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Clean Hands
Regular hand washing can prevent the spread of many infections, from the common cold to hepatitis A
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Children are especially curious about the world around them and use their hands to explore everything, often picking up germs that could cause diarrhoeal diseases and acute respiratory infections. Washing your child’s hands often is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of many infections, from colds and influenza to food poisoning, Rotavirus and hepatitis A.
“Hepatitis A is a general term that means inflammation of the liver,” explains Johannesburg general practitioner Dr Gavin Zipp. “While it’s the mildest of the common hepatitis virus infections (hepatitis B and hepatitis C), it still packs a nasty punch and can cause your child to suffer fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, and fatigue. It’s a food-borne viral illness and spreads rapidly where children are in close contact with each other, placing nursery schools at high risk. While the infection is mainly transmitted via the faecal-oral route (going to the toilet and not washing hands, then touching your face or food and accidentally ingesting the virus), it can spread in other ways.” He says your child could pick it up by playing in a puddle of contaminated water, or from eating contaminated food or unwashed fruit and vegetables.
If you suspect your child may have hepatitis A, take them to a doctor who will perform a physical examination and a blood test. Treatment is symptomatic and it can take several days, even weeks, before your child will be well again. Bed rest and good nutrition are advised. Fortunately, there is a vaccine against hepatitis A. “The vaccines contain no live virus and therefore have few side effects (apart from soreness at the site of the injection), and can be administered by your doctor or your local chemist,” says Cape Town nursing practitioner Sandy Daynes. “The vaccines must be given before exposure to the virus and won’t help if your child has already become infected.” The vaccine is given in two shots, administered six months apart for maximum protection.
Good to know
- Washing your child’s hands with soap and water helps reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by more than 40 percent.
- Wash your child’s hands before meal times, after they’ve blown their nose, coughed or sneezed, after playing outside, if they’ve been touching animals (including the household pet) and, most importantly, after they’ve been to the toilet.
- Establish a hand-washing routine so that it becomes second nature for your child.
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
- When buying unpackaged food, ensure the person serving you is wearing plastic gloves.
- Bacteria can grow on towels, so keep them clean, or opt for disposable towels.
- Germs and bacteria can grow on soap bars if they’re left to lie in water. Keep soap dry or use a liquid soap.
My toddler is in a preschool. The children in his class share a bucket of water to wash their hands. After using the toilet, they are given liquid soap to put on their hands and then all to wash the soap off in one bucket of water. Comment please.