It’s not just students and teachers gearing up for back-to-school, there are all kinds of germs and bugs just waiting to be passed around.

Nicholas Cunningham, physician assistant, regional clinical director for WellNow, spoke to The Era with some helpful hints for parents and guardians trying to keep their school-bound youngsters healthy.

“Anytime we are sending our children back to school, the propensity for viral illness is high,” Cunningham said. “We need to be mindful for illnesses like covid, flu and RSV. And bacterial illnesses like strep throat.”

What can parents do to protect their children?

“We’ve got to get back to basics,” Cunningham said. “The most important thing we can do for kids to keep them healthy is to build up their immune system. It all comes down to sleep.”

The recommendation is for 10 hours of sleep every night for children.

“Sleep hygiene really becomes important.”

Shut off any phones, games or screens 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. Decrease the amount of stimulation kids have before bedtime.

“There are some other common-sense approaches, like proper handwashing,” he added, explaining clean hands are those that have been washed with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds. Children also need to be reminded to scrub under their nails.

“It’s OK to try things like a daily multi-vitamin and a vitamin-rich diet and a well-balanced diet that will help children’s immune systems,” Cunningham said.

And in school, most districts have hand sanitizer available. Encourage your children that it’s OK to use it to help keep themselves and others healthy.

Messages like keeping one’s hands to oneself, and not sharing food and drinks are important messages. So are messages to teachers and cleaning staff to make sure toys, desks and chairs are sanitized often.

Another part of the battle is making sure one’s child doesn’t carry too much — literally. Keep an eye on the weight of backpacks.

“We need to pack light. It is recommended we keep our children’s backpacks between 10 and 15 percent of their body weight,” Cunningham said. “Children’s musculoskeletal systems are still developing and prolonged weight-bearing tasks like carrying a 40- to 50-pound backpack around for eight hours a day can really do a few things.

“Number one, it can increase the propensity for strains and sprains,” he continued. “In a 10- and 12-year-old kid, you really don’t like to see that happening that young. And two, it can affect one’s posture long term. If our kids are needing to flex their back muscles and abdominal muscles to carry that heavy backpack, it can affect their posture. It can actually exacerbate underlying conditions, like scoliosis, causing injuries that would be avoidable by packing light.”

Keep an eye on a child’s scheduling for after-school activities, too. Find a healthy balance.

“Involving our kids in extra curricular activities is important,” Cunningham said. “We need to make sure it is not interfering with kids maintaining the proper amount of sleep and rest, and that it’s not affecting the ability to eat a well balanced diet.

“And that the kid’s enjoying it. Mental health is an important part of healthcare.”

Keep a healthy family dynamic and maintain an open dialog, Cunningham said. Talking to your child will help you notice if a mental health issue might be a concern. Nowadays, most school systems have a school nurse and some type of counselor. Encourage children that it’s okay to visit those professionals if a need arises.

If they are feeling poorly, go to their healthcare provider, emergency room or their local WellNow.

“We do take pride in treating all non life-threatening injuries, illnesses and ailments to the best of our abilities,” Cunningham said. “WellNow really does specialize in the more common colds, coughs, strains, sprains and things like minor burns, minor lacerations and covid, flu, RSV, strep throat.”

WellNow also offers sports physicals, and when an injury happens, they also have an X-ray machine on site.

“I would encourage any of our patients to visit our website, wellnow.com for more information,” he said.