Back-to-school season brings not only a return to classes for children across Western Pennsylvania \u2014 but also a return of sicknesses that can spread like wildfire.<\/p>\n
Dr. Raquel Zemtsov, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s School of Medicine and a practicing family medicine physician at UPMC Matilda Theiss Health Center in the Hill District, said these sicknesses, which can range from the common cold to severe cases of the flu, affect whole classrooms, teachers, parents and families.<\/p>\n
Though there are many reasons why sicknesses surge in the back-to-school season, Zemtsov noted being in close quarters and the seasonality of viruses as leading factors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe usually think about influenza as coming in the wintertime, although we see that less and less with covid,\u201d she said, adding that right now, she\u2019s seen \u201ca lot of people\u201d sick with covid-19.<\/p>\n
Another factor is people\u2019s noses getting drier as the temperature drops outside, according to Zemtsov.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur noses are the first line of defense for viruses and illnesses,\u201d she said, \u201cand as it gets colder out and our nose gets drier, it gets worse at fighting off illnesses. When it\u2019s cold out, wear a scarf over your nose. Obviously, masks are helpful, but also humidification at home can be really helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sharing in sickness<\/p>\n
As the new school year kicks off, \u201ckids have a real tendency\u201d to bring sicknesses home with them, according to Dr. Mike Dinger, a family medicine physician with Independence Health System\u2019s Saltsburg Family Medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids are going to be kids \u2014 and they\u2019re going to touch each other, their hands, wipe their nose, their face,\u201d he said. \u201cMom, dad or grandpa could end up with it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like clockwork, a few weeks into the school year, Dinger said upper respiratory infections will start to circulate. These can include symptoms like runny noses, coughing, sneezing and congestion, as well as some nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very easy for one kiddo, one teacher to pass it on to a majority of a class, and then you have all kinds of people staying home,\u201d he said. \u201c(It\u2019s) sort of inevitable every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zemtsov said if a child is in school or in day care and needs to come home because they\u2019re sick, \u201csomeone has to take care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
For families who live in multigenerational households, the ripple effects of sicknesses brought home from school are even greater, according to Zemtsov.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only are they risking getting their parents sick or their siblings sick, but if a grandparent gets sick, they may get sicker than a person who is younger and healthier might,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually see that a lot, where a kid comes home with something terrible, the parents miss work, the kid feels better, goes back to school, but now the parent feels terrible and can\u2019t go to work, so they\u2019re essentially doubling the days that they\u2019re out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The best way to stop the spread, Dinger said, is for people who are sick to stay home until they\u2019re feeling better \u2014 and it\u2019s especially important for those exhibiting any gastrointestinal symptoms.<\/p>\n
Dinger recommended that children, parents and teachers practice good hand hygiene, cough and sneeze into their elbows instead of hands or without anything to cover it up, avoid sharing drinks and get flu and covid-19 shots.<\/p>\n
The updated versions of covid and flu vaccines will be coming out soon for this season, according to Dinger.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re eligible for them, you should be getting them,\u201d Dinger said of vaccines.<\/p>\n
Getting immunizations can protect those who are immunocompromised, including older adults, according to Dinger.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou also want to protect those around you \u2026 those who have more medical problems,\u201d he said. \u201cFlu or covid could be quite deadly for those folks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite Dinger\u2019s advice on preventing illness, he said people \u201ccan do everything right, and you can still get sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe majority of them are viruses and bacteria,\u201d he said of the sicknesses that go around. \u201cThey\u2019ve survived this long by being pretty easy to transmit, so even with all of your best hand-washing \u2026 getting the flu shot doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t get the flu, but it\u2019ll hopefully help some people from getting it worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Focus on holistic health<\/p>\n
Emotional well-being is just as important as physical well-being as the back-to-school season commences.<\/p>\n
Dr. Joseph Aracri, chair of Allegheny Health Network\u2019s Department of Pediatrics, said back-to-school season is the \u201cperfect time\u201d to reestablish healthy habits.<\/p>\n
\u201cA consistent sleep schedule is one of the most important things parents can do to support their child\u2019s health \u2014 children who get enough high-quality sleep are able to better focus at school, regulate their emotions and maintain healthy relationships with friends,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Decreased sleep and stress both \u201clower immunity,\u201d and school can sometimes offer added stressors, Zemtsov said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one gets the amount of sleep they need once they\u2019re in high school \u2014 at least that\u2019s what it seems like,\u201d she said. \u201cVery few of my patients get the recommended amount.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to a new UC Davis Health study published in Psychological Medicine<\/a>, sleep plays an integral role in adolescents\u2019 success and mental health. Sleep was found to be the strongest factor associated with better grades and fewer social problems, the study said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a foundational part of a healthy routine that makes a significant difference,\u201d Aracri said.<\/p>\n Most children need a minimum of nine hours of sleep each night, according to AHN.<\/p>\n Zemtsov said teenagers need at least seven to eight hours of sleep, and toddlers can need 11 to 13 hours. Bedtime routines should be free from screen time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing significant behavioral and mental health concerns among children of all ages that appear to be closely linked to social media use,\u201d Aracri said. \u201cWhen possible, parents should significantly limit social media use or eliminate it altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have seen increases in low self-confidence, social anxiety and body image concerns, and we believe social media is playing a major role in those trends.\u201d<\/p>\n Parents should pay attention to potential signs that their child is struggling emotionally during the school year, according to AHN pediatricians. Signs could include persistent changes in mood, sleep, appetite or social engagement.<\/p>\n Outside of sleep and reduced social media and screen time, pediatricians at Allegheny Health Network also recommended keeping vaccines up to date, focusing on healthy nutrition and balanced meals that include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats; and encouraging children to make social connections, such as spending time with their friends and participating in physical activities like sports and clubs, to build confidence and strengthen important life skills.<\/p>\n Zemtsov said vaccination rates have declined nationally, a trend that she said can be fatal.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of that, we\u2019re starting to see cases of diseases we never used to see, like measles, and that\u2019s a really concerning one \u2014 not just because it can make kids very, very sick, but people who can\u2019t be immunized, like infants,\u201d she said. \u201cAlso, if a pregnant woman were to get it, that can impact the development of the fetus.\u201d<\/p>\n Healthy habits like a good diet can be interrupted during the school year, according to Zemtsov, and \u201cgut (heath) plays a big role in our immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure kids are getting enough fiber, fruits and vegetables, things that have probiotics naturally, like yogurt,\u201d she said. \u201cOther things that tend to change in the fall is kids are now indoors a lot, and so that can decrease the amount of vitamin D they\u2019re getting naturally from the sun. We know that vitamin D deficiency makes immunity worse, and so I do encourage families to make sure that their kids are spending enough time outside.\u201d<\/p>\n If there\u2019s a deficiency in vitamin D, Zemtsov encourages the use of supplements.<\/p>\n On average, children get six to eight colds a year \u2014 \u201ceven if you\u2019re doing absolutely everything right,\u201d according to Zemtsov. \u201cIt\u2019s more if you\u2019re in day care or you\u2019re around a lot of sick kids or you have issues with your immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Do supplements work?<\/p>\n Taking various supplement options can be hit-or-miss in terms of staying healthy and preventing sickness, doctors said.<\/p>\n \u201cMy take on that is for the majority of those, there is not any significant data that says that they prevent or help treat any type of illnesses,\u201d said Dr. Mike Dinger, a family medicine physician with Independence Health System\u2019s Saltsburg Family Medicine.<\/p>\n However, he said there\u2019s some evidence that elderberry can shorten the duration of illness and upper respiratory infections in adults if it\u2019s taken correctly. But that evidence is not conclusive yet.<\/p>\n Dr. Raquel Zemtsov, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s School of Medicine and a practicing family medicine physician, encouraged taking vitamin C before people become sick; once people are sick, it doesn\u2019t really help.<\/p>\n \u201cI think echinacea potentially might help you get sick less, but again, it was really hard to tell. The studies weren\u2019t super great, but we know that taking zinc at the onset of an illness can help shorten it by a couple of days,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat\u2019s a little different about zinc is that taking it in a lozenge form, where you\u2019re sucking on it and it\u2019s coating the back of your throat, has some better efficacy because it\u2019s actually hitting where the virus is stuck onto cells.\u201d<\/p>\n But supplements can also cause various side effects, according to Zemtsov. For example, zinc can cause stomach problems.<\/p>\n For children, Dinger said supplements shouldn\u2019t be used without first speaking to their doctor.<\/p>\n \u201cNone of those should be used in lieu of certainly an antibiotic or whatever the doctor has prescribed,\u201d he said. \u201cSome people swear on vitamin C, it makes them feel better quicker \u2014 I don\u2019t argue with them.<\/p>\n \u201cIf that\u2019s what they feel, then that\u2019s totally fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking vitamin C or zinc won\u2019t hurt people, but Dinger believes how much they will actually help is \u201cpretty debatable.\u201d<\/p>\n He said people can rely on throat drops, Tylenol and Robitussin.<\/p>\n \u201cAlways stay well-hydrated,\u201d Dinger said. \u201cEveryone seems to have their individual things that work.\u201d<\/p>\n Zemtsov said it\u2019s important to know where and how to get safe supplements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can fall culprit to good marketing \u2026 I think is really important is remembering that supplements don\u2019t have to go through the FDA for approval,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of companies and third-party testing have shown that oftentimes, we don\u2019t know what is in a supplement or how much of something is in a supplement.\u201d<\/p>\n For this reason, she recommended looking at and using the verified supplements listed on two third-party testing sites: NSF International<\/a> and U.S. Pharmacopeia<\/a>. Products listed have been tested by those third-party sites, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can search for the type of supplement that you want to use, and it will tell you what companies have been tested \u2014 and what\u2019s in it is what\u2019s truly in it,\u201d Zemtsov said. \u201cOr you can search for just which companies in general are third-party tested, and so I do recommend that for all my patients.\u201d<\/p>\n In general, though, she said supplements are safe.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not going to hurt you \u2014 they just may not be super helpful,\u201d Zemtsov said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back-to-school season brings not only a return to classes for children across Western Pennsylvania \u2014 but also a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-280436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}