Summer is here and families are travelling abroad to enjoy their vacation with their loved ones; however, many parents face difficulties with their children getting sick during their travels. The last thing someone wants is for their child to get sick abroad and ruin the whole trip. That is why specialists at Cook Children’s Medical Centre have provided essential tips for parents to keep their children healthy during summer break.
First, make sure your child is up to date with vaccination. Check with your local physician if your child needs to take any extra immunizations before traveling to keep it away from foreign diseases. Moreover, traveling to some places might require you to take flu shots or certain vaccines.
During the flight, make sure you keep your children away from sick passengers, and if any of the passengers aren’t covering their mouth while sneezing, do not be afraid of asking them to do so. Also, make sure your children practice similar cold and flu etiquette by sneezing or coughing on their elbows or into tissues.
While traveling, make sure you practice good hand hygiene. Teach your kids to wash their hands before meals with water and soap and encourage your toddlers not to put their dirty hands in their mouths. Also, it is better to carry hand sanitizers with you all the time, especially in places where restrooms are difficult to find.
Also, sanitize the hotel room once you reach there. It is true that hotels are usually cleaner than most homes; however, if a person with a cold had been staying before you many of the surfaces could be contaminated. Therefore, it is advised to wipe down light switches, telephones, doorknobs, toilet seats, faucet handles, remote controls and any other high-touch areas.
Be very careful with your child in crowded areas like amusement parks and public pools. Make sure your child practices hand hygiene before, especially before eating anything in an amusement park, since you will not be able to sanitize all the park’s surfaces. More importantly, have your kids rinse off before and after swimming in public pools, and teach them not to swallow the pool’s water. Chlorination used in the pools does not kill all bacteria, and diseases can spread quickly there.
Finally, make sure you practice these three strategies to ensure your child’s safety. One, encourage your children to drink water frequently, and keep water bottles around all the time. Two, stick to your child’s normal diet. Consider bringing your children’s favorite healthy foods with you from home instead of feeding them fast food or snacks. Third, your children must get enough rest. Whenever possible, it is preferable that they stick to their normal bedtime to avoid exhaustion.
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