How to increase immunity in a child? Such a question appears in almost all parents who send their children to kindergarten or school. The usual situation is when the baby, barely starting to go to the younger group of the preschool institution, spends most of his time on sick leave, or the schoolchild is constantly tormented by colds and SARS. As a rule, this is attributed to weak immunity, they begin to look for experienced doctors and suitable medicines. But first, it is important to deal with the reasons that can cause frequent colds.
The child is often sick
In all these cases, it is important for parents to figure out how to increase the immunity of the child. After all, there are often babies who regularly suffer from colds. However, for some, the disease proceeds for a very long time - from three weeks to a month and a half. When a child turns three years old, it is believed that he often gets sick if he has a cold more than five times a year, and from five years this bar drops to four colds a year. Moreover, often the interval between diseases does not exceed two weeks. Moreover, the child is sick all year round, regardless of the season.
It is worth noting that the condition of the baby is often inversely proportional to the degree of his guardianship. The more parents take care of him, the more often their son or daughter is sick. Even protecting it from drafts, regularly warming the apartment heavily, taking care of warm clothes and walking only in fine weather, you cannot be sure that the child will not get sick. Draft or barely wet feet immediately lead to serious sore throat.
The most obvious cause of the disease in this case is the loss of the ability to adapt to natural changes in living conditions, which the baby appears at birth, but then can be lost.
Reason for regular colds
Most often, the cause of frequent colds is the artificial creation of greenhouse conditions around it. Too warm clothing, water, and the room will reduce contact with air movement. But it is obvious that a person cannot live his whole life in an incubator. As a result, he will still fall in the rain, be under the influence of a strong wind, or get his feet wet.
The question of how to temper a child with a weak immunity should be asked also for those parents whose children also have a hereditary predisposition to negative environmental influences.
In particular, such a predisposition can be expressed in the form of diathesis, chronic eating disorders can begin, as well as chronic diseases of the kidneys, liver, endocrine and nervous systems, digestive tract.
Also, weakened immunity occurs due to a lack of vitamins in the body. Against this background, it is useful to give children good vitamins for immunity. In addition, it is important to pay attention to nutrition so that the child ate as many dairy products and vegetables as possible.
Environmental factor
Another reason for the decrease in immunity is the prolonged exposure to adverse environmental conditions. For example, if a child lives in an industrial area, the waste products are in his respiratory tract, as a result, resistance to infections decreases, and the barrier functions of the mucous membranes decrease.
Similar problems arise when a child lives in the family of a smoker who constantly smokes indoors. The baby in this case finds himself in the situation of a passive smoker, which affects his health.
Such children are often treated with special zeal, but this does not always bring results. Some drugs, such as hormonal drugs or antibiotics, suppress the immune response, significantly reduce resistance to infections.
Stress from educational institutions
Another factor that reduces the immunity to infections is physical and psycho-emotional stress. This is influenced by stress. Often parents give too much importance to how their children will grow up in the future, try to give them everything they need, while recording in music and art schools, dancing and in the sports section. Most often, the baby does not withstand this tension, he has a neurotic reaction. The child begins to get sick regularly.
It is worthwhile to dwell on the child’s immune system. You need to know that it is actively developing immediately after birth. Moreover, in the very first months of the baby’s life, maternal antibodies, which he receives in utero, are protected from external infections.
During the first months, the passive immunity of the newborn is maintained through breast milk. The child’s own immunity is developed only by the age of three. This is on average for someone earlier, and for someone later. But most experts advise not to overestimate the capabilities of their child and not to send them to the children's team until they reach the age of three.
Ways to increase immunity
Strengthening immunity in children should first of all be aimed at eliminating external causes that prevent the body from resisting infection. A large number of studies have proven that stimulant therapy can significantly reduce the incidence of diseases.
It should only be noted that if all this time the child still lives in an environmentally unfavorable area, receives exorbitant loads at school and in additional classes, then the disease can return.
Therefore, strengthening immunity in children should begin with a rational regime of the day, as well as a varied and nutritious diet.
Prolonged runny nose in a child
If your child regularly has a protracted runny nose that lasts for more than one week, then this can lead to serious consequences. For example, sinusitis, rhinitis. You can defeat these diseases with the help of complex herbal preparations.
For example, you can take courses of biostimulating agents. These include the Far Eastern and Chinese lemongrass, eleutherococcus, ginseng, Immunal, Linetola, propolis, Pantocrine.
Effective medications for immunity for children are multivalent drugs. They are able to form the protection of the child from a large number of pathogens of various respiratory infections. Among them, one can distinguish Bronhomunal, Ribomunil, and IRS-19. They are used in long courses for up to six months. To get the desired effect, you must be diligent and patient. These are tablets for immunity for children, which can help them in the short term.
Specialized vaccines have been developed against colds, which are especially difficult. They help protect against haemophilus influenzae, influenza and pneumonia.
Also, immunity medications for children are immunomodulators, which can have a direct effect on specific parts of the immune system. These include Levamisole, sodium nucleic acid, Prodigiosan. Recently, it is increasingly common to fight colds with homeopathy for children for immunity. So, the Oscillococcinum remedy is very popular.
Taking antiviral drugs helps to cope with the long-term circulation of the virus in the child's body. These are "Roferon", "Lockeron", "Cycloferon", "Poludan", "Amiksin", "Ridostin" - effective tablets for immunity for children.
Just note that it is necessary to intervene in the activity of the immune system very carefully, especially when it comes to a child. A specialist doctor will help you choose the drug that your child needs. His advice must be heeded.
Immunologist Tips
A specialist immunologist will help to cope with weak immunity. He will tell you how to temper a child with a weak immune system, what to do to forget about these problems forever. One of the fundamental tips is high-quality daily nutrition. Note that most nutrients must be ingested exclusively with food. Therefore, nutrition must be varied, with lots of vitamins. Never forget that boiled and raw foods are much healthier than fried foods. The human body is often weakened precisely because of a lack of trace elements, which leads to disease.
Another advice from the immunologist on how to increase immunity is to organize a favorable psychological environment. If a child has constant stress, then he becomes more vulnerable to various bacteria and viruses. Therefore, it is extremely important to give your baby care and attention, even despite his possible pranks. If he constantly worries because of his behavior, grades or some other minor problems from the point of view of an adult, then all this will affect his health.
It is noteworthy that the cause of a decrease in immunity can be diseases of internal organs. As soon as these symptoms appear, you must immediately consult a doctor and undergo a full examination. It affects the immune system and heredity, especially if the woman was sick during pregnancy and did not use vitamins that strengthen the body.
In this case, one of the main answers to the question of how to increase the immunity of a child is hardening. This method is simple and accessible to everyone without exception. You can teach your baby to harden from the age of four. Start gradually only when the baby is completely healthy. In no case force the baby to a healthy lifestyle, think of some kind of game, how to combine an interesting activity with a useful one.
Regular sports will also help you with this, as it is easier to increase the child’s immunity when he is physically ready for it. Normal morning exercises will provide a positive charge of vigor for the whole day to a person at any age.
And after any catarrhal disease, at least for a short time you need to take care and not visit places with a large crowd of people, because the immune system is only being restored at this time. Better spend time in the fresh air without overloading yourself with physical activity.
Healthy sleep
Among the unobvious factors that contribute to strengthening the immune system, healthy sleep. With a full night's rest, the body's resistance will increase significantly. Due to mood swings, irritability and crying, the child is disturbed in sleep, and all this can affect his mental comfort and overall health.
It has long been noticed that children who do not get enough sleep regularly become much more susceptible to disease. There are even certain parameters, how much the baby is and at what age should sleep. Up to 6 months is considered normal if your son or daughter sleeps about 18 hours a day, up to a year and a half this figure is reduced to 12-13 hours, children under 7 years old should sleep at least 10-11 hours. Otherwise, immunity can be seriously compromised.
Of course, you need to make a discount on the fact that all children are different, and these are all average indicators. But you need to try to ensure the optimal mode in which the baby will never have a sleep deficit. You need to lie down in the evenings and get up in the morning at the same time, so you will accustom the child to the regimen, which will be useful to him in his future life. The regimen can significantly strengthen the immune system at any age, and especially in children.
Nasal drops for better health
Earlier in this article, listing what a child can have for immunity, we mostly mentioned pills. In fact, there are a large number of drops that have a similar effect on the body.
One of the most effective such drugs is called Derinat. It is aimed at restoring damaged tissues and relieving inflammation in the nose, while it is an immunomodulator.
Among its useful properties are increased humoral and cellular immunity, increased resistance to colds, improved timely immune response, increased activity of the lymphatic system, stimulated immunity to increased protection in various viral, bacterial and fungal infections, accelerated healing and cell restoration, normalization of metabolism substances.
The doctor can prescribe these nasal drops for immunity to children. After all, it is suitable even for babies from the first months of their life. They take it not only to increase immunity, but also at the first symptoms of a cold, for the prevention of diseases. Dripping is recommended in the sinuses, two drops on the first day every hour. Then another four days - one drop four times a day. Treatment takes no more than ten days, unless otherwise advised by your healthcare provider.
The drug has not so many contraindications. This is an allergic reaction and individual intolerance to the individual components. If the dosage is strictly observed, then no side effects should occur.
Folk remedies
There are a large number of folk remedies to increase immunity in children. As a rule, these are tinctures, decoctions, healthy fruits that help the body get the substances it lacks.
For example, nuts for immunity help children who are supplied with a large amount of minerals and proteins that are extremely beneficial for the body. The classic recipe for a nut mixture consists of the following ingredients:
- 150 grams of walnuts;
- 150 grams of fresh dried apricots;
- lemon;
- 200 grams of bee honey.
Dried apricots need to be washed thoroughly. Scalp the lemon with boiling water and cut into slices. Twist all the ingredients in a meat grinder, then add honey and mix thoroughly.
This mixture is put in a jar and stored in the refrigerator. You need to eat one tablespoon on an empty stomach before each main meal.
A lemon and honey recipe for immunity for children has a beneficial effect. To do this, prepare:
- 100 grams of peeled root;
- 200 grams of honey;
- 4 lemons.
A spoon of this mass is recommended to be stirred in boiled water and drunk before bedtime.
There are also a large number of simple recipes that will help boost immunity. For example, to strengthen the baby’s immunity, you can drink rosehip broth, honey or lemon water (one teaspoon of honey or lemon juice per glass of boiled water). High efficiency have teas from linden blossom, chamomile, coltsfoot, juices.
Often children get sick due to a lack of vitamins. Therefore, skip one and a half glasses of raisins, a glass of walnuts, half a glass of almonds, zest of two lemons in a meat grinder, and squeeze the lemons themselves into the resulting mass. Mix all this with half a glass of melted honey. The mixture should be infused for a couple of days in a dark place, after which give the child two teaspoons 3 times a day an hour before meals.
To strengthen the immune system, bran is also suitable. The recipe is this: a tablespoon of rye or wheat bran is poured with a glass of water and boiled for about 40 minutes, stirring constantly. After that, add a tablespoon of dried chopped calendula flowers, boil for a few more minutes, cool, filter and add a little honey. You need to drink such an infusion four times a day for a quarter cup.
Strengthens children's immunity and decoction of horsetail. One tablespoon of horsetail is poured with boiling water and drunk, letting it brew. Especially it helps during an influenza epidemic or during an already begun illness to strengthen the body. Just pay attention to the fact that it is contraindicated in people with kidney problems.