Cold And Flu Prevention Tips For Kids

Flu is a common disease which affects most of the children at one point of time or the other. It is caused by viral infection. When the atmospheric temperature is mild i.e. it is not too cold or hot, different viruses grow and spread in the atmosphere. In certain regions November is the month in which the temperature is ideal for multiplication of viruses and children having lower resistance power get caught.

Once flu/viral infection affect the child, i.e. he gets fever; he has to be confined to bed for about eight to ten days. In addition to discomfort and pain suffered by the child during this period, he has to miss his school and other routine activity. Flu often causes excessive weakness in the child which takes quite some time to cure fully, as such it is better to take preventive measures to avoid exposure. Some of these can be listed as under.

• First and the foremost preventive measure that can be taken is- getting the child vaccinated. Doctors will be able to suggest the proper vaccine shot that will give maximum protection to the child against common viruses that affect the children of different ages at a particular time of the year. Some of the parents are reluctant to get the children vaccinated as vaccine shot often results in the child getting fever for about a day or so due to development of anti bodies. However it is better for the child to suffer for a day than suffering for longer time after getting exposed and catching flu.

• The next important remedial step that should be taken is cleanliness. The child should properly wash hands with a disinfectant soap for at least about twenty seconds. This should be done quite often and washing of hands should be a must before each meal. Even if the child is in school the teachers should take care that the child cleans his hands before lunch break. Counsel your child continuously about necessity of cleanliness and various diseases which can be prevented by eating with clean hands.

• The child should change clothes daily. The clothes should be washed and disinfected with some liquid available for this purpose in which the clothes should be dipped. Bed linen also needs to be changed and washed frequently.

• Disinfection of the home is another important requirement for a healthy child. It is necessary to get the room of the child properly disinfected, if possible take the help of some professional agency. In addition to the room kitchen area and the carpets in the rooms should be got disinfected. Small things like telephone sets or other gadgets which come near the mouth of the child should be taken care of.