I saw a link to an article called 'Cough And Cold Medicines For Kids Are They Safe' on my Twitter account (@mad4organics) and decided to take a look.
As a fromer School Nurse, this got me thinking about child health and what I recommend to worried parents. We all have a tendency to take our child’s immune systems for granted when they are well (not complaining!). However a lowered immune system is unable to combat illnesses with the same effectiveness.
Firstly I strongly believe that Prevention Is Better Than Cure – the best way to prevent a cold or cough is not to get one in the first place. A strong immune system is the best way to help you achieve this. To understand the problems let’s have a look at what lowers our Immune system?
Proper nutrition is the most important aspect of a strong immune system and for overall good health. Today’s food lacks much of the vitamins and minerals that we had when we were children.
Environments such as those that encourage airborne pathogens such as smoke, dust and mould can seriously affect the immune system as it can be weakened by repeatedly having to defend itself against these ‘foreign invaders’. Air that's dry, indoors or out, can lower resistance to infection by the viruses that cause colds. Conversely making environments too clean can also have a negative effect on your child’s health. Normal doses of airborne particles help train the immune system to react correctly to them and respond to ensure that they don’t cause your child harm. If your child is not exposed to these, then when they appear in an environment outside of your control, your child’s immune system may not respond effectively.
If your child does not get adequate amounts of sleep, then the immune system cannot repair the cells that were damaged during their waking hours. When they are busy working at school or playing, the immune system is working hard to provide protection from injury. When they are resting the immune system work on destroying viruses and other sources of infection.
Those children who are under chronic stress such as challenging home environments or taking exams have been shown to have lower than normal white blood cell counts.
Uses of drugs and medication often have the effect of solving symptoms but affecting other areas of the body and the immune system is the often first place that is affected
A common cold, including chest cold and head cold, brings with it sniffles and sneezes and perhaps a sore throat and annoying cough (especially for the parents!). With children potentially getting as many as eight colds a year or more, it’s important to understand what causes them. Most colds are caused by rhinoviruses that are in unseen droplets in the air that we breathe or sitting on the things that we touch. There are more than 100 different recorded rhinoviruses which can get into the protective lining of the throat and nose, which in turn triggers an immune system response. This causes a sore throat and makes it difficult to breathe through the nose. Coughing starts when the nerve endings in the airways become irritated. Coughing helps stop environmental pathogens entering the body through the airways.
To help prevent these affecting your child my advice is four fold…
Nutrition Make sure that they eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, organic where possible. Too expensive? The extra cost might put you off but it’s a whole lot cheaper than having to take time off work to care for the child or purchasing all those ‘not so safe’ over the counter medications, as detailed in the WebMD article. You can also cut down, if not remove all of the refined sugar from their diets as this feeds the bugs and has no benefit to them at all.
Exercise
Sitting indoors in front of the TV, PC or games console is OK in moderation. The easiest way to get them out of the house is to go out there with them and interact with them. Exercise is beneficial to the immune system because exercise has the capacity to protect and even enhance the immune response. Experimental studies have shown that a regular exercise program of brisk walking can bolster many defences of the immune system, including the antibody response and the natural killer (T cell) response. There is also lots of evidence that exercise relieves stress which can be a key reason for a lowered immune system.
Rehydration Give them lots of fluids, when I say fluids I don’t mean fizzy drinks or sugar laden squash etc. I mean water, as this will help the body eliminate properly and help flush out any toxins in the body.
Supplementation The vitamins A and C are particularly important, but need to be taken with the right combination of other vitamins and minerals to work effectively. Giving your child a good daily multivitamin is the easiest way to ensure that they get near to the right amounts of the vitamins that they need to function. Also Echinacea, Zinc, Elderberry and Garlic are all well known immune enhancers. Also make sure their friendly bacteria are topped up (but not with a product that includes dairy), you’ll be most of the way there to preventing illnesses.
If they do get a cold what can you do?
Allow them to sleep, as stated before, this is when the body heals itself. Give them plenty of fluids and vitamin C.
If you are in a doubt about taking my advice – just remember those sleepless nights where your child lets you know that they are not well by keeping you and your partner awake. What’s a good night’s sleep worth to you…. and your child?
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