Missing school is not a fun experience because students often will have tons of make-up work that they have trouble understanding. After all, the lesson was missed. The most common reason for missing school is getting sick. In public schools, with the large number of students that are in proximity every day, disease can spread like wildfire. So how does one avoid getting sick and having to miss school?
Firstly, basic hygienic practices can greatly reduce the chance of getting sick. Some are common sense to most people, such as washing one’s hands before eating. Despite this being a simple and effective way to reduce the spread of illness, only a few people go to the bathroom to wash their hands with soap before eating every day.
Another thing that can help is avoiding touching one’s face because both the mouth and the nose are common inlets for disease; keeping one’s hands away from one’s face is important.
Some other things are just common courtesy, such as coughing in the elbow and sanitizing hands after blowing one’s nose.
Now, having good basic hygienic principles is a start, but people should keep in mind that some areas have more germs than others. Some of these germ “hot spots” are places such as the bathroom where people are constantly touching bodily fluids and then transferring them to places such as sink handles, paper towel dispenser casings, and door handles. To avoid touching these surfaces one should use the paper towel that you use to dry your hands to interact with these surfaces and avoid direct contact.
Some other places that people may think to be clean are quite dirty. One good example is desks because many people use them throughout the day. Students don’t know the hygiene habits of the people who share the desk with them. One way to counter this is by wiping down a desk with a disinfectant wipe before using before using it. The practice of sanitizing desks could be better encouraged by the school, ensuring all teachers have access to disinfectant wipes.
While being cautious in school about the things that someone touches and having their own sanitation can help, it can only do so much. Boosting one’s immune system can greatly affect one’s health by reducing the impact of the illness on them. One habit that can help is eating a healthy and balanced diet, especially those containing leafy greens to help make sure that a body gets all the vitamins that it needs. Another important aspect of boosting an immune system is exercise; if someone sits around all day, their body will lose some of its immune strength. To counter this, make sure to get some activity every day can reduce the chances of getting seriously ill. Exercise also has the added benefit of reducing stress levels; stress increases the risk of illness.
The final and one of the hardest parts of the puzzle is sleep, getting over eight hours of sleep regularly can help make someone less stressed and strengthen their immune system.
