This was published 1 year ago
How to shield your children from lurking lurgies
From runny noses to coughs, ear infections and gastro, some children seem to catch every lurgy doing the rounds at daycare or school. Two medical experts explain why this is so, and what parents can do to prevent it.
As Queensland descends into a “heavy winter” – the worst influenza season since 2019 – infectious diseases specialist Dr Krispin Hajkowicz says young children are often exposed to respiratory viruses for the first time at daycare.
Winter can mean a revolving door of illnesses and time off work for parents.Credit: iStock
That includes RSV, which almost all children catch by the time they are two.
“We know that children in childcare can be getting a respiratory virus once a month or more, and also in those environments, that there’s quite a lot of co-infection, with multiple viruses at once,” says Hajkowicz, from the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
“Children can also sometimes shed viruses for longer than adults.”
The age that a child starts daycare does not make a big difference, according to Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Maria Boulton.
“It is more common for kids to transmit things through their saliva. For example ... toddlers who just want to share every toy and put it in their mouth,” the GP specialist says.
“But a lot of illnesses are also airborne, for example COVID.”
Some parents believe that by getting sick at daycare, their child’s immunity is boosted. To this, Hajkowicz says: “The best option for infectious diseases in general is not to catch them.”
But if they don’t get sick as a toddler, are they more likely to fall ill at school?
“Infectious diseases change over time, you see it with all the COVID variants, flu and RSV,” he says.
“Just because you got the 2023 version of flu A, it doesn’t mean that would give you protection against the 2026 version of flu A. That’s why we have to update flu vaccines all the time.”
And while older children are better at personal hygiene, he says there is still viral transmission in schools.
Both experts recommend children get vaccinated, including for influenza and chickenpox.
Children also benefit from a healthy diet, activity and sleep, Boulton says.
Other tips include encouraging handwashing, covering coughs, and throwing away tissues.
“We don’t want to spread these things, so please keep your child at home, or if you’re sick yourself, please stay at home – all these things are very contagious,” Boulton says.
Reassuringly, she says it does get better.
“When your child is sick, somebody has to take time off to stay with them. It can become quite a stressful time.
“It does seem to be something that kids grow out of ... and parents don’t seem to miss as much work as the kids grow a bit older.”