“This post has been sponsored by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. All thoughts and reviews are my own and we only share products that we use in our own home.”
It’s March – that means Spring is right around the corner, but it also means we go from cold, to warm, to hot, to cold again. These temperature swings usually bring around another bout of colds, flu and all around “Ew”.
I don’t know about you, but we’ve had a rough winter with colds and ickyness going through our home. Granted having a 3 year old in daycare sure doesn’t help – but after doing a little more research I have noticed it is definitely not only the toddler we can blame. For example, each keyboard key contains up to 1.3 million germs—that’s more than 135 million germs on the entire keyboard. YUCK!!! Both Jeanna and I work on computers all day – maybe we are bringing these germs home?!
I wanted to share with you what pediatric doctor Dr. Nina Shapiro and microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba have learned about how germs exist beyond what meets the eye and how to get kids back to being kids again when germs cause those Sick just got real™ moments.
Germs at play
- The sun’s ultraviolet light rays kill bacteria, so playground equipment in the shade will have more bacteria.
- Sandboxes are a germ culprit, particularly if they remain uncovered overnight, which allows bacteria to enter.
- Any microorganisms on kids’ hands will spread to monkey bars, slides, teeter totters, swings and other touched surfaces where other children can then pick them up when playing.
I will be sure to be moving Gradie’s outdoor play toys into direct sunlight – I never knew that the rays could kill bacteria. Plus we will be getting rid of her sandbox this year – YUCK (again)!!
Germ class is in session
- Half of students don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom – and of those who do many don’t even use soap.
- Less than one-third of teachers said they regularly disinfect germ-laden objects in the classroom.
- Desks often have more bacteria than a toilet seat and if eating happens in class, the number of germs multiplies.
- Up to 2.7 million bacterial cells per square inch live on common school surfaces such as water fountains, desks, computer keyboards, bus seats and cafeteria trays.
- Shared technology in classrooms introduces new high-touch surfaces for spreading germs – the computer mouse, keyboard and tablet surfaces have some of the highest germ counts (a standard iPad screen has up to 192 million bacteria!)
A good idea to keep sanitizer in your kids backpacks – and remind them to use it OFTEN!!
“Ew” is in the air
- In addition to school and the playground, the supermarket is a festival of “ew”, with shopping carts, credit card machines and reusable grocery bags acting as the leading germ carriers.
- Some germs can live on dry surfaces, such as toys, for several hours.
- Colds and other respiratory infections are spread by the hands and touching the nose or eyes, while 81 percent of people with the flu virus spread it through the air when they cough.
- Most kids touch up to 20 objects per minute and touch their face 50 times per hour – leading to wide germ spreading.
Say goodbye to perfect attendance
- More than 38 million school days are missed by U.S. children each year due to the flu.
- Parents miss about 126 million workdays annually caring for a sick child, which equates to 40 billion lost dollars.
- Missing work to stay home with their sick kids and worrying about sickness outbreaks going around the classroom were the top concerns parents have when their child is sick at school.
Of course our kids will inevitably get sick, no matter how much we do to try prevent it. This is where these great Pfizer Consumer Healthcare pediatric brands step in to help us out, with these three solutions –
- Children’s Advil®,
- Children’s Robitussin®, and
- Children’s Dimetapp®
to tackle the “ew”iest of symptoms.
Whether it is a good or lucky thing – we received these products a couple days before Gradie’s latest cold/virus. Just as it is with us, as adults, our little ones feel ‘poopy’ and they don’t understand why their body aches, throw in a fever and this is where Children’s Advil® can help save the day.
For your children aged between 2 and 11, and available in flavors they wont hate; Sugar-free Dye-free Berry, Bubble Gum, Grape, Blue Raspberry, Fruit and Dye-Free White Grape flavors. You won’t fight them to take it, it’ll act FAST and it’ll LAST long – that is the experience we had, and we are so grateful we were able to get Gradie some relief.
For your infants there is Infants’ Advil® White Grape, which provides unsurpassed fever relief (among OTC pain relievers) with a syringe for easy dosing for children 6-23 months.
We also received Children’s Robitussin® Extended-Release 12 Hour Cough Relief and Children’s Dimetapp® Multi-Symptom Cold Relief Dye-Free. However, these are for children aged 4 and up and 6 and up, respectively. Gradie is only 3, so we shared these two products with Gradie’s cousins to use when the need arises.
OF COURSE – It is important to remember to always read and keep the cartons for complete warnings and dosing information on Pfizer Pediatric products and to use as directed. Also, make sure to keep all medications out of reach of children.
To learn more & to stay up to date on tips and tricks to avoid Sick Getting Real be sure to head over to the Sick just got real.™ website and like/follow their Facebook page.
PLUS – Pfizer Pediatric Products is sponsoring a fun giveaway – click here to enter to WIN a $25 Visa gift card and a bundle of Pfizer Pediatric products!!
I never knew the sun could kill bacteria.. that’s pretty cool. In my sons High 5 class they eat breakfast at their tables. I purchase wipes and sanitizer for his class. I was told they aren’t allowed to use chemicals because of allergies and asthma issues they can cause. Thankfully his teachers are very good at making sure they was their hands with soap all throughout the day.
My parents always gave us dimetapp. I swear by it. I also find that the daytime medications are amazing.
These are great medications to keep on hand when your kids get sick. We go through colds an the flu every year at this time.
Germs are everywhere and kids are going to get sick, no question. It’s good to be prepared.
It makes sense that playground equipment in the sun has less germs than equipment in the shade due to UV rays!
Ugh, that’s terrible to read how germy the classroom is! My children eat in their classroom and they only wipe down the tables once a day at the end of the day. I’m just trying to make myself feel better by telling myself they are building up their immune systems! I hope I’ve done my job as a mom teaching my children to wash their hands with soap every time they use the bathroom or come inside.
great info about germs and how to fight them
I am big on keeping down germs. Washing hands and cleanliness is a must. I do believe this keeps down sickness.
Shared this with my daughter, she has 5 little guys to contend with,it’s crazy wen they’re sick
There are so many places and ways kids can pick up bacteria. Most of them you probably just don’t even realize. It’s always nice to be kept informed.
Articles like this make me glad I don’t have kids. Only have to worry about myself.
SO much going around this year!! We HATE the sickies 😛 Yuck!!
I hate getting a cold have one right now and using everything
All of the Pfizer products work so well! I love using Robitussin when I don’t feel well because I know it works. I used to use Dayquil, but I would still feel so “ew”.
Wow, what a lot of interesting statistics! And to think that some of those numbers could be dropped with proper education. Way to go for this blog post!
Those are some super surprising sick statistics! We always keep medicine on hand for when germs strike.
I’ve tried all of these except Dimetapp! I’ve heard great things and plan to use it the next time sick gets real in my family.
Thanks for the review, I have used Dimetapp and it works great.
Some really great advice for parents ,it’s not always obvious how to keep sickness away
I haven’t tried Dimetap yet for my kids, but I would like to see if it’ll help them. I hope we don’t end up with much illness this school year, we did pretty frequently at the beginning of the school year.
We do our best to stay healthy by washing hands frequently but still get colds and runny noses. Robitussin sure works for my family to help treat the symptoms until we feel better.
Being sick is never fun, especially for the little ones. Hand washing is so important. I can’t believe that half of students don’t wash their hands after using the restroom. Ew.
Pfizer has great products for dealing with cold and flu season. I always rely on Robutussin when I have a sore throat.
THESE are over the counter medicine differ from prescription medicines but offer the same benefits use them properly
I feel like growing up all we had was grape flavored Dimatapp. I’m glad there are so many more products and varieties to help against family colds and illnesses.
We have had a rough winter too. Wow so many germs just on a keyboard! It’s sad when the little ones feel sick and don’t know why they are feeling icky. Glad for products to help with the symptoms.
Ewww, I just read the stats on not washing after using the bathroom and washing but not using soap. Yuck!
Amazing how many school and work days are missed because of illness. All the more reason to always keep these products handy and stress the importance of hand washing to the kiddos.
Good info, though of course the truth is that germs are everywhere al of the time. So, better to just be prepared for the inevitable.
sounds like they have some great products, we would love to try them in our home
Hey, I think your blog might be having browser compatibility issues.
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quick heads up! Other tthen that, amazing blog!
A lot of good information I think every parent should read!
WOW! I am shocked at the amount of children that are sick and have to stay home during school time because of being sick. I am glad that these products are here to help them.
@tisonlyme143
I have a daycare in my home and just completed an online course on germs. I was also alarmed at the amount of germs that can accumulate even though I consider myself a clean person, I realized that I was not doing enough. My grandchildren grew up in my daycare and now the oldest is in the first grade and he admitted to me that even he doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom because no one else does. He has had a stomach bug for almost a week. No wonder. One thing I did not know was the fact that the sun’s rays will kill germs and for that I am thankful. I do keep my sandboxes covered. Again, very thankful. This is a good time for this article and it is well written.
Thanks for the info. I hate this time of year because of all the bugs.
We all got the flu in our house this past month so man on man did #SickJustGotReal. I was in bed for 3 days. Ugh! Thanks to my trusty medicine I am back on track.
I am always telling the kids to wash their hands. And cover their mouth when they cough.
I like the line at Pfizer. They really help when it comes to sick days. I thank you for the review.
It is a good idea to keep products like these in stock for when the inevitable happens. Kids are exposed to so many germs. You can educate them but being kids they eventually come down with something.