Waging war on germs

Victoria Clayton • E-mail

How much can parents really do to shield their kids from germs? And what's the best way to deal with emotional overeating? Growing Up Healthy answers your queries. Have a question about children's health and well-being? Send it to us at . We’ll post select answers in future columns.

Q: In a recent column, you suggested that using a cover to protect an infant from biting down on a shopping-cart handle was “overparenting.” Considering the panic this country went through because some people couldn’t get flu shots, why is taking such steps to protect your child from germs considered overdoing it?

A: Any parent knows that the only thing worse than taking care of a sick child is taking care of a sick child while the rest of the family (including you) is also sick. For this reason, it’s hard to criticize anyone for doing whatever he or she can in a true attempt to prevent illnesses. The issue of the shopping-cart cover, however, is a sticky matter. There are two camps.

Camp One doesn’t believe precautions like a special cover for a shopping cart does anything but complicate parenting, which is already a complicated enough job.

In this camp is Dr. Dennis Woo, chairman of the department of pediatrics at UCLA-Santa Monica. “The fact that children do so well [without extreme protective measures] is a huge testament to the power of our immune systems,” says Woo.

He also points out that covers even present their own risks. Most notably, as a potential tripping hazard for kids who try to get out of the cart. Furthermore, a cover could be as germy as the handle if parents don’t keep it spotless. And if you have more than one child it would be highly impractical, he says.

“Good hand-washing and being a little selective about where you go makes sense to me. But nothing beyond that. Certainly, not a shopping-cart cover,” says Woo, the father of three.

He doesn’t mean you need to hibernate to be safe, either. Just don’t knowingly take your children around people who are sick.

Worried about germs? Wash up! Clean hands are the No. 1 way to fight illness, says Dr. Philip Tierno, author of "The Secret Lives of Germs." Of course, washing your hands after you use the bathroom (and after diapering) helps protect not only you but also your children because it ensures you don’t transmit germs to them. But most people don’t take the time and aren’t as fastidious as they should be, Tierno says. Here’s how to do it right: — Soap up entire hands, paying special attention to easy-to-skip areas such as fingernails, knuckles and between fingers. — Scrub for a minimum of 20 seconds (about the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday"). — Rinse and repeat. — Dry with a clean towel or paper towel. — If using a public restroom, use a paper towel to shut off the faucet and open the bathroom door.

Woo says you can’t really prevent children from being exposed to germs and, besides, if they don’t get the germs from the handle (hint: bring a toy for them to play with instead) they will get germs from day care, play groups, restaurants, community play centers, friends and their families. Most homes are veritable germ fests – even if you run a tidy ship.

The only time Woo recommends extra precautions is for newborns. “The first three months, but especially the first month, I tell parents to be a little bit cautious with the baby,” says Woo.

He explains that a cold and fever that are not a big deal for a six-month-old can be enough to land a six-week-old in the hospital. By cautious, again, he means exercise good hand-washing and avoid sick people. In fact, he says, you should try to avoid crowds in general (i.e. don’t pass a newborn around parties).

Of course, then, there is Camp Two. Dr. Philip Tierno, director of the department of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at New York University Medical Center and the author of "The Secret Lives Of Germs," says anything you can do – including using shopping-cart covers – to reduce your child’s exposure to germs is worthwhile.

“It’s true that nothing you can do will eliminate germs, but you can cut down on them as much as possible,” says Tierno, who uses a cover when he takes his grandson grocery shopping.

The bottom line is that it’s up to you, as it should be. If using the cover makes sense to you and you’re using it not to show the world what a great parent you are but because you want to try to prevent illness, great.

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