How Can I Reduce My Baby’s Exposure to Germs While in Public? (2024)

FAQs

How Can I Reduce My Baby’s Exposure to Germs While in Public? ›

Keep your hands clean. Frequent hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds is best. If you cannot wash your hands, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is the next best substitute. Remember to always wash your hands (and any siblings' hands) as soon as you get home.

It is important to wash your hands frequently, especially after changing a diaper, using the bathroom and before preparing formula, bottle- or breastfeeding your baby. It is also important that the adults caring for your baby are up-to-date on their vaccinations.

Back to the Basics: Hand Hygiene

Be sure to wash your hands before touching your baby, after coughing or sneezing, and after using the bathroom. Don't forget to dry those hands— germs transfer more easily when hands are wet, according to research! Keep your newborn healthy!

Make hand washing a rule.

The most common way of spreading an infectious disease is by touch. So you should always wash your hands before picking up your baby or preparing food, and after diaper changes, using the bathroom, or walking into the house.

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose. Discard used tissues in the trash as soon as you can. Always wash your hands after sneezing, blowing your nose, or coughing, or after touching used tissues or handkerchiefs. Use warm water and soap to wash your hands.

People are considered up to date on their COVID vaccines when they have gotten all the recommended doses for their age. Avoid people who are sick. Household members who are sick can wear a mask when around the baby. Wash your hands well and often, and teach others in your home to do the same.

There are no set rules about how long to wait before taking a newborn out into the world or when to let people near the baby. Some doctors recommend that parents wait until their baby is a few months old before going to crowded public places (like malls, movie theaters, and airplanes).

Exposure to germs builds up a baby's immune system. Once the body is infected by a specific virus, it learns how to make antibodies to fight it. The next time it's exposed, the body can fight it off without getting an infection. That said, you never want to deliberately expose your child to bacteria or viruses.

While it's never ideal to expose a new baby to the kind of germs you carry when you're sick, there's a big difference between exposing them to a minor case of the sniffles and exposing them to a stomach virus that could leave them severely dehydrated.

How fast can a baby get sick from someone? ›

There is usually a delay between when a child is exposed to the virus and when they develop the illness. This delay is generally a few days, but some viruses may take up to two or three weeks before symptoms appear. Good hygiene reduces the chance of getting viruses or passing them onto others.

Other good hygiene habits

Good hygiene includes: not sharing cups, cutlery or personal items like toothbrushes. encouraging children to cough or sneeze into their elbow. using tissues instead of hankies – teach your child to throw tissues into the bin as soon as they have used them and to wash their hands afterwards.

One of the effective ways to help stop the spread of germs and protect babies and young children from infection is to wash the hands regularly with soap and clean running water. Hands should always be washed: Before breastfeeding or preparing formula milk. Before and after preparing food.

through indirect contact (when children with colds touch their saliva or runny noses and then touch an object such as a toy or furniture; germs can live on an object for some time and can be picked up by an uninfected child who touches the object).