Buzz
As the weather transitions to cold, low environmental temperatures and humidity provide favorable conditions for the flu virus to thrive, causing coughing, runny nose, bronchitis, pneumonia, and more in young children. However, you can prevent flu in children with the following methods.
1. Symptoms of Flu in Children
Preventing flu in children when the weather turns cold is a concern for many parents.
Symptoms of flu in children are often mistaken for common cold symptoms. However, these symptoms are usually more severe and can lead to dangerous complications.
2. Preventing Flu in Babies
Personal hygiene
Teach your child to wash their hands frequently following the 6-step process for at least 30 seconds. Hands are the most common and easiest pathway for viruses to enter. Also, remind children to avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth. Instead of using the palm of the hand to cover their mouth when coughing or sneezing, they should use their elbow.
Children need to bathe with warm water, change clothes when returning from school, clean their nose, eyes, and rinse their mouth with saline solution once a day to reduce the risk of illness.
Guide children on how to wash hands following the 6-step process recommended by the Ministry of Health to prevent flu
Keep Your Baby Warm
Dressing Tips for Children Outdoors
On cold nights, if your child tends to kick off blankets while sleeping, dress them in long-sleeved clothing, tuck their shirt into their pants, wear socks, and apply a bit of warm oil to the soles of their feet.
Ensure Adequate Sleep for Children
Lack of sufficient sleep can leave children feeling tired and weaken their immune system, making them more susceptible to illness.
Quality sleep is crucial for replenishing energy and enhancing immunity. To ensure your child has a good night's sleep, you can massage them for 10 minutes before bedtime or tell them engaging fairy tales.
The recommended duration of sleep for children is 9 to 12 hours per day.
Maintain Clean Living Environment
Regularly clean and tidy your home to limit the growth and development of germs right in your own living space.
Frequently change and wash bed linens and blankets, and expose them to sunlight regularly.
Disinfect objects that children frequently touch to reduce the risk of disease transmission. These include toys, feeding bottles, towels, doorknobs, toilet flush handles, faucet handles, TV remotes, dining tables, and more.
During flu season, limit your child's exposure to crowded places to minimize contact with sources of illness.
Nutritious Dietary Regimen
Encourage children to follow a balanced diet to boost immunity
According to nutrition experts, foods that help boost children's immunity include garlic, oranges, lemons, dark leafy greens, orange juice, grapefruit, minced lemongrass, and yogurt.
In addition, supplementing probiotics into the digestive system helps strengthen immunity. According to experts, the digestive system contributes 70-80% to immunity and 100% to the energy of young children.
There are many lymphoid follicles along the intestinal wall, where immune cells are trained to help children resist disease-causing agents. Ensuring children consume adequate amounts of all 4 food groups (protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals), drink plenty of water, is an effective way to boost immunity against flu viruses.
Flu vaccination
It is best to get the flu vaccine around October and November for children. Because this is the time when the flu virus is most active during the transition between seasons.
The flu vaccine is for children over 6 months old. Children aged 6-36 months receive a 0.25 ml dose, and a second dose is administered at least 4 weeks after the first dose. Children over 3 years old receive an annual 0.5 ml dose.
We hope that the information in the article above has helped you learn how to prevent flu in children when the weather turns cold.
