Germs
Name five places you can find germs!
EVERYWHERE! Examples include door handles, phone screens, the playground, a desk, toys, and more.
When you cough or sneeze you shouldn't use your hands to cover it. What should you do instead?
Cough or sneeze into your elbow!
How might you feel if your body is trying to fight off germs?
Tired, hot and/or cold, achy, etc.
Name three ways germs can get into your body.
Germs can get into your body through your nose, mouth, eyes, and cuts.
How long should you wash your hands for?
20 seconds, or the time it takes to sing "Happy Birthday."
Name two ways your body keeps out germs.
Skin, mucus (boogers!), sneezing, coughing, ear wax, etc.
What kind of environment do germs like best?
Germs like warm, damp, and dark environments.
When are three times you should wash your hands?
Before eating or preparing food, after going to the bathroom, after coming in from outside, after touching animals, etc.
True or False: As soon as you catch a virus, you feel sick.
FALSE! There is an "incubation" time when the germs multiply before our bodies feel sick.
True or false: We can see germs with our eyes.
FALSE! We need a microscope to see germs.
Explain how to wash your hands properly.
Get your hands wet with warm water. Use soap and scrub your hands for about 20 seconds including in between your fingers and the tops of your hands. Dry your hands with a paper towel.
A fever is a good sign when we are sick. True or false?
TRUE! A fever is used to kill off germs at high temperatures.
True or false: Bacteria can be good for you.
TRUE! Good bacteria in your body helps you digest food, can be used to make pickles, cheese, and yogurt, and it is sometimes in medicine.
How many germs are on your hands at any given time? (HINT: _ _, _ _ _ - _ _, _ _ _, _ _ _)
There are typically between ten thousand (10,000) and ten million (10,000,000) bacteria on each of your hands!
Why don't we usually get sick from the same disease twice?
Your body has special helper cells that have a memory, so that your body remembers how to fight off infection and germs.