A survey of U.S. mothers found that they're not too worried about cold and flu season. The survey, conducted by the Alliance for Consumer Education, found that with all of the news stories about colds and flu this winter, 53.8 percent of the respondents are not worried about their children getting sick. And, if their youngsters do become ill, 25 percent of moms will do nothing about it. More than half of moms say they promote handwashing to help curb the spread of germs in the home. Dennis A. Clements M.D., chief medical officer at Duke University Children's Hospital, said that advice is right on the mark. "We're all aware that cold and flu germs can be transmitted by breathing them in from the air after someone sneezes or coughs," Clements said in a release. "Most folks don't realize that a cold virus can survive in normal household air for nearly 50 minutes under the right conditions. Researchers suggest that some of these viruses can also lurk on household surfaces for from 3 to 21 days, as well." © Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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