Understanding Cold & Flu: Cold & Flu Prevention

For children, getting struck down with cold or flu is not only miserable, but incredibly hard to stop spreading among family and friends. This is especially the case once a child starts nursery or school; there are no cold prevention techniques that are 100% effective.ⁱⁱⁱ This means that not only are other pupils at risk, but the staff too.

When winter hits, it brings with it the possibility of seasonal flu. That’s why most schools have their own methods of keeping colds and flu at bay. That could mean hand sanitiser by the front door, not allowing contagious pupils to attend school until all signs of infection have gone away, and other such methods.^iv

The best flu prevention technique is to ensure that your child, or any vulnerable person, receives the flu vaccine. Recent statistics show that almost 7.5 million eligible children and adults missed out on their free NHS vaccination in 2018.^v