AccuWeather spoke with pediatrician Dr. Gina Robinson of the Cleveland Clinic who breaks down the risk of the flu and what preventative measures to take as kids begin to return to school.
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00:00 When we're talking about influenza, we're really talking about a virus that can be a
00:06 lot more serious, can have a lot more severe consequences.
00:13 There's a period of time before you're showing symptoms where you're actually contagious
00:17 and able to spread the flu virus to other people.
00:20 So you may not be showing symptoms, but you're actually able to get other people ill.
00:28 I can't tell you how many times people tell me, "Well, he went outside without a hat on
00:32 and that's why he got sick."
00:34 But it's really when it gets colder, we're inside together, we're closed up together,
00:38 we're sharing our germs a little bit more easily.
00:44 Once your fever is gone for 24 hours without the aid of any type of temperature-reducing
00:51 medication, you can go back to school and you're not contagious anymore.
00:55 You may not feel the best still, and that has to be taken into account when you're deciding
01:00 whether or not to send your child back, but you know they won't be contagious anymore.
01:07 Washing your hands is probably one of the best ways to fight just about everything,
01:11 but definitely with the flu.
01:13 And washing for long enough with soap and hot water is really important.
01:17 (upbeat music)