With winter on its way, many of us are preparing not only for holiday breaks—but we’re also making plans to keep our families safe and healthy. Flu season is here, and the COVID-19 pandemic still looms large. Strong communication with your child care provider has always been important, but this year it will be more critical than ever. Here are a few tips to help you prepare.
What’s the Difference Between the Flu and COVID-19?
Sniffles are usually part of the winter season for all family members, but how do you know when to get concerned? As the CDC explains, some of the symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar. There can be varying degrees of signs and symptoms, ranging from no symptoms to severe symptoms.
Flu and COVID-19 share these common symptoms:
- Fever or feeling feverish/chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle pain or body aches
- Headache
- Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in kids than adults.
The difference is that flu viruses can cause mild to severe illness, including common signs and symptoms listed above. COVID-19 seems to cause more serious illnesses in some people. Other signs and symptoms of COVID-19, different from flu, may include change in or loss of taste or smell.
Communicate With Your Nanny
During the pandemic, keeping open lines of communication with your nanny will be essential. In addition to the everyday preventive actions the CDC recommends, such as washing hands, wearing a mask, avoiding close contact, and covering coughs and sneezes, making a plan for regular screening can also serve as part of the solution.
Talking with your nanny to establish a plan can help alleviate the stress of heading into the flu season.
Discuss Symptom Tracking
Working when we’re sick is a common cultural occurrence in our country. For some reason, we tend to feel embarrassed or like we’re letting people down if we stay home due to sickness. When you outline a specific plan about monitoring everyone’s health and agree when people should isolate themselves, everyone has clear expectations in case something comes up.
Discuss Potential Risk Factors
This may feel uncomfortable at first, but with honesty about all the risk factors that come into play, everyone can feel more confident about the choices you make together.
How Do I Keep Track of It All?
Staying on top of the latest CDC findings can be a challenge, so we’ve found a tool that handles the heavy lifting for you. The HealthChampion app includes COVID-19 tracking and monitoring for symptoms such as body temperature, coughing, and shortness of breath. It also conducts daily symptom assessments over a 14-day period, the incubation time of the coronavirus.
HealthChampion empowers you to gain insights into the thing that matters most—your health. The app is not just a symptom tracker. It was created to empower you with access to your health and medical data to improve the care you receive and provides a complete picture of your health that can be shared with your doctors and family.
Benefits for You
- Both you and your nanny can easily track and record your temperature and other COVID-19 symptoms manually or automatically (with integrated devices, such as a digital thermometer).
- Monitor your family’s vitals and possible COVID-19 symptoms – even for your parents or loved ones who live far away.
- Manage your medical records, including lab results, conditions and medications.
- Give your spouse/partner and key individuals access to your health status and information, especially during emergencies.
Benefits for Your Nanny
- In addition to the COVID-19 tools, your nanny will also get the benefit of using the secure, personal app to manage their own health.
- Connect with lab results and digital health records across a variety of sources for a complete view that can be shared with their care providers and family.
To learn more about the HealthChampion App, visit https://healthchampion.app.link/sittercity. After you register, access symptom monitoring by going to ‘Pathways.’ Select the Nanny/Caregiver C-19 Pathway to get started.
With the right tools and information, you can find peace of mind and have a plan in place. As parents, we’re always looking out for the ones we love—it’s important to have a support system that helps us do just that.
The information presented in this article is not intended to be construed as medical advice. Sittercity recommends consulting your family physician to ensure that you have accurate, up-to-date information applicable to your specific situation.
