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Germs on the Playground
Should Parents Be Concerned When Little Ones Swing and Slide?
By Teri Brown
Dr. Nelson goes on to state that young children typically suffer from more frequent infections because they are too young to understand and comply with these basic principles and are frequently touching surfaces and transferring infectious materials to their mouths, noses and eyes.
Jean Fleming, registered nurse and clinical director of Infection Prevention & Education for Professional Disposables International, Inc., agrees that teaching good personal hygiene habits is the best prevention.
"The most important protection a parent can do to keep their child safe is to clean the child's hands after playing or upon leaving the playground," Fleming says. "Parents should carry an alcohol-based hand product such as the Sani Hands hand wipe to wipe and de-germ the child's hands. Alcohol-based products will kill the common bacteria and viruses."
Such products are safe to use and can often contain emollients that prevent drying and irritation on the skin. Parents can wipe down play equipment such as swings before their child uses them, but the best way to prevent infection is to keep those hands clean!
"So often, after playing at the playground, children are given a treat to eat," Fleming says. "Not cleaning hands before eating is a major way that infections are transmitted."
You don't want to prevent your child from playing on playground equipment; you just want to keep diseases from spreading. By all means let your kids be kids, but try to practice good hand hygiene and teach them basic hygiene principles from a young age so that they become routine.
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