How To Prevent Frequent Colds in Children

Sleepless nights, Frequent sneezing, Puffy face, Watery eyes, Headaches, Fever…..are you tired of watching your child suffer from frequent colds after every cake or ice cream? Is your child always drowsy after your anti histamine medicines and anti-cold syrups? Do these syrups give your child any long term benefit? Yes, the common cold is very common… Frequent colds are mostly common among pre – school babies, toddlers, early schooling children or kids attending a day care center. It is said that children have the highest chance of developing common colds till the age of 8 years. The reason is simple – at such an early age, your kids have not developed the immunity to fight against all the diseases. Hence, every time your child gets exposed to a new germ, it causes a bout of illness in the child.

Here are some simple ways that can make your child’s life easier and nights comfortable:

1. Hand Washing Compliance:

It has been seen that a proper hand washing habit does prevent you from catching frequent colds often. Make it a rule for your child to wash hands after every play hour, after every trip to the bathroom, before having any meals and after playing with toys indoors as well. Authorities recommend that kids sing “Happy Birthday to You” twice, because that’s the time duration (20 seconds) it takes to get germs off one’s hands during washing hands with soapy warm water.

2. Schooling:

Germs are known to spread through droplet infections. If you see your child with initial symptoms of cold, it is better to keep your child at home rather than sending them to school. Kids have the highest load of viral infection in the initial days with maximum suffering. Germs tend to spread easily to the other kids and there are chances of a relapse. Educate your child about various hygiene measures to be followed in school like keeping their hands on their mouth and nose while sneezing and immediately washing hands later. Kids must learn to use and dispose paper towels and napkins properly after every single use.

3. Diet:

“Every time You Eat Or Drink, You Are Either Fighting A Disease Or Inviting One”

• Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, help prevent dehydration, and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your kid’s nose and throat. Warm tea with honey and warm lemonade provides vitamin C as well as much-needed hydration.
• Oranges, red peppers and papayas are good in Vitamin C.
• Apples, Fish and Garlic have antioxidants that help fight colds.
• Milk is a good choice because of its Vitamin D content. Curds are said to have an ability to boost immune function.
• Zinc can help prevent or shorten a cold. Foods rich in zinc include seafood, spinach, cashews and beans.

4. Use Of Frequent Antibiotics: The more you use antibiotics, the more the chance that your kid’s immunity won’t react by itself, the more likely they are to get sick, with longer, more stubborn infections caused by more resistant germs.

5. Breastfeeding: Infants till the age of about 9 months have a tendency to catch colds very easily. Mother’s milk helps children fight diseases. Breast milk is known to protect against upper and lower respiratory tract infections even years after breastfeeding is stopped.

6. Homeopathy and Colds: Instead of keeping your child on conventional treatment for every episode of frequent colds, isn’t it better to opt for something which increases your child’s immunity? Homeopathy acts wonderfully on the altered immunity. Homoeopathic remedies for frequent colds reduce the intensity and frequency of each episode and also help decrease the severity with which every cold bothers the child. Get in touch with us today to learn how Dr Rajesh Shah’s research based homoeopathy can help your child’s frequent colds.