The Singapore weather, with blazing sunshine one day and thundery showers the next, is often blamed for causing our children to fall sick. The truth is, coughs and colds are brought on by bacteria and viruses, and not because our kids were mucking about in the rain or playing in the hot sun.

The more we get together

Concerned mothers are worried about their children’s well-being whenever the weather changes.  After all, flu season does seem to peak during wet weather, and again in the sweltering months.

Healthcare professionals will agree that more people tend to fall sick during certain times in the year, but mainly because they are exposed to each other more. Think school sessions in full swing, peak holiday periods and crowded festive seasons.

For school-going children, scorching weather or rainy days means more indoor activities. When they are cooped up inside stuffy classrooms for long periods of time, they are more likely to spread germs to each other.

When they perspire, the bacteria on their skin will mix with sweat to cause other problems like body odour, rashes, boils and pimples.

Good personal hygiene is key

We could boil barley water to ‘cool’ our children’s bodies in hot weather or brew soups to ‘warm’ them up during cold, rainy days. Nutritious meals, prudent vitamin intake and regular exercise all help to boost our kids’ immune systems.

Yet many of us overlook the importance of personal hygiene as key to preventing the spread of the bacteria that causes illness in the first place. Do encourage the habit of washing hands frequently and bathing at least twice a day.

It goes a long way in helping them to keep the infections at bay.

Just wetting the hands, or jumping in and out of showers won’t do. Show them the proper way to lather up, especially after a long and active day at school, with a gentle antibacterial bodywash like Lifebuoy.

The world’s no. 1* germ protection wash, Lifebuoy is a household favourite with advanced “Active 5” germ protection agents in its unique formulation. Choose a wash with moisturising yogurt, fresh lemon fragance or natural betel leaf oil. There is one for everybody in the family.

Moms, beware airborne & contact germs!

What really happens in warmer temperatures is that germs, like those that cause the common cold, thrive and multiply. Research has shown that germs live twice as long during monsoon seasons!

It is important that you know how these germs – that cause colds, coughs, sore throat, pink eye (conjunctivitis) diarrhoea and stomach flu – are spread.

Some are also spread by indirect contact with an infected person’s environment or personal items.

Outbreaks, like the Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, occur mostly at childcare centers where kids share toys, food and study space, play together and use the same toilets.

Cleanliness and personal hygiene should be enforced at all levels, even for the adults as they may touch unwashed, contaminated items and ‘pass’ the infection to others.

* Unilever calculation based in part on Nielsen data for Skin Cleansing category and Unilever defined brands from February to April 2013 in 46 countries

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