Scared that your little goblin could pick up some H1N1 along with his candy while trick-or-treating this Halloween? Don't be spooked. "I wouldn't limit trick-or-treating," says Neil Fishman, M.D., director of the Department of Healthcare Epidemiology and Infection Control at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. "Going shopping, riding in a bus, going to school -- those are all ways you could be exposed so it doesn't make sense to restrict one small component of social interaction."
But there are some things you can do to be extra careful:
• Make sure your kids wash their hands before they gobble up their well-earned goodies.
• Avoid letting them touch their eyes, nose and mouth -- and if your child's costume requires makeup, apply it with your own clean hands.
• To make your own candy bowl sanitary, dish it out with washed hands or a scoop instead of letting kids reach for their own.
• Of course, if your kid is under the weather, don't send him around the neighborhood trick-or-treating or let him give out candy at the door to other children. And don't forget to cough in your arm!
