It's back-to-school time for kids and nanobugs

School starts on Wednesday in Lincoln, Nebraska where I live.  The shopping has already started in anticipation of needed clothing and "school supplies" - which includes everything from pencils, paper and back packs to computers and software. Parents are harping on the importance of everyone returning to the regular sleep schedule while children are in a panic to squeeze in a few more days of fun in the sun.  It is all about preparing for scholastic success and social reconnections. 

As we prepare for the mass movement back-to-school, I think it is important to recognize that it is not only the children, teachers and college students that will back in the classrooms and school buildings and on the football fields - but the nanobugs will be in attendance, too.  A health check is indicated for students before school starts and for many, that health check will include a booster shot.  CDC recommends that teens and preteens recieve booster shots for Pertussis ("whooping cough") which is caused by the nanobug, Bordetella pertussus.  This is one of the favorite nanobug images among children (especially 10 year old boys) but it is NOT a pathogen anyone wants to be harboring.  Bordetella pertussis spreads easily in places where people are in close contact. This includes college-bound young adults, too.  Dormatories are great gathering places for nanobugs like this one. Whooping cough infection starts off with symptoms similar to the common cold ( caused by Rhinovirus) but the cough can last up to 100 days or more - really!  The quote or one-liner for Bordetella pertussis is:  "When I'm runnin' through your veins, you'll be coughing out your brains!"  The best way to make sure your children don't get involved with this ugly pathogen (disease-producing microbe) is to make sure each one gets all the recommended doses and boosters of pertussis vaccine.  (It is the "P" in DPT series that children are given in their first year of life.)   It is not too late to schedule a health check with your healthcare provider.  "Better late than never!"  

Also, start resetting your your family's "internal clocks"  - so that everyone can get adequate sleep in order to resist the nanobugs and think and perform at their best.  Maybe reminding children about the importance of sleep for performance success for the Olympic atheletes would make the point.   Eating properly is a big deal, too.  Protein in our diet is needed in order for the body to make antibodies and white blood cells as well as to nuture brain cells for thinking.  Vitamin C is an important infection-prevention nutrient which can be obtained from citrus sources (but "hold the sugar, please").  Vitamin D is an essential nutrient which can be obtained from sunlight and enriched dairy products.  As you are shopping for Back-to-School, don't forget to pick up these items at the grocery or the drug store along with hand soap and hand sanitizer (especially in small portable containers).  And, how about a nanobugs card collection? (available in the nanobugs website store) This unique teaching tool can help the whole family understand the strategies behind effective infection prevention.  No sense spoiling a good academic year with absences related to infection.  You can be......infection-free! 

This entry was posted on August 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am. RSS | Back to Blog Homepage.

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