quarantine, or isolation in infectious diseases.

In general, it is prudent to keep a child with an infectious disease away from the rest of the family, besides who cares for it. First of all, this protects the rest - both adults and children - and prevents them from becoming infected. If other children have been in contact with the patient before the symptoms have appeared, they are likely to get sick too, but they should not contact the patient unnecessarily. Another reason is that they do not spread the bacteria outside the house. Of course, with measles, chickenpox and whooping cough

is less likely to transmit bacteria, although this happens if contact with the patient occurred less than half an hour ago. With scarlet fever, it is more important that only one adult visits the sick child's room, because streptococci, which cause scarlatina, can live in the throat for a very long time. The fewer people get them from a child, the less likely the spread of the disease in the district. Another reason to keep a sick child in quarantine is that it will not catch new bacteria causing complications.

How to implement a reliable quarantine? A sick child needs to be kept in one room, where only an adult cares for him. Mother, entering the patient's room, puts on a robe hanging in her. This saves her usual clothes from bacteria. Leaving the room, she takes off her robe. Every time she leaves the room, she washes her hands with soap. All the utensils, which the child used, in a saucepan are transferred to the kitchen and boiled there before mixing it with the rest of the dishes that the whole family uses.

With scarlet fever, diphtheria and some other serious illnesses, great precautions are required.

In most districts, adult family members, with the exception of school teachers and those involved in the preparation or sale of food, are allowed to leave the house and work with of any of these diseases. However, when visiting families in which there are susceptible children, do not forget about common sense. The ability to transmit the infection to children is almost zero if you do not approach them. But do not go to families where the mother is afraid of illness, for example, that her husband will contract a mumps or a child with scarlet fever or whooping cough. If someone in the family falls ill within the next year, she will blame you. On the other hand, if the disease, for example measles, chicken pox or measles rubella, does not cause fear, go on a visit without hesitation if your home has a disease, and friends who invited you, are not afraid of it or sent children for the summer.

Other children in the family where the child is ill are almost always allowed to go to school during quarantine, if it is a less serious illness. In diseases such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, meningitis, poliomyelitis and some others, the rules regarding siblings can be stricter. The rules regarding children in families in which does not have disease, are very different in different districts and schools. For the sake of young children and your own conscience, keep your child if you expect him to get sick, away from the neighboring kids.