How are daycares handling swine flu?

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[CHAT TRANSCRIPT: Questions answered by local expert]
[TRAVEL ALERT: What the CDC wants you to know ]

The biggest weapon parents have in this fight with swine flu fears is information and both health care providers and day care providers and trying to get that information out.

At the YMCA Daycare Center in the Texas Medical Center on Wednesday, you can't miss the flyers about swine flu on the front doors.

"We've actually given out more information to the parents. We had a policy already in place for sick kids," said Jennifer James, Executive Director of the YMCA Texas Medical Center.

That policy included keeping kids with fevers home. Now it includes paying even more attention to small things, like washing hands and personal contact.

"I think it makes you more aware of your surroundings, how you are reacting, just having the kids going over different policies like with our preschoolers because they like to hug and share," said James.

The Centers for Disease Control thinks the swine flu is spread by touching infected surfaces, then touching the mouth or nose. Symptoms include fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat and nausea or vomiting.

"Kids are going to get very similar symptoms, except as you said, they may not be able to tell you, 'I'm achy or that I don't feel good,'" said Dr. Galit Holzman-Pazgal at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The swine flu and the death of the toddler were on the minds of moms at the zoo Wednesday.

"It does raise concerns for us, but I don't think we're going to completely stop what we're doing," said mother Lynne Studdert.

Another mother, Laurie Lambropoulos, said, "We are definitely taking more precautions. I wouldn't say that we've stopped doing anything that we usually do like we went to the zoo today. We'd probably still go to the mall."

As swine flu fears strike closer to home, the search for information to fight back is on.

"I'm trying to go back home on the internet to see exactly what caused it or what's causing it," said grandmother Helen Salaz.

The medical director at Memorial Hermann Hospital would like to remind everyone that if you think you might have the swine flu, you should call your doctor. They said you should not to head to the emergency room unless you have trouble breathing or another critical symptom.

At last check, there were no suspected or probable cases of swine flu at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

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