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Monday, December 11, 2006
When are colds and flu most contagious?
Are colds and flu most contagious before symptoms appear?
They spread most easily when symptoms are at their worst. That's because these infections are commonly passed through coughed-up or sneezed-out droplets containing the virus, or via hand-to-hand contact. While the likelihood of catching (or passing) something peaks when kids are most miserable, the risk persists as long as the drip does. So even if your kid's almost over it, give the other moms in your playgroup a heads up; they may decide to take a rain check.
(Answer by Rosemary Black, Marguerite Lamb, and Laura Flynn McCarthy from Parenting.com)
They spread most easily when symptoms are at their worst. That's because these infections are commonly passed through coughed-up or sneezed-out droplets containing the virus, or via hand-to-hand contact. While the likelihood of catching (or passing) something peaks when kids are most miserable, the risk persists as long as the drip does. So even if your kid's almost over it, give the other moms in your playgroup a heads up; they may decide to take a rain check.
(Answer by Rosemary Black, Marguerite Lamb, and Laura Flynn McCarthy from Parenting.com)
Labels: cold, contagious, flu
