America’s aging population is one factor in this increase. There is also a growing number of people who are being diagnosed with diseases that are limiting their ability to care for themselves. The result – more people who are trying to fit 48 hours into a 24-hour day. Caregiving is a full-time job, but most people do not have the financial ability to forgo work. And no matter how much a caregiver wants to be there for the person they are providing care for, the reality is a caregiver cannot fully give up their own life. Doing so benefits no one.

Burnout is something all caregivers have to deal with throughout their caregiving journey. But without self-care it can become overwhelming. Taking a few minutes each day to invest in self-care will benefit both the caregiver and the care recipient in the end, so take them.

Say Goodbye to Guilt

 Caregiving can be riddled with guilt. Caregivers can often find themselves feeling like they should have been better or done better and they have regret for things they said or didn’t do. Not every day, every moment or every interaction is perfect. Everyone has moments they wish they could redo. It is important not to dwell on these moments and recognize that forgiving perceived shortcomings will create an opportunity to do better next time. 

 Take Notes

Caregivers often take notes about the person they are caring for to use as a reference or to bring to doctor appointments. This is something they should do for themselves as well. Keep a journal of how the day went, was it a good day, what feelings did the day trigger, what was learned and other information. Going back and looking at these notes can surprisingly reveal a pattern of recurring gratitude and love. 

Mayday! Mayday!

 Asking for help can be hard. Conversations often go like this, “Please let me know if I can help in any way” and caregivers reply with “I will, thank you”. Yet they rarely do. Don’t wait until the ship is sinking to ask for help, even if it is just in a small way. Help is cumulative. It all adds up. And humans seem to function better with a purpose. Accept someone else’s purpose to help. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

 Self-reflection is often hard but vital to being one’s best self. Take time; it only needs to be a few minutes, to breathe and gather thoughts and look inwards. Acknowledge and value accomplishments that have been made. Take time to be thankful for a good moment or a good laugh. Take time to see and recognize the personal strength it takes to be a caregiver. 

Run Your Race

“Comparison is the thief of joy,” Theodore Roosevelt said. Try not to compare a day or caregiving journey to someone else’s. Everyone has their own unique challenges layered with complicated decisions. There isn’t a formula for caregiving. What worked for one person may not work for another, and that is okay. Every caregiver has to find their own path. 

 Keep It Simple

 When game planning for the morning, day, week or month, learn to simplify. Often the perception is that the more that can be accomplished in one day, the better. However, when it comes to caregiving things need to be made less daunting. If something intimidating lies ahead, try to break it down into small steps to achieve the goal. Know that living an uncomplicated life can help make things seem more manageable. 

 One thing that is certain for caregivers is that the challenges are not going to stop. Some days will have more than others. The key to avoiding burnout and staying strong is to create a personal formula for dealing with them, starting by simplifying daily life as much as possible and accepting that it is impossible to do it all. 

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, federal authorities are examining the connection between the virus and asthma.

According to a news release from the National Institutes of Health, three of its institutes are supporting and conducting studies on asthma. They are the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Another federal institution, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommends that people with asthma should continue their current asthma medications and discuss any concerns with their healthcare provider.

Researchers at NIH and elsewhere are working to learn more about COVID-19 and to develop specific treatments and vaccines.

The CDC recommends that people with asthma continue their medications.

For example, NIAID is initiating a home-based study to assess the incidence of infection with COVID-19, in children and their caregivers and siblings. A key objective of this observational study will be to determine if infection rates or immune responses to COVID-19 infection differ in children who have asthma or other allergic conditions compared to those who have not been diagnosed with or treated for these conditions.

NIAID also is starting an observational study in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 to that may help determine whether underlying diseases, such as asthma, influence the body’s response to infection.

In related research, NIH scientists are making progress in understanding the underlying factors that contribute to the development of asthma in U.S. children. This year, an international collaboration led by NIEHS scientists reported that the presence of newly discovered novel epigenetic markers — or chemical tags that attach to DNA — may indicate a newborn’s risk of developing asthma. The data may help researchers find asthma biomarkers, or molecular indicators of asthma, and identify at birth which children will eventually develop the condition.

Ongoing NIAID-funded clinical studies focus on interventions to prevent asthma development in children at high risk of developing the condition. One team of researchers studied a large group of children who were hospitalized as infants with bronchiolitis, a common early-life lung infection usually caused by a virus. The scientists found that recurrent wheezing by age 3 is at least three times more likely to occur in children whose bronchiolitis was associated with a rhinovirus C infection and who also had early signs of allergy to foods or inhaled allergens.

African Americans and people of African ancestry

Another group that bears a disproportionate burden of asthma is African Americans. In an NHLBI-funded study that is the largest genome-wide association study of asthma in African ancestry populations to date, researchers identified two novel regions on a specific chromosome that may be linked to asthma risk. The scientists theorize that a better understanding of the genetic risk factors for asthma in African ancestry populations will lead to development of better therapeutic interventions.

Potential new treatments

Using a mouse model of asthma, NIEHS researchers reported a possible treatment for neutrophilic asthma, a particularly severe form that responds poorly to the standard asthma therapy of corticosteroids. The orally available drug VTP-938 made it easier for the mice to breathe after they were exposed to house dust extracts. The results suggest that VTP-938 may be an innovative treatment for humans with this steroid-resistant form of asthma.

Genes involved in asthma

An NIAID-funded study sought to understand why some, but not all, colds lead to asthma attacks among children with asthma. The scientists obtained nasal washings from 106 children with severe asthma who experienced cold symptoms. Members of the research team compared samples from those who required corticosteroids after a cold-induced asthma attack and those who did not have an asthma attack following a cold. The research team found that colds that led to an asthma attack caused changes in the production of six families of genes that are associated with maintaining the function of the outermost layer of tissue lining the respiratory tract and with the responses of immune cells in close contact with this layer.

Asthma management

NHLBI’s National Asthma Education Prevention Program is coordinating the 2020 focused updates to the 2007 Asthma Management Guidelines. These guidelines are designed to improve the care of people living with asthma as well as help primary care providers and specialists make decisions about asthma management. NHLBI released the updated focus areas of the guidelines for public comment, and the final recommendations for these areas are expected to be published later this year.

For the latest news from the federal government on COVID-19, click here and here.

Here, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlines the different types of tests and the steps involved.

A diagnostic test can show if you have an active coronavirus infection and should take steps to quarantine or isolate yourself from others. Currently there are two types of diagnostic tests – molecular (RT-PCR) tests that detect the virus’s genetic material, and antigen tests that detect specific proteins on the surface of the virus.

The molecular test is also known as a viral test or nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). A sample is taken via nose or throat swab or, less frequently, saliva. Results may be available in as little as one day or up to a week. The FDA says that the test is highly accurate and does not need to be repeated. It diagnoses an active coronavirus infection, but it cannot tell whether you had COVID-19 in the past or were infected by it.

The other type of diagnostic test, an antigen test, is known as a rapid diagnostic test. The test is given via a nasal or throat swab and the results are known in an hour or less. Positive results are usually highly accurate, but negative tests may need to be confirmed through a molecular test. It diagnoses an active coronavirus infection, but it cannot rule out such an infection. Antigen tests are more likely to miss an active coronavirus infection compared to a molecular test. Your health care provider may order a molecular test if your antigen test shows a negative result but you have symptoms of COVID-19.

An antigen test diagnoses an active coronavirus infection but cannot rule out such an infection. 

An antibody test looks for antibodies that are made by the immune system in response to a threat, such as a specific virus. Antibodies can help fight infections. This procedure is also known as a serology test, seriological test or blood test. It is performed via a finger stick or a blood draw. The result may be known the same day as the test, or it can take up to three days. Sometimes, the FDA says, a second test is needed to ensure an accurate result. This test shows whether you have been infected with coronavirus in the past.  It does not show that you don’t have COVID-19.

Information courtesy of the FDA. For more information on COVID-19, click here.

The EUA was issued on May 15, 2020 to Quidel Corporation for the Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA.

According to FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., and Jeff Shuren, M.D., director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, diagnostic testing is one of the pillars of the U.S. response to COVID-19.

Hahn and Shuren emphasized that the FDA continues to take actions to help make these critical products available, including by issuing EUAs.

During this pandemic, there have been two types of tests for which the FDA has issued EUAs. One type are polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, a molecular diagnostic testing technique that detects the genetic material from the virus and can help diagnose an active COVID-19 infection. The other type are serological tests that look for antibodies to the virus, which can help identify individuals who have developed an adaptive immune response to the virus, as part of either an active infection or a prior infection.

Fast-track approval of tests may mean that millions of Americans could be tested each day.

This latest FDA authorization is for an antigen test, which is a new type of diagnostic test designed for rapid detection of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Each category of diagnostic test has its own unique role in the fight against this virus. PCR tests can be incredibly accurate, but running the tests and analyzing the results can take time. One of the main advantages of an antigen test is the speed of the test, which can provide results in minutes. However, Hahn and Shuren said in their statement, antigen tests may not detect all active infections. Antigen tests are very specific for the virus but are not as sensitive as molecular PCR tests. This means that positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives,  and negative results do not rule out infection. With this in mind, negative results from an antigen test may need to be confirmed with a PCR test prior to making treatment decisions or to prevent the possible spread of the virus due to a false negative.

Additionally, antigen tests are important in the overall response against COVID-19 as they can generally be produced at a lower cost than PCR tests, Hahn and Shuren said in their statement. Once multiple manufacturers enter the market, millions of Americans could be tested each day.

Hahn and Shuren said that this is just the first antigen test to be authorized, and more tests and authorizations are expected to follow.

But what about those who wear prescription contacts and glasses? Are there added risks to touching your eyes during a pandemic like COVID-19? Here, from ophthalmologists and optometrists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, are some answers to help you.

Is it unsafe for people who wear contacts to continue doing so during COVID-19?

According to the CDC, there is no evidence to suggest contact lens wearers are more at risk for acquiring COVID-19 than are eyeglass wearers. “A major mode of transmission of the virus is through touching one’s face with contaminated hands,” said Priscilla Fowler, M.D., director of Cornea Service at Callahan Eye Hospital and assistant professor with the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. “Technically, with good handwashing and hygiene techniques, there should be no increased risk of contracting the virus through contact lens wear. However, this also assumes that patients employ good contact lens hygiene, including proper contact lens disinfection and refraining from contact lens over-wear.”

People with ongoing care for conditions such as macular degeneration should not necessarily forgo their care.

If I am sick, should I wear my contacts?

UAB School of Optometry Professor and Associate Vice President for Research Jason Nichols, O.D., Ph.D., says contact lens wearers who are ill should temporarily revert to wearing glasses, which minimizes the opportunity for direct contact with your eye.“You can resume use with fresh, new contact lenses and lens cases once you return to full health,” he said.

Is there any indication that COVID-19 can be transmitted through one’s eyes?

“Currently, there is no definitive evidence that COVID-19 is transmitted through contact with tear fluid from the eyes,” Fowler said. “There are reports in the literature of the COVID-19 virus’s being detected in the tears of patients with conjunctivitis associated with the illness, but this has not been directly linked to transmission of the virus.”

Should people who have eye conditions wait to see their optometrist or ophthalmologist until things get back to normal?

Both Fowler and Nichols recommend that patients who have a sight-threatening condition such as glaucoma or macular degeneration that needs ongoing treatment should not necessarily forgo their treatment due to current restrictions in place due to COVID-19.

“Hospitals and doctors’ offices are taking extreme precautions to protect their patients and staff from contracting COVID-19, so that they can continue to take care of their patients who need them,” Fowler said. “You should contact your eye care provider if you have an upcoming appointment to determine if you need to proceed with the appointment or reschedule to a later time.”

The study was published in April in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association, and funded through the Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science of the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives.

“Many people believe e-cigarettes are safer than combustible cigarettes. In fact, most e-cigarette users say the primary reason they use e-cigarettes is because they think e-cigarettes pose less of a health risk,” said study author Jessica L. Fetterman, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, Boston. “Meanwhile, the evidence from scientific studies is growing that e-cigarettes might not be the safer alternative to smoking traditional cigarettes when it comes to heart health. Our study adds to that evidence.”

Smoking e-cigarettes puts additional stress on the heart.

In a news release, the AHA said Fetterman and colleagues studied over 400 men and women, ages 21 to 45, who had not been diagnosed with heart disease or heart disease risk factors. Study participants included 94 nonsmokers, 285 cigarette smokers, 36 e-cigarette users and 52 dual users who smoke combustible cigarettes and use e-cigarettes. Combustible cigarette smokers and dual users were older than non-smokers and e-cigarette users, while e-cigarette users were more likely to be younger, male and white. All e-cigarette users were former smokers of traditional cigarettes.

“We studied measures of blood vessel function in e-cigarette and dual users who had been using e-cigarettes for at least three months,” Fetterman. “Most studies to date have looked at the impact of acute use of e-cigarettes on blood vessel function measured right before and after use, whereas our study evaluated blood vessel function in chronic e-cigarette use among young, healthy adults,” Fetterman said.

The researchers found that former smokers who switched to e-cigarettes and dual users had an “augmentation index” similar to traditional cigarette users, which means that their arteries were just as stiff.

“Stiffening of the arteries can cause damage to the small blood vessels, including capillaries, and puts additional stress on the heart, all of which can contribute to the development of heart disease,” Fetterman said.

The researchers also found that the cells that line the blood vessels, called endothelial cells, appeared to be equally damaged whether people used e-cigarettes, combustible cigarettes or both.

“The endothelial cells from e-cigarette users or dual users produced less of the heart-protective compound nitric oxide, compared to non-tobacco users. Their cells also produced more reactive oxygen species, which cause damage to the parts of cells such as DNA and proteins,” Fetterman said. “Our study results suggest there is no evidence that the use of e-cigarettes reduces cardiovascular injury, dysfunction or harm associated with the use of combustible tobacco products.”

She noted longer-term studies are needed to determine if vascular damage from e-cigarettes alone changes over time.

Taking 4,000 or fewer steps a day is considered a low level of physical activity. A goal of 10,000 steps a day is commonly cited, but new research shows that there are health benefits even if fewer than 10,000 steps are taken each day.

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), past studies have mostly been done with older adults. It hasn’t been clear what number of steps or intensity are needed to benefit adults of other ages.

A research team with investigators from NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at the association between step count, step intensity, and risk of death in a broader age range of the U.S. population.

They used statistics on physical activity collected by a national health survey, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), between 2003-2006. The results were published in JAMA.

An increased number of steps per day was associated with a reduced risk of death.

The team looked at data from people aged 40 or older who wore an accelerometer—a device that measures step number and cadence (steps per minute)—during their waking hours for a week. Researchers then collected information on deaths for about a decade. They also tracked deaths specifically from cancer and heart disease.

In their analysis, the researchers compared the risk of death over the follow-up period among people who took fewer than 4,000, up to 8,000, or 12,000 or more steps a day. They also tested whether step intensity, measured by cadence, was associated with better health.

During the decade of follow-up, the investigators found, 1,165 out of the 4,840 participants died from any cause. Of these, 406 died from heart disease and 283 died of cancer.

Compared with people who took 4,000 steps a day, those who took 8,000 steps a day at the start of the study had a 50% lower risk of dying from any cause during follow-up. People who took 12,000 steps a day had a 65% lower risk of dying than those who took only 4,000.

Higher step counts were also associated with lower rates of death from heart disease and cancer. These benefits, the study showed, were consistent across age, sex, and race groups.

Step intensity did not seem to impact the risk of mortality once the total number of steps per day was considered. Only an increased number of steps per day was associated with a reduced risk of death.

“We wanted to investigate this question to provide new insights that could help people better understand the health implications of the step counts they get from fitness trackers and phone apps,” said first author Dr. Pedro Saint-Maurice of NCI.

The findings are consistent with current recommendations that adults should move more and sit less throughout the day. But because this study was observational, it could not prove that increased physical activity caused a reduced risk of death. Higher step counts also may reflect people who were in better health to begin with, which could potentially influence the results.

For more information from the NIH on walking, click here.

“It’s a real danger,” said Mike Marshall, executive director of Oregon Recovers, a coalition of addiction recovery groups. According to a news release from the American Heart Association (AHA), Marshall explained that people in recovery, he said, rely on group meetings to provide community and accountability. Showing up regularly to say, “I’m Mike, I’m an alcoholic,” is a way of defining his problem while asking for help from people in the same room.

“I don’t have that anymore” because of the coronavirus, Marshall said. “And then, on top of that, our whole lives changed, too,” heaping financial and familial pressures on people already struggling.

The problem goes beyond 12-step groups and ranges from people being treated for depression to couples working to repair their relationship.

Matt Mishkind, deputy director of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, is concerned about families learning to juggle work and school at home. “We’re going to start to see a lot more parenting issues come out, and probably more need for family services as well,” he predicted.

People in need can find several ways to reach out. Marshall said the problem facing those trying to recover from addiction is urgent.

“It’s a matter of life and death,” he said. “Already, in Oregon, we lose five people a day to alcohol-related deaths and one to two to drug overdoses. I have no doubt that that number has shot up since this has happened.”

Mutual aid meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, operate independently. That makes it difficult to coordinate change.

Many meetings shut down, while others moved online, Marshall said. His organization quickly pulled together a list of online gatherings and other resources that can be found here.

He sees them as a stopgap. “Being in a room and hearing someone’s story or challenges or solutions is a very different experience than watching it online or being on a telephone,” he said.

But therapy over video is hardly new. And Mishkind, who has helped develop telehealth programs, said research and clinical practice shows they can provide mental health care on par with face-to-face meetings.

In some cases, video can be an advantage.

In some cases, video can be an advantage, he said. The distancing effect can make some people more willing to disclose information. Especially relevant right now, he said, is that it can reach people who can’t get to a therapist’s office.

Research shows patients tend to be initially happier with it than providers. After Mishkind’s own clinic went fully online because of social distancing, a colleague said clients almost immediately started telling him, “Wait a second. I could have been doing this the entire time?”

But he acknowledged groups can be hard to manage online. Organizers might miss those “subtle things happening out of the corner of your eye.” But the technology has advantages there, too. Educational materials are easy to share, for example. And organizers can use the mute function “so you don’t have people talking over each other.”

Julie Kubala of Superior, Wisconsin, is a fan of the type of support she’s found online.

After a heart attack in 2016, she participated in various online forums, such as cardiac rehabilitation, which includes in-person counseling. She also just completed an outpatient program, which included group sessions, to help with post-traumatic stress disorder after a near-fatal car accident.

The convenience, even before social distancing, was a big factor for someone in a small community. “I could access it after work,” she said. “I could access this stuff at four in the morning when I couldn’t sleep at night.”

For people without internet access or who aren’t comfortable with computers, phone therapy is another option, Mishkind said. Research shows what’s known as asynchronous therapy, such as text messaging with a licensed professional, also may help.

People who need mental health care should start by reaching out to their existing provider, if they have one, and insurance company to confirm what services are covered, he said. A clinician can decide whether the issue is something that can be handled via telehealth, he added.

An employee assistance plan also can steer people toward help.

Marshall suggested people dealing with addiction first seek help by calling someone they know in recovery. In addition, each state has an addiction helpline. Alcoholics Anonymous provides a listing of online meetings.

People with preexisting mental health conditions need to continue with their treatment during the crisis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It refers people to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Disaster Distress Helpline at 800-985-5990.And Marshall said even in the time of social distancing, everyone can provide a human touch.

“If you know someone in recovery, reach out to them,” he said. “Even if they seem like they have it together. These are really trying times.”

Note: Because of the rapidly evolving events surrounding the coronavirus, the facts and advice presented in this story may have changed since publication. Click here for the latest coverage from the AHA, and check with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health officials for the most recent guidance.

For those individuals who show sensitivity to making errors in adolescence, the findings indicated a higher risk for internalizing disorders (such as anxiety and depression) in adulthood. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)mand published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides significant evidence of the impact of infant temperament on adult outcomes.

“While many studies link early childhood behavior to risk for psychopathology, the findings in our study are unique,” said Daniel Pine, M.D., a study author and chief of the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience. “This is because our study assessed temperament very early in life, linking it with outcomes occurring more than 20 years later through individual differences in neural processes.”

Children with behavioral inhibition are more liable to suffer anxiety and depression.

Temperament refers to biologically based individual differences in the way people emotionally and behaviorally respond to the world. During infancy, temperament serves as the foundation of later personality. One specific type of temperament, called behavioral inhibition (BI), is characterized by cautious, fearful, and avoidant behavior toward unfamiliar people, objects, and situations. BI has been found to be relatively stable across toddlerhood and childhood, and children with BI have been found to be at greater risk for developing social withdrawal and anxiety disorders than children without BI.

Although these findings hint at the long-term outcomes of inhibited childhood temperament, only two studies to date have followed inhibited children from early childhood to adulthood. The current study, conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland, College Park; the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; and the NIMH, recruited their participant sample at 4 months of age and characterized them for BI at 14 months (almost two years earlier than the previously published longitudinal studies). In addition, unlike the two previously published studies, the researchers included a neurophysiological measure to try to identify individual differences in risk for later psychopathology.

After those two evaluations, the participants returned at  age 15 to the lab to provide neurophysiological data. These neurophysiological measures were used to assess error-related negativity (ERN), which is a negative dip in the electrical signal recorded from the brain that occurs following incorrect responses on computerized tasks. Error-related negativity reflects the degree to which people are sensitive to errors. A larger error-related negativity signal has been associated with internalizing conditions such as anxiety, and a smaller error-related negativity has been associated with externalizing conditions such as impulsivity and substance use. Additionally, the participants returned at age 26 for assessments of psychopathology, personality, social functioning, and education and employment outcomes.

“It is amazing that we have been able to keep in touch with this group of people over so many years. First their parents, and now they, continue to be interested and involved in the work,” said study author Nathan Fox, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology.

According to a news release from NIH, the researchers found that BI at 14 months of age predicted, at age 26, a more reserved personality, fewer romantic relationships in the past 10 years, and lower social functioning with friends and family. BI at 14 months also predicted higher levels of internalizing psychopathology in adulthood, but only for those who also displayed larger error-related negativity signals at age 15. BI was not associated with externalizing general psychopathology or with education and employment outcomes.

This study highlights the enduring nature of early temperament on adult outcomes and suggests that neurophysiological markers such as error-related negativity may help identify individuals most at risk for developing internalizing psychopathology in adulthood.

“We have studied the biology of behavioral inhibition over time and it is clear that it has a profound effect influencing developmental outcome,” Fox said.

Although this study replicates and extends past research in this area, future work with larger and more diverse samples are needed to understand the generalizability of these findings.

For more information on health issues, click here to visit the NIH website. Click here for the NIMH website.

Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety or fear.

Here are some tips from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created guidance to help adults have conversations with children about COVID-19 and ways they can avoid getting and spreading the disease.

General principles for talking to children

Remain calm and reassuring. Remember that children will react to both what you say and how you say it. They will pick up cues from the conversations you have with them and with others.

Make yourself available to listen and to talk.

Make time to talk. Be sure children know they can come to you when they have questions.

Avoid language that might blame others and lead to stigma.

Remember that viruses can make anyone sick, regardless of a person’s race or ethnicity. Avoid making assumptions about who might have COVID-19.

Pay attention to what children see or hear on television, radio, or online.

Consider reducing the amount of screen time focused on COVID-19. Too much information on one topic can lead to anxiety.

Provide information that is honest and accurate.

Give children information that is truthful and appropriate for the age and developmental level of the child.

Talk to children about how some stories on COVID-19 on the Internet and social media may be based on rumors and inaccurate information.

Teach children everyday actions to reduce the spread of germs.

Remind children to stay away from people who are coughing or sneezing or sick.

Remind them to cough or sneeze into a tissue or their elbow, then throw the tissue into the trash.

Discuss any new actions that may be taken at school to help protect children and school staff.

(e.g., increased handwashing, cancellation of events or activities).

Get children into a handwashing habit. Teach them to wash their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing their nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.

Older children can help adults at home and school clean the things we touch the most.

If soap and water are not available, teach them to use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer should contain at least 60% alcohol. Supervise young children when they use hand sanitizer to prevent swallowing alcohol, especially in schools and child care facilities.

Facts about COVID-19 for discussions with children

Try to keep information simple and remind them that health and school officials are working hard to keep everyone safe and healthy. Here are some points to cover:

What is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is the short name for “coronavirus disease 2019.” It is a new virus. Doctors and scientists are still learning about it.

Recently, this virus has made a lot of people sick. Scientists and doctors think that most people will be ok, especially kids, but some people might get pretty sick.

Tell children that doctors and health experts are working hard to help people stay healthy.

What can I do so that I don’t get COVID-19?

Tell children they can practice healthy habits at home, school, and play to help protect against the spread of COVID-19:

Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. If you sneeze or cough into a tissue, throw it in the trash right away.

Keep your hands out of your mouth, nose, and eyes. This will help keep germs out of your body.

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Follow these five steps—wet, lather (make bubbles), scrub (rub together), rinse and dry. You can sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice.

If you don’t have soap and water, have an adult help you use a special hand cleaner.

Keep things clean. Older children can help adults at home and school clean the things we touch the most, like desks, doorknobs, light switches, and remote controls. (Note for adults: you can find more information about cleaning and disinfecting on CDC’s website.)

Tell children if they feel sick, they should stay home. Just like you don’t want to get other people’s germs in your body, other people don’t want to get your germs either.

What happens if you get sick with COVID-19?

Explain to children that COVID-19 can look different in different people. For many people, being sick with COVID-19 would be a little bit like having the flu. People can get a fever, cough, or have a hard time taking deep breaths. Most people who have gotten COVID-19 have not gotten very sick. Only a small group of people who get it have had more serious problems. From what doctors have seen so far, most children don’t seem to get very sick. While a lot of adults get sick, most adults get better.

If you do get sick, it doesn’t mean you have COVID-19. People can get sick from all kinds of germs. What’s important to remember is that if you do get sick, the adults at home and school will help get you any help that you need.

If you suspect your child may have COVID-19, call the healthcare facility to let them know before you bring your child in to see them.

For more information from the CDC on COVID-19, click here.