Author: jerseycityedstaff

Illnesses Spreading Among N.J. Students, Including LCCS in Jersey City

According to NJ.com, “…Kids are pouring in, coughing and wheezing and conjested. First it was enterovirus and rhinovirus. Now RSV has become the dominant infection, with flu cases also growing.” To further support this analysis, CNN Health posted an article titled, “An ‘unprecedented’ rise in respiratory viruses in children is overwhelming some hospitals.” The article states that hospitals are seeing a rise of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is a common cold virus and the cases are rising in many US regions. There is a big possibility, according to health officials, of a possible “tripledemic.” According to patch.com, “Respiratory syncytial virus is surging early across the nation. Its peak could coincide with the seasonal peaks of the flu and COVID-19.” On nextdoorneighbor, only 2 weeks ago, LCCS reported 193 cases of respiratory viruses in one day amongst staff and students. LCCS has been taking careful procedures however. Parents on nextdoor commented under the post that they are sending kids home quite frequently. In fact, LCCS sent an email to parents stating that the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services visited the school and is planning to take further precautions to ensure the school’s safety.

Illnesses spreading right now:

  1. Upper respiratory infections
  2. Enterovirus
  3. Rhinovirus
  4. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

More than COVID-19

Although COVID-19 is a major illness to watch out for, lately children in the U.S. have been coming to the hospital with respiratory viruses. While COVID-19 took the headlines in the past, this year respiratory viruses have been more common in children. Typically, respiratory viruses often start in November and end around late March. However, this year the cases have surged as early as October.

Was this unexpected?

This wasn’t entirely unexpected, as some countries like Australia, have experienced a severe and earlier flu season this year. (You can read more into this here: CDC Reports Early Increases in Seasonal Flu Activity)

What should you do?

  1. Avoid close contact
  2. Drink enough fluids because it prevents sickness. It is also important for people with RSV infection to drink water to prevent a loss of body fluids.
  3. Cover your mouth and nose
  4. Clean your hands/wash well when necessary
  5. Wear a mask to school if your classmates seem sick
  6. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
  7. Find out about plans your child’s school has if an outbreak of flu or another illness occurs and whether flu vaccinations are offered on-site.
  8. Note that RSV is very contagious so if you feel sick or slightly ill, it’s better to keep your child at home.

(The list is based on cdc.gov)

Allergies or RSV?

Sometimes it is hard to tell whether you should keep your kid at home or not, especially if their symptoms are really minor. It could be allergies, so how can you tell whether your symptoms are the beginning of RSV? Something that makes it difficult to differentiate is that both cause nasal congestion. However, unlike seasonal allergies, RSV symptoms may include a slight cough, a low-grade fever, and a decrease in appetite. If you are further into having RSV, you will feel it rech down into the “lower respiratory tract (bronchial tubes and lungs. A sign that the infection is worsening is when symptoms get more severe (coughing turning into wheezing, for example).” (How is RSV transmitted?)

More symptoms of RSV include:

  • Short, shallow and rapid breathing
  • Struggling to breathe (chest muscles and skin pull inward with each breath)
  • Unusual tiredness
  • A runny nose

Four Key Tips For Success in High School

Ronald E. McNair and High Tech are two great schools you may be attending as a freshman this year. At first, it may seem overwhelming, especially the schedule and having much more homework to manage than in middle school. However, we asked 10 kids from McNair that told us about the difficulties they experienced and have created a list of suggestions they have for anyone going into a challenging high school in or around Jersey City.

  • Do your homework first. Having a schedule helps. If you have a sports practice, do your homework as soon as you come home. Two rising sophmores at McNair claim that the work load gets very heavy, and they wish they could go back in time as tell their freshman-self not to wait until the last minute to start homework. One claims she used to come home, play video games after sports practice, eat dinner, and only after dinner start homework. She wouldn’t finish her homework until 2am, so she decided to make a schedule for herself to ensure that she did what she had to do before what she wanted to do.
  • Make connections. If you have a friend group, managing everything at school becomes easier. Talk to people. In fact, eight out of the ten McNair students claimed they were part of an app where they were connected with friends and could see their schedule more easily.
  • Join a sport or club. For many McNair sports and clubs, you attend meetings or practices every day after school. According to the students (all were part of at least one club/sport), you become extremely close with the peers around you. Your coaches and advisors become a support group for you, especially when you need advice. They also feel it helps improve their mental health and gives them a social group.
  • Study without a phone. Research shows that cellphone use, overall, has a negative effect on students’ ability to focus and results in lower grades. According to a study cited in an article in The Echo from SNU, “Depending on their responses, the subjects were placed into either a high social media use group or a low social media use group based on their in-class cell phone habits. Those in the high use group consistently scored lower on tests, in class, than the low use group.” The tendency to multitask while doing homework seems to be the culprit, so keep your phone out of reach to get the most benefit from your homework and study time.