Prevention of influenza and ARVI in children

The greatest vulnerability of children to respiratory viruses is observed in the autumn-winter period. And because before the season of ARVI, it will be useful for parents to familiarize themselves with measures of protection against infection. How to prevent viral infections of the respiratory tract in childhood and not to get sick with ARVI too often?

In the first months, the baby is protected from any infections thanks to mom's antibodies that get to him through breast milk. therefore breastfeed it is extremely important, because immediately after birth the baby’s immune system has not yet become involved in the work. In addition, if the mother has a viral infection, it is not recommended to stop feeding, because antibodies from my mother's body will get to the toddler and protect it from SARS.

If a mother wants to stimulate the child’s immune forces during a period of increased risk of acquiring ARVI, she should discuss the possibility of using drugs with a doctor. Most often such drugs are multivitamin complexes. The doctor may recommend local antiviral agents that are applied to the mucous membranes.

Vaccination is called an effective way to protect against the flu, but there are some nuances:

• First, only a healthy child should be vaccinated; therefore, the vaccine should be administered long before the season of viral diseases.
• Secondly, we must not forget that flu vaccine unable to provide complete protection against infection, so you should not neglect other measures of prevention of SARS.

It is noted that children who have a day regimen are more resistant to the attacks of viruses. If rest and active activities, sleep and meals, entertainment and study alternate in the child's life, his body recovers better and optimally reacts to the changed conditions, and also withstands stresses well.

Prevention of SARS also necessarily includes a rational and vitamin-rich diet. The child should prepare food from natural products, among which berries, fruits and vegetables with red, dark green and orange are especially important. Chemical additives in the child's diet should be the minimum amount, since they additionally load the children's body.

To strengthen the immunity of the crumbs, first of all, products with a lot of vitamin C are recommended. This could be black currant, cowberry, cranberry, lemon. From berries you can make healthy fruit drinks, grinding them in a blender and adding sugar. Benefit will bring tea from currant leaves.

Well strengthen the immune system and bee products. By giving your baby honey, pollen and propolis, you will suppress the vital activity of viruses and improve the immune system. However, such products are shown only to children who are not allergic to honey.

You can reduce the risk of infection from other people by thoroughly washing your hands frequently and using individual towels. If one of the family members is sick with ARVI, he should certainly select the dishes from which only he will eat.

Always carry wet wipes with you and often wipe the child handles, especially during epidemics of the disease, because the virus can get through the elevator button, handrail, door handles, handrails and many other items that affected people have touched.

Washing the baby's nose with sea water twice or thrice a day can prevent the occurrence of viral diseases, since such a procedure removes viruses and bacteria from the mucous membrane.

Regular wet cleaning helps reduce the risk of transmitting viruses from ill family members to healthy ones. It is equally important to perform airing, as well as monitor the humidity and the optimum temperature in the room. If someone in the house is sick, you can use a germicidal lamp to clean the room.

Thanks to the mask, it is possible to prevent the ingestion of sputum and mucus, in which there are viruses, to healthy people. Masks are especially important if someone from a family member has already fallen ill with ARVI. In this case, the mask can be worn as a healthy child, protecting it from the illness of other people, and the sick baby, so as not to spread the infection. However, in the second case, a frequent mask change (every 3–4 hours) is recommended, since it accumulates viruses.

Due to passive smoking, the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity becomes drier, and its epithelium, which is responsible for removing viruses, is worse. It is also known that the smoke that got into the children's body makes the respiratory tract of the crumbs more sensitive to the causative agents of SARS.

Prevent numerous ARVI in kindergarten is possible if you develop and use the system hardening and rehabilitation taking into account the characteristics of each child. When entering the garden, you should learn from the mother about the course of pregnancy and the first years of the baby's life, assess the mental as well as the physical development of the child. These data will help you choose a particular type of hardening for your baby and determine his or her health group.

During walks, the rooms in the kindergarten should be ventilated, and during children's sleep, the upper transoms of the windows in the game room should be opened, providing fresh air. Regularly, indoor air should be treated with a germicidal lamp.

After sleep, children should be offered to walk on terry paths (alternating dry ones with moistened salted water) and on foot mats for massaging. For the prevention of flatfoot, you can offer to walk on a log.

On the windowsill, children can independently grow greens (for example, green onions), and add it to food. Will help in strengthening the immune system phytococktails and peas ascorbic acid.