As schools prepare to return in the coming weeks, parents, students and teachers will be facing a lot of changes and it will be a challenging time.

Good hand hygiene and having the right supplies will be vital to keeping your children’s hands protected and nourished as they return to the classroom. Here are some of our top tips to help you prepare:

1. Practice good hand hygiene
Good hand hygiene is one of the top priorities for keeping everyone safe in school. Remind your kids of the importance of washing their hands regularly and using hand sanitiser correctly by practicing together before school starts.
Remember, to be effective, hand sanitiser should stay on your hands for at least 20 seconds as you rub it in. Our Airmedica hand sanitiser stays on hands for 60 seconds, giving you the change to rub properly around your entire hands, including between your fingers, to get full coverage. Continue rubbing until your skin is fully dry.

2. Kit them out
Nothing beats getting your school supplies ready for the new term – picking out stationary, getting your new pencil case and packing your school bag. In this new normal, creating a Back to School kit for your kids with their own personal hand sanitiser will help give you peace-of-mind.Get them involved by picking out the colours and items to include and putting their name on their own kit. Airmedica hand sanitiser hangers come in bright, funky colours and are perfect for attaching to school bags and pencil cases so they don’t get lost. They are also easily refillable so you don’t have to buy new ones every time. You can also include one of our nourishing hand creams in their kits so they can keep their hands moisturised throughout the day.

3. Choose your hand sanitiser carefully
Not all hand sanitisers are created equal. A lot of sanitisers on the market do not contain the stated alcohol percentage. To be sure your hand sanitiser meets the correct standards, check for a PCS and EN number, which should be stated visibly on the bottle. A PCS number, given out by the Department of Agriculture and the Marine, is confirmation that the product you are using meets the biocidal criteria claimed on the bottle. Airmedica’s PCS number is 100302.
You should also always check your hand sanitiser has an EN number, which means that the product meets all European quality standards. Our hand sanitiser has been tested under EN1276 and EN1500, the European Standards which evaluate the efficacy of sanitisers in killing bacteria.

For more information on how Airmedica can help you prepare for the return to school, email info@airmedica.ie.