NHS Lothian have seen a large number of respiratory outbreaks in nurseries and schools in the past few weeks. These have caused service disruption with staff shortages and many pupils being absent from school/nursery.
Parents can try to stop these respiratory viruses spreading at home – please read the following advice;
Key advice for parents and carers
In the home the risk of catching or spreading flu/cold like illness can be reduced by:
- Regular hand washing with liquid soap and running water
- Covering nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing
- Using a disposable paper tissue, disposed off immediately after use
- You can teach your child to sneeze into the ‘crook’ of their arm rather than their hands, if they don’t have a tissue.
- Good general cleaning of surface that everyone touches often e.g. TV remote, light switches, door handles, toilet flushes and tap heads
Children should not return to school until completely well and 48 hours after symptoms have stopped.