Despite COVID-19 measures, kids are still getting colds. What gives?

For months, many of us have been washing and sanitizing our hands nonstop, wearing masks and being very careful to limit contacts in order to stop the spread of COVID-19.

And yet, kids (and adults) are still catching colds. What gives?

Dr. Fatima Kakkar, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Sainte-Justine Hospital, explained that colds and other ailments like gastroenteritis and pink eye are what happen when we come into contact with viruses such as the rhinovirus or adenovirus.

When people are separated, it's harder for those viruses to transmit from one person to another. But they never actually go away. Sometimes, they stay in your system and reactivate.

Kids are still getting colds, even if they are wearing masks and physically distancing from their peers and others, because they're still in contact with surfaces that have been touched by other people.

"But as you imagine, kids are not perfect with mask wearing. None of us are perfect with mask wearing. I sometimes touch my eyes by mistake. We touch our faces quite a bit. So even if we think we're being 100 per cent adherent and we're being really strict with our measures, the reality is that none of us can be 100 per cent all the time," Kakkar said.

As we move into winter, the key will be to stay the course, Kakkar said, because even though slip ups are inevitable, the measures work.

WATCH | Swipe back up to watch Dr. Kakkar explain more in the video at the top of this story