Related links
-
Follow Swine Flu on Twitter
Should the swine flu curb your Halloween festivities?
Between Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and sharing candy, the season seems fraught with germ-spreading opportunities. So, to some degree, health experts say, you need to take precautions.
School districts are heeding this advice. A number of schools in the state have canceled Halloween parties and other events out of fear of spreading the H1N1 virus. The Durham/Middlefield Youth Services, for instance, canceled a dance for fifth- and sixth-graders scheduled for tonight. The school district's superintendent, Susan Viccaro, advised the board to put any events for the next few days on hold.
"I've been communicating with other superintendents — we've all been communicating with each other," she said. "Here in District 13 we have been hit harder at the upper levels." Had there been any big high school events scheduled for this weekend, Viccaro said, she would have canceled them.
Candace Pettigrew, a patient-safety coordinator at the University of Connecticut, said canceling school parties might be the best approach, depending on the town's rate of flu cases.
"If it was a private party, I would definitely let my children go and take precautions," she said. "If it was a gymnasium party at a school, I might have some second thoughts."
In that case, she said, people should be aware of the flu incidence in their town. If it's on the high side, she recommends keeping kids home. And except for getting the vaccination, she said, the best advice for warding off infection is to wash your hands frequently.
As far as trick-or-treating, health experts say, there's no reason kids should miss out.
"That's not a real high risk," said Dennis Johnson, health director for Guilford, a town that's been hit hard by the swine flu. "It's outdoors and you're not congregating."
There are ways to accumulate candy without accumulating germs. Rather than having kids reach into a bowl, candy-givers should drop the candy into the trick-or-treaters' bags, Pettigrew said. Again, she urged parents to have their kids wash their hands when they get home.
Although the flu wouldn't prevent her from going to a party, Pettigrew said that if fellow partygoers coughed or sneezed, she wouldn't hesitate to advise them to do it into the crooks of their arms.
"I think it can be awkward, but if I was among friends, they would appreciate knowing that this could prevent germs."
Between Halloween parties, trick-or-treating and sharing candy, the season seems fraught with germ-spreading opportunities. So, to some degree, health experts say, you need to take precautions.
School districts are heeding this advice. A number of schools in the state have canceled Halloween parties and other events out of fear of spreading the H1N1 virus. The Durham/Middlefield Youth Services, for instance, canceled a dance for fifth- and sixth-graders scheduled for tonight. The school district's superintendent, Susan Viccaro, advised the board to put any events for the next few days on hold.
"I've been communicating with other superintendents — we've all been communicating with each other," she said. "Here in District 13 we have been hit harder at the upper levels." Had there been any big high school events scheduled for this weekend, Viccaro said, she would have canceled them.
Candace Pettigrew, a patient-safety coordinator at the University of Connecticut, said canceling school parties might be the best approach, depending on the town's rate of flu cases.
"If it was a private party, I would definitely let my children go and take precautions," she said. "If it was a gymnasium party at a school, I might have some second thoughts."
In that case, she said, people should be aware of the flu incidence in their town. If it's on the high side, she recommends keeping kids home. And except for getting the vaccination, she said, the best advice for warding off infection is to wash your hands frequently.
As far as trick-or-treating, health experts say, there's no reason kids should miss out.
"That's not a real high risk," said Dennis Johnson, health director for Guilford, a town that's been hit hard by the swine flu. "It's outdoors and you're not congregating."
There are ways to accumulate candy without accumulating germs. Rather than having kids reach into a bowl, candy-givers should drop the candy into the trick-or-treaters' bags, Pettigrew said. Again, she urged parents to have their kids wash their hands when they get home.
Although the flu wouldn't prevent her from going to a party, Pettigrew said that if fellow partygoers coughed or sneezed, she wouldn't hesitate to advise them to do it into the crooks of their arms.
"I think it can be awkward, but if I was among friends, they would appreciate knowing that this could prevent germs."
