Protect Your Baby From A Cold
How can you protect your baby from a cold? Here are some tips for the wet and cold time.
With the arrival of the cold season and the upcoming rains , many parents wonder what they can do to save their child or baby from this typical seasonal disease.
Read on to find some practical tips you can use to protect your baby from a cold .
Your baby’s rain and cold
During the rainy season, respiratory problems such as pneumonia, sinus infections, otitis media, and bronchiolitis are more common. In children, these can cause even more serious complications.
That’s because the rain paves the way for respiratory infections and air pollution. This can cause your child to develop a fever with temperatures above 39 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in this range or a fever for three days or more are definitely reasons to see a doctor with your child.
In order to protect your baby from a cold, you should pay attention to their diet, keep an eye on their health and make sure that they are appropriately dressed, especially when the temperature changes.
What to do if your baby has a cold
Viruses spread either through the air or through contact with appropriately contaminated objects. Accordingly, it is very important to disinfect your child’s toys and wash their hands often. It’s even better if you wash yours too.
If the symptoms already occur, paediatricians recommend drinking plenty of fluids to cool the throat area first.
If it is a nasal congestion or sinus infection, use warm salt water in and on the baby’s nose to clear the congestion quickly. However, you should avoid cough syrups with antibiotics to fight a fever.
Protecting your baby from a cold – tips and tricks
- Get your child used to personal hygiene. If you want to protect your baby from a cold, it is important to take care of yourself and your child’s personal hygiene, especially with very young children and babies. Teach him to blow his nose with clean tissues. You should wash your hands with soap – preferably with antibacterial or antiseptic soap – if possible for up to 20 seconds under warm water. This eliminates a large part of the viruses.
- Avoid sharing or using things with multiple people. It is best to avoid eating and drinking that come from the same bowl or glass (e.g., popcorn). Use separate bowls for eating, especially if a family member already has a cold. This way the viruses spread less.
- Parental care to avoid colds. If you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth and teach your child to do the same. If you sleep with your child in the same bed, keep a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters between your heads so that the pathogens cannot spread.
- Good nutrition. Pay attention to your baby’s diet, as more calories are needed in cold weather than in summer. If you want to protect your baby from a cold, you should pay attention to a good diet, as this strengthens its immune system. Breastfeeding also strengthens the baby’s immune system and protects it from many infections. If he is already eating solid foods, his diet should include fruits and vegetables high in vitamins A and C, as well as fish and milk. Replace cold drinks with broths, hot drinks, water, and natural room temperature juices.
- Avoid people with infectious diseases. If someone in the family is already sick, that person should avoid contact with the child. If you have to spend time together, a good preventative measure is to use breathing masks. Of course, you should also try not to sneeze or cough in front of the child.
- Avoid the cold. You can protect your baby from a cold by wrapping them up in clothes and blankets, for example, when they go for a walk, but without overdoing it. If the baby is too warm, this is more likely to have the opposite effect, as too much clothing prevents the body’s natural temperature regulation.
In addition, the temperature at home should not be too high so that the difference compared to outside is not too great. It is very important to protect your baby’s nose and mouth when moving from a warm to a cold environment. This can be used to counteract the temperature change.
- You can protect your baby from a cold by ventilating regularly. Do this regularly to keep the viruses out of the house. However, you need to protect your child from drafts by staying with them in a room with no open windows or doors.
- Avoid crowds. It is important not to have your child with you in crowded places and to avoid shopping malls, downtown areas, and shops. Try to keep your child away from these places, as there are many viruses and bacteria there.
- If you want to protect your baby from a cold, sleep and physical activity are essential. Physical activity is recommended as it usually strengthens the child’s immune system. Sleep is also very important to improve the child’s defenses. The better the baby sleeps, the better it will cope with colds, fevers and viruses. As you can see, there are tons of practical tips out there to protect your baby from catching a cold and how to deal with an existing cold.
