Anglim Private Health is a private GP surgery in Bury St Edmunds. We offer easy to book and convenient appointments, including early, late and weekend appointments. On a Thursday we publish a health article related to events happening in our lovely town of Bury St Edmunds.
This week most of our schools are reopening. And for pupils an exciting window of possibilities will open up with thrilling learning for the year ahead. Or more realistically they are either excited to see all their friends again or annoyed that their long summer holiday has come to an end. For some children it can be a very stressful and worrying time.
Here are a few health tips for returning to school:
Remember simple hygiene measures. Hundreds of pupils returning to school will each be bringing in their own collection of bugs. Share them around and there is a totally expected increase in viral illnesses in the first few weeks of term. Children should be taught and encouraged to wash their hands and other simple hygiene measures to reduce the risk of viruses.
Try to establish a bedtime routine. The right amount of sleep prepares you for the next day. It can reduce the risk of infections and make learning easier and more productive. If your child struggles with sleep start with the same bedtime, the same routine and a consistent approach to sleep.
Nutritious meals are extremely important for health and growth, but also for learning. Teachers can often pick out the child who skipped breakfast because they are not performing as well as they should. Ensure there is access to enough water and avoid sugary drinks.
Be aware of anxiety or stress. Discuss that openly with your child, sometimes just the knowledge that your parent is on your side and available, helps reduces the amount of stress significantly. If stress, mood or mental health symptoms are particularly serious then access professional help from the school nurse, or your private GP.
Keep physically active. Schools are great because they provide a lot of the resources required to take part in sporting activities. All sports improve physical activity and health. Team sports also develop working relationships and personal responsibility. Individual sports can help determination and focus but also tend to involve some form of teamwork and responsibility. If your child shuns traditional sports, explore other ways to keep active like dance, skateboarding, martial arts or climbing.
And hardest of all limit recreational screen time. All of us might need a bit of help with role-modelling that, but it is really important and helps keep children active.
When things change, like returning to school, the majority of children will show great resilience and take to new tasks very easily. If the adults in their life show excitement and enjoyment with the positive parts of the upcoming school year, then children will follow their lead and jump at the chance to take part.
And if those illnesses do arise, your private GP at Anglim Private Health can help. Dr Anglim is able to examine and when appropriate treat bacterial infections with antibiotics. We can also offer fast-turnaround analysis of sputum for bacterial and viral infections. That means the correct antibiotic more often, avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use and opening the door for anti viral treatments, e.g. for influenza.
If you need to see a private GP at Anglim Private Health, you can directly book an appointment with Dr Anglim. We also offer a membership service where patients can access unlimited appointments and extra benefits.