School nurses: Wash those little hands

Even if you’re ensuring your children exercise, sleep enough and eat well, those efforts may be wasted if they’re not washing their hands.

That’s what more than 270 U.S. school nurses said in a 2013 survey by KidsHealth in the Classroom, which emphasizes hand-washing as the best way to prevent children from getting sick.

The nurses say parents should teach their children how and when to wash their hands and to not touch their eyes, nose and mouth.  They should also cough and sneeze into their elbows to minimize the spread of germs.

Washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — or humming the Happy Birthday song twice — is the proper way to kill germs.

The nurses recommend parents help their children learn good hygiene, eat nutritious food, get enough sleep and stay up to date with immunizations, including flu shots.

Another key in decreasing illness in schools is for parents to keep their children home when they’re sick, the nurses say. For example, parents shouldn’t feel pressured to send their children to school sick, particularly with a fever, because they have a test.

Most schools require students stay home until at least 24 hours after a fever has broken naturally, which means without medicine.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention