During the winter, many of us just want to sit at home, order deliveries from DoorDash or Flowwow, and never go outside. However, parents must go to work and children have school to attend. If you want to protect your child from seasonal colds, you need to take a number of preventive measures to strengthen their immunity and keep children healthy during cold and flu season.
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Of course, you should not think that such measures are a magic pill for diseases. No, a noticeable effect from the work done will appear only after some time. Ideally, immunity should be strengthened continuously to keep children healthy. But the results of this work will please any parent, because children will not get sick often, and will be healthier and stronger.
How to Keep Children Healthy During Flu Season
The described below measures should be applied to all members of the family. Compliance with these rules will help to avoid or at least reduce the frequency with which your child gets a cold or the flu.
Have Kids Wash Their Hands Frequently at Home and School
Regular hand washing several times a day reduces the number of pathogens on your hands. By practicing consistent hand hygiene, kids will not only protect themselves from infection but also prevent the spread of pathogens in the environment. Washing hands is especially recommended after blowing a nose or coughing, after contact with soiled objects or surfaces, and before eating.
Teach your kids to wash their hands before eating and when they get home. It has been shown to protect against infection, especially in young children. However, if there is no opportunity to wash hands while traveling or on the road, hand sanitizer can be used to keep children healthy.
Indoors or Outdoors, Get Active
Studies provide evidence that children who are physically active on a regular basis are less likely to get colds than those who are less active. Active people who regularly exercised five days a week have half as many colds a year as those who are not active. Similarly, the severity of cold symptoms can be up to 40 percent lower in active individuals than in non-active individuals.
Plenty of Sleep Helps To Keep Children Healthy
It is believed that people who sleep less than seven hours a night are almost three times more likely to get a cold than those who sleep eight hours or more. This dentist who does good-quality dental fillings in Lincoln Park also adds that they are also more prone to gum diseases. The task of parents is to establish a routine for their children. Young kids need to go to bed no later than 9:00 p.m.
Eat a Well-Balanced Diet
Useful and healthy food is the key to the prevention of colds. For breakfast, complex carbohydrates like buckwheat or oatmeal are ideal. For immunity, natural yogurt, a glass of fresh citrus juice, or tea with lemon – sources of vitamin C.
For dinner, light meat or fish with vegetables. It is also very useful to add liver, eggs, and milk to the diet, which are sources of vitamin A. But remember that such a diet is only suitable during the prevention of colds. During the illness itself, you need to restrict the intake of heavy and fatty foods. Light soups, fruits, and vegetables are best.
Decrease Stress
There is evidence that people who are exposed to constant stress are more likely to catch a cold than people who are not exposed to it. Stress in children results from prolonged strain at school, but also from troubles at home or interpersonal conflicts. Do what you can to eliminate the stress from kids’ life and keep children healthy.
Avoid Germ Sharing To Keep Children Healthy
Cold and flu are contagious diseases. They spread easily in crowded places like public transportation, schools, and public events. When a person with the flu sneezes or coughs, microscopic particles containing the virus fly up to several feet away and infect those who breathe in the air containing them.
Your child does not have to become a hermit, but teach them basic hygiene practices: not to drink from the same bottle as a sick person, not sneeze in their hand, not to touch their nose, lips, and eyes, and be careful on public transportation.
FAQ:
- How Do You Prevent Cold and Flu in Children?
The most important thing here is to give them plenty of vitamins and teach them basic hygiene, like washing hands and not touching their eyes.
- How Can I Protect My Kids From Getting Sick?
Parents should try to actively shape their children’s environment and support them in developing their own natural defenses. The focus should be on how the family conducts its life as a whole and helps each family member maintain or regain their health as needed.
- Does Vitamin C Help Prevent Colds?
Vitamin C is often prescribed for the treatment and prevention of colds. It works in several ways at once: increases the immune system, reduces the impact of factors that lead to colds, and helps you to go through the illness more easily. All organs and tissues need vitamin C but the human body does not produce it and does not accumulate it.
- What Should Kids Eat When They Have a Cold?
It’s no secret that during illness, children lose their appetite. The young body is fighting hard against infections, and digestion requires extra effort and energy. Make sure that your child’s diet has fruits and vegetables, which will provide the body with vitamins and minerals. Apples, pears, kiwi, lemons, cabbage, carrot, and beet salads will help to stimulate the body’s defenses.
- How Long Do Colds Last in Kids?
A common cold lasts 4 to 5 days and passes without any complications.
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