Back-to-school germ exposure might be good, says doctor

The annual back-to-school season brings with it the inevitable germs and colds.

Whenstudent orteachers are introduced to a densely-populated environment they tend to pick up a whole bunch of germs but that might actually be a good thing, says Calgary Eyeopener's health columnist Dr. Raj Bhardwaj.

• Listen to his full interview below:

"I like to think of it as exercise for your immune system," Bhardwaj said.

"You're getting all these germs that people have collected over the summer and have brought to you and that your body hasn't seen yet, so your body gets exposed to them, gets to fight them off one at a time, but then remembers that it fought it off and then it can fight it off more efficiently the next time or even not get sick."

While most coughs and colds aren't particularly serious, there are a fewred-flagsymptoms to keep an eye out for.

"First one is weird rashes," says Bhardwaj. "Rashes with a sick-lookingkidare something thatI would always get checked out."

Rashes can be a sign of a new infection the immune system is fighting and could require medical attention.

The next thing to watch for is changes in the throat, especially throats that "look gunky," Bhardwaj says.

"Most of the time that's just a viral tonsillitis, it's not a big deal," he said.

Be awareof more serious symptoms

However, sometimes a throat infection could indicatemore serious issues like infectious mononucleosis (mono) or strep throat.

"Mono can cause problems with your liver and your spleen and that has implications for sportsand activities for kids and also strep, which is a bigger dealtoo," he says.

Many of the things parents find most worrisome are also preventable through things like vaccinations and washing hands.

Serious infections like hepatitis and meningitis can be at least partially prevented.

In Canada, there are two kinds of vaccines available to protect against meningococcus, the bacteria that causes meningitis. There is also a vaccine to prevent hepatitis A, as well as a combination vaccine to prevent both hepatitis A and B.

Sleep,diet important

Getting enough sleep and eating healthy meals are alsoimportant partsof keeping kids healthy.

Often, getting one is linked to getting the other, Bhardwaj says.

"The other thing is to feed them breakfast you have to wake them up early enough, andto wakethem up early enough you have to have them go to sleep early enough."

For that, Bhardwaj has a simple rule turn off phones, computers and other devices at least one hour before bed time.

The light given off by electronic devices can reset internal clocks, says Bhardwaj.

It can also provide an easy distraction, keepingyoung peoplefrom going back to sleep.

"Don't let them use their phone as their alarm. I have heard from kids who wake up tossing and turning at two, three in the morning [that]check their phone for the timeand they, 'Oh look there's a tweet from Justin Timberlake' or whatever and then they will reply to that or do something."

"Get the phone out of the bedroom. Get the computer out of the bedroom."