Harnessing Your Health: Back-to-school health checklist

New school supplies, a new schedule, and new people. There’s a lot to keep track of when your kids are getting ready to go back to school.  Setting up for a healthy school year can start now, but that’s an entirely different checklist to make for you and your family.

That’s why we’re doing it for you so you can focus on harnessing your health.

Here's what your back-to-school health checklist can include:

· Mental health
· Sleep
· Food allergies
· Vaccinations

To help us explain it all are three health professionals:
· Kathleen Ethier, a social psychologist and director of the CDC’s Adolescent and School Health Division
· Dr. Christopher Wilhelm, a pediatrician at University of Missouri Health Care
· Dr. Jessica Hui, an allergist and immunologist at National Jewish Health

Mental Health
A CDC report estimates only about 20% of kids get the help they need for their mental health.

The agency has put out a new guide for schools, parents, and students to find helpful information. It covers things like suicidal thoughts, feelings of hopelessness, social media use, and school connectedness— that’s when a school values learning and the person.

That new report shows, while there is still a ways to go, we’re inching toward improvements compared to last year.

“So, when we see that the percent of female students who said that they were experiencing persistent sadness and hopelessness go from 57% down to 53%, that's a statistically significant change in the right direction. And we haven't been seeing those kinds of positive changes in a long time,” Either said.

Sleep
Sleep can have a big impact on mental health. The National Institutes of Health links lack of sleep to depression , suicide and risk-taking behaviors, like skipping school or trying drugs.

So what's the hack for your kids to get enough sleep?

“Children thrive on routine. I know I thrive in a routine,” Dr. Wilhelm said.

“I usually advise my patients about one to two weeks prior to the start of the school year, to start their children on that routine, putting them to bed at the same time, getting them up early in the morning, no electronics prior to bed. And then let them sleep in the same environment that they always sleep in.”

Food Allergies
Food allergies are a growing public health concern, and a big deal around class treats or lunch time.

The CDC reports 8% of kids have a food allergy , which is roughly two students per classroom. Dr. Hui advises having a plan as the best way to keep your child safe.

That starts with filling out the allergy form for your school; every state has one. The American Academy of Pediatrics also has an online template .

“So just confirm with your school what that form is and have your doctor fill it out,” Dr. Hui said.

“On this form it'll state the foods your child is allergic to and then what your treatment is. So, in case of these types of symptoms treat with this, in case of these more severe symptoms treat with the EpiPen and so it's very streamlined.”

If needles from allergy auto-injectors like EpiPen stress your child out, there’s good news. The FDA just approved the first epinephrine nasal spray for kids 66 pounds and up.

Dr. Hui also suggests another layer of safety that can help.

“A lot of parents will use stickers and not just list what the child is allergic to, but you can put pictures of what the child is allergic to. So having it very highly visible on the lunchbox, the snack box.”

“And then your child having an allergy bracelet, or a tag like on a necklace, can be a visual reminder for everyone who comes into the classroom,” Dr. Hui said.

Vaccinations
While food allergies are not contagious, viruses are.

There’s not a vaccine for every virus, but to help you figure out what shots are recommended and get those set up, you can check with your doctor or local public health department. The CDC also has a list of vaccines it recommends .

Vaccines work by giving the body the ability to react quicker to a virus or bug. Doctors know, especially just after summer and winter break, it's easier for sickness to spread.

“If you want to see how disease spreads in a school, I would suggest you go to lunch at a kindergarten and see how they share food, drinks and it's very obvious how they do it,” Dr. Wilhelm said.

“Plus, I don't think you can trust a 5-year-old who wants to hurry up and get back to playing with their friends to wash their hands really well after going to the restroom.”

A different, but also recent, CDC report gives us more perspective on this. The agency estimates routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented more than 500 million illnesses and 1 million deaths among people born between 1994 and 2023.