice around the workplace (and pretty much everywhere else) how many impeccable-looking, fancy-dressed, upscale, never-a-hair-out-of-place, hotsy-totsy, snooty, or just plain average, nicely dressed, respectable women of clean appearance, never wash their hands before leaving a restroom. Just as many barely dampen their fingertips under a faucet that runs for a grand total of 2 seconds. Forget about using soap. I've heard the same horror stories about men, so it's not one-sided. It's mind boggling.

I'm not a obsessive germaphobe but I wash my hands a great deal, use lots of soap, and have a timer in my head that tells me I've washed long enough. I rarely get sick. And when I do it's rarely connected to anything communicable. A few months ago when ya'll thought (as I let you believe) that I was away with the flu, it was really fatigue, an accumulation of lots of work, little sleep, headaches, and joint and muscle problems. It's just easier to say you had a bout with the flu and have done with it.

Anyway, these aforementioned adults always seem to be experiencing all kinds of gastrointestinal illnesses, colds and flu and all manner of ilk. It doesn't surprise me at all that people with a mild cold or something end up with sinus infections and worsening bronchial problems simply because they "sniff with gusto" instead of blowing their nose. I'm all for recycling, but jeesh (gag), not in these instances.

But, I could be wrong about all this. I've been wrong before. (I think I just made myself sick.)

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

But, I could be wrong about all this. I've been wrong before. (I think I just made myself sick.)

Me too! I'm eating some "cinnamon roll" yogurt, and it is sort of an unsightly brownish-but-delicious. Not the sort of thing to be eating while reading your post!

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Me too! I'm eating some "cinnamon roll" yogurt, and it is sort of an unsightly brownish-but-delicious. Not the sort of thing to be eating while reading your post!

So sorry. Didn't intend to go there. (I have a real sensitive gag reflex and try to stay away from even thoughts of that kind.)

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

Why . . . are you "chronic" Geoff? I always thought you were "acute."


Don't bother. I'll do it for you. Attachment 35347 (It was pretty lame.)

excuse me !

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

Sometimes I think adults are the worst when it comes to communal hygiene.

I often wonder if they were ever taught the basics of hygiene, manners and common sense:

cover your cough/sneeze

keep you fingers out of your nose/mouth

stop sniffing and blow your nose

and for goodness sake wash your dang hands after using the restroom and before you eat

well I certainly was, as probably many of my (ahem) generation ...

[Over]

I'm gonna quote myself from other topic:

I'm a nurse and won't get, er... Shot.

Last year I received a vaccine for the seazonal flu and I got sick 2 days. One month and a half latter, during christmas, I had the worst flu ever, that lasted almost 2 weeks.

There are many flu variations to be really considered protected by a vaccine, even if that vaccine is updated every year. About the A(H1N1) flu... So far it's harmless, compared to the seazonal flu. We'll have to wait for the next cold months to see it spread much more and have a more comprehensive study. But so far, all this alarm is overblown, maybe with other interests behind.

Anyway, I prefer to gain natural resistance to the flu than trying a new vaccine that couldn't possibly have been thoroughly tested.

[GeoffC]

Round Two announced for the UK - BBC Weblink

[Wetdogeared]

Round 2 now through British Columbia. I'm not sure if they have released the vaccine to the general population yet.

On another note, I found this news article today.

How Swine Flu and eBooks Changed Medical Publishing

Little, Brown has just released an eBook-only update of the print title, "The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child"--an instantaneous publishing response to public concerns about H1N1 flu (or Swine Flu) vaccines.

[kazbates]

Our school district has started vaccinating all students whose parents have signed consent forms. Ryleigh's school is scheduled for the 24th but because she is still recovering from croup, we are going to hold off for another week or two and have her vaccinated by her pediatrician. The school district estimated that they would innoculate about 1/2 of the student population. The nice thing is that they are doing it for free. That doesn't happen very often.

[ravenne]

Bavaria (where I live) has just been renamed to "Swine Flu county" by the German media since we are the area with the most infections. Kindergardens still stay open no matter how many new infectiond there are. It's all quite relaxed. Kindergarden kids should stay at home for 7 days if they have the swine flue, though.

[kazbates]

Originally Posted by ravenne

Bavaria (where I live) has just been renamed to "Swine Flu county" by the German media since we are the area with the most infections. Kindergardens still stay open no matter how many new infectiond there are. It's all quite relaxed. Kindergarden kids should stay at home for 7 days if they have the swine flue, though.

Are parents actually keeping their kids home that long? I'm lucky because I don't work, but I can't imagine working parents being able to take that much time off work for what amounts to a bad cold.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by kazbates

Our school district has started vaccinating all students whose parents have signed consent forms. Ryleigh's school is scheduled for the 24th but because she is still recovering from croup, we are going to hold off for another week or two and have her vaccinated by her pediatrician. The school district estimated that they would innoculate about 1/2 of the student population. The nice thing is that they are doing it for free. That doesn't happen very often.

They did that here in Arizona, too. Shots were free, and teachers could also get them. Miss Abbey got hers.....no side effects. Wouldn't give them to her mom because she was still taking prednizone and wheezing. She'll get hers later.

The last time I remember mass school shots was when I was vaccinated for smallpox in the 50's.....

Husband and I got ours earlier this month....no side effects.

[ravenne]

Originally Posted by kazbates

Are parents actually keeping their kids home that long? I'm lucky because I don't work, but I can't imagine working parents being able to take that much time off work for what amounts to a bad cold.

Well, they "should" stay at home for 7 days. Many kids come back after only 4 days (when their docs said they could).