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10 best ways to protect yourself during cold season
It was summer this year, after all! Although mostly in August, but what a hot month! There is a hope that September will also please with sunny weather. And yet autumn is just around the corner. To prevent the season of colds from catching us and our children by surprise, you need to be prepared for a virus attack.
The recommendations of pediatricians, immunologists and personal experience allowed us to compile the top 10 best ways to strengthen immunity for both children and adults.
Many of the ways to strengthen the immune system, which we will now talk about, are not new, but they are time-tested and effective.
1. Walk, walk and walk again
So that your children are not “indoor”, walk with them in any weather. Most likely, there were no problems with this in the summer. Do not lose the habit of being outdoors in the fall! Most often, on a cold and rainy autumn day, you don’t want to go out with your child. But you need to overpower yourself! Children – both large and small – need to breathe fresh air every day. This is an axiom that does not require proof. Staying in the fresh air hardens the child and increases his resistance to respiratory infections, that is, it becomes a universal prophylactic and often therapeutic agent.
2. More fruits, berries and vegetables
Fruits, berries and vegetables contain live vitamins. One of the best in the fight against colds, vitamin deficiency and other seasonal diseases is lemon. Its pulp contains a lot of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which is actively consumed in any disease.
Season salads with lemon juice. Such live jam will be healthy and tasty. Pass the lemons together with the peel through a meat grinder and mix with sugar 1: 1.
Doesn’t your child like lemon? Give him kiwi! Kiwi contains no less vitamin C.
Many live vitamins are found in autumn berries (viburnum, sea buckthorn, cranberry, chokeberry). Prepare a cocktail for immunity for your child: grind the berries, mix with honey to taste and add a little warm boiled water. Have the child drink this cocktail until the cold season is over.
Such hardening will be to the liking of any child. No wonder – after all, ice cream is useful here, like nothing else! Eating ice cream is a great hardening procedure. If the throat is accustomed to the cold, viruses are not afraid of it.
It will also be very useful to rinse the neck with water – first at room temperature, then increasingly colder. It is good if the child washes his face and washes his hands with cold water.
The main factor that provokes illness in schoolchildren is strong stress – it is they that undermine the immune system. If he will sit at school from Monday to Friday, and even attend 3-4 circles, then, rest assured, this is too much for a growing organism. And if we add to this external factors (change of season, excessive dampness and stay at school, where there will certainly be several sick children), then we get a lot of health troubles. Therefore, the first thing that all parents should do is to unload the child as much as possible.
5. Give your child a good night’s sleep.
If the child does not get enough sleep, the defenses of his body are quickly depleted, which leads to a decrease in immunity. Children should never sit late for lessons. Teach your child to control the time of homework, show how to complete them as quickly as possible and leave time for rest and entertainment.
Outdoor games contribute to health improvement, strengthening the child’s body, hardening and thereby preventing diseases. While walking in the air, try to run with your baby, play active games with him. Or do short (10-15 min.) But intense exercises with jumps and squats together. Older children run around with pleasure without you, the main thing is not to forbid.
The main weapons in the fight against colds are vegetables and fruits. If it is possible not to replace raw products with heat-treated ones, then this opportunity can and should be used. In the absence of allergies, it is better for the child to offer citrus fruits (tangerines and oranges), pineapples and apples. And, probably, there is no such person who would not know about the beneficial properties of garlic and onions. Not all children will eat them, but it is worth trying to add a third of a clove to the first course, which will greatly reduce the likelihood that the child will catch a cold.
In no case should you bypass fermented milk products, they contain linoleic acid, which supports immunity. In addition, it is often because of the disturbed intestinal microflora that the entire body suffers, ceasing to be able to protect itself from colds. In the diet of a preschooler, cottage cheese (every two days) and a glass of kefir (or yogurt) must be present every day.
Many parents, at the slightest sneeze of a child, begin to give him immunostimulants. This cannot be done. Any respiratory infection by itself stimulates the immune system, and in young children, it promotes its maturation. If you artificially stimulate the immune system all the time, the body will no longer cope with viruses on its own.
Immunostimulants are indicated for patients with a weakened immune system (with frequent illnesses). And in no case should you independently prescribe such medications to your child (and any other).
Don’t forget about the best natural immunomodulators: honey, propolis, rose hips, aloe, eucalyptus, ginseng, onions, garlic, cabbage, beets, radishes, etc.
8. Bring in some fresh air!
Many parents often underestimate the importance of airing by ignoring this procedure. Remember to keep the air in your child’s room fresh. Be sure to air it for 15 minutes in the morning and before bed. If the child gets sick, airing along with wet cleaning should be carried out several times a day.
Aromatherapy not only has a good effect on our emotions and mood, essential oils also have antiseptic, bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effects. For example, the defenses of the child’s body are activated by eucalyptus, thyme, lavender, lemon, cinnamon, spruce, pine, bergamot, cedar. The universal immunostimulants include grapefruit, orange, cloves. After childhood infections, mint and rose increase the body’s resistance.
How to do aromatherapy? Close the windows and doors in the room, pour warm water into the aroma lamp, add 3-5 drops of essential oil and light a candle. Let the child breathe in the scent. For prevention, this is a great way. But even with an illness that has already begun, essential oils will also become good helpers. The main thing is that your child is not allergic to any particular scent.
10. More water and dried fruit compotes
Many girls, women, who monitor their health and proper nutrition, know that they need to drink a lot of water, and monitor their drinking regime. But for some reason, not everyone knows that the same applies to children. Teach your child to drink water! Tea, cocoa, sugar compote, and soda are not substitutes for water. A child in elementary school should drink a liter of water per day, a high school student – one and a half liters. This will free the body from toxins, the accumulation of which also provokes disease.
Well, in the season of colds, be sure to give your child rosehip infusion, dried fruit compote. Instead of sugar, sweeten the drink with honey.