Two days ago we talked about the most common diseases in childhood, from birth to that age, towards the age of five (year up, year down), when they begin to get less and less sick. We explain the most common respiratory diseases, as well as those ending in "itis" (gastroenteritis, otitis, laryngitis, conjunctivitis ...), so that you know a little about their name and what they suppose.
Well, although many of them will suffer whatever we do, at many times we can avoid them, or prevent them, or help them to be milder, if we follow these nine strategies to prevent children from getting sick.
The nine basic tips to help children get sick less
Although, as we say, there are several occasions when our children will get sick during childhood, the lifestyle we lead, and that they lead accordingly, can be crucial when it comes to getting sick more or less. For this reason, there are several recommendations that can be followed to try to ensure that they have the best possible state of health and in consequence, less likely to fall ill, with all that that implies.
For this occasion, we will rely on the list created by the Dr. Palak Shroff, family medicine specialist at the University Hospital Medical Center of Cleveland, published by Medline, to which we will add some more strategy that we consider important:
1. Give them breast milk
Breast milk contains immune cells that pass from the mother to the children, strengthening their immune system. In addition, it promotes the colonization of an adequate intestinal microbiota, better prepared to prevent problems and diseases that arrive through the digestive system.
2. Give them systematic vaccines
Administering to children the vaccines of the calendar avoids or decreases the risk of contracting dangerous diseases such as whooping cough, measles, diphtheria, etc., that are seen little or nothing in our environment (although these days a small has been communicated measles outbreak in Barcelona), but that could come back if the vaccination coverage of children falls.
3. Have a balanced diet
Food is crucial in childhood (in fact it is a lifetime), and your health will be better if you carry out a balanced diet rich in fruit, vegetables and vegetables. They are foods with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, essential for the immune system.
4. Sleep well
Eating is as important as sleeping, so children have to be able to sleep the hours they need. If they sleep late because of our lifestyle and then we have to get them up early in the morning, they may not get enough rest. This causes the loss or failure of natural defense mechanisms, increasing the risk of becoming ill.
5. Do sports
It is well known that sport is insurance against the diseases that lurk, unless they do too much and then enter into a situation of tiredness or fatigue that later does not recover with sleep. Exercise promotes better blood circulation, better oxygenation, eliminates tensions and anxieties, and this is reflected in health.
6. That they follow correct hygiene guidelines
And with this we do not say that everything or anything similar needs to be sterilized, but that they wash their hands before eating (This simple act prevents more than 200 contagious diseases), which are clogged to cough and sneeze, and that they also wash after going to the bathroom.
7. Avoid tobacco smoke
In this they can do little. It is our responsibility to keep them away from tobacco smoke. Children regularly exposed to smokers smoke are more at risk of developing respiratory infections.
8. Avoid nursery schools
Speaking only and exclusively in terms of health, one of the best tips is avoid contact of young children with other young children in closed places like nursery schools. Although it does not happen to everyone, there are many children who are infected with many diseases, and some who almost spend more time at home than in nursery school, despite being enrolled.
9. Do not abuse antibiotics
When they are used for viral pictures or diseases that do not require them, and when they are given but the scheduled shots are not completed, bacteria can develop resistance. If this happens, the day they are really necessary, they may not work properly, and unnecessarily lengthen the diseases and damages caused by them.
And if it can't be done?
Not all children are breastfed, and many of the children who go to kindergarten have no other choice. If you are asking yourself this question, the answer is very simple: there are still seven strategies to carry out.
If we explain the nine best tips, it is because they are the nine issues that most have to do with children's health, and on which, more or less, the elderly have an impact. If you can choose, the recommendation says that it is better for a baby to be breastfed; Similarly, if you can choose, it is better, in terms of health, that children do not go to a nursery school, or that they go the later, the better.
If you can't, or you don't want to, then the children they will have more risk of getting sick, which does not mean that they will get sick yes or yes.
Photos | iStock
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