Tips to Strengthen Your Defenses Against the Cold

During the autumn and winter months, you need to bundle up and know how to strengthen your defenses against the cold.

Winter arrives and with it, inevitably, cold weather is present. Without a doubt , we’re talking about one of the staunch enemies of every mother. However, there’s no need to worry if you work hard all year long to strengthen your defenses against the cold.

Children’s immune systems are weaker than adults. For this reason, they become easy targets for the adverse conditions of the season. They’re vulnerable to low temperatures, which favors the contraction of frequent diseases such as flu, the cold, pharyngitis, and bronchitis.

To prevent these conditions, and many others that are even more serious, it’s best to take care of every detail with your child. With that in mind, we’ll share a series of useful and effective tips to strengthen your defenses, day by day.

Food and rest, keys to improving your defenses

Believe it or not, the top secret that allows children to fight the cold is to sleep and eat well. If you want to strengthen their defenses, you only have to offer them a varied diet and adequate rest; because fatigue and a nutritional deficit make it difficult for the body to respond to viruses and bacteria.

If we’re talking about a baby up to one or two years old, pediatricians will state that there’s no better defense than breast milk. Scientifically proven to act as a protective shield against certain diseases. In this way, otitis, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases are avoided.

Once your little one’s ready to eat fruits and vegetables, increase the servings of these types of solids. A good option is to increase the amount of citrus fruits included in your diet. Aim for those that are rich in vitamin A and C.

At the same time, nourish your child with sufficient proteins. To do this, appeal to the power of cereals and legumes. Warm their body with hot broths and infusions and hydrate them with water and natural juices at room temperature.

Of course, the child must eat four meals per day. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” is the law–along with a healthy afternoon snack. Each meal or snack should include fruits, cereals, and dairy products that provide energy and help improve your defenses.

Go wash your hands to strengthen your defenses

An essential habit to instill in little ones, in order to improve their defenses, is to wash their hands. Doing it frequently helps prevent illness and infection. Therefore, it’s a basic and elementary factor in children’s health.

Therefore, everyone must put it into practice at all times. For example, before and after each meal or handling meat, eggs, fruits, and vegetables, when in contact with sick people, touching infected surfaces or objects is also a preventive practice.

Of course, we’re talking about a properly carried out hand washing. It should be done with warm water, from the tips of the fingers to the elbows. Using warm water and for between 40 and 60 seconds, wash the space between each finger and under the nails patiently.

So remember: If your child gets their hands dirty, wants to go to the bathroom, or touches an animal, wash their hands! This should begin at a very young age so the child’s sure to acquire the habit. And it goes without saying that you should lead by example. In other words, be diligent about washing your own hands as well.

How much should children bundle up?

Specialists agree that the main defense barrier against the cold is to shelter the child. This will help them be able to avoid body chills. Therefore, it’s vitally important to know how to choose the right clothing to face the climatic conditions.

The important thing here is that the infant is well dressed. It’s worth clarifying, that we’re not talking about going overboard. The idea isn’t to smother them with clothes and make the child sweat, because you’d be doing more harm than good.

It’s a good idea to wrap kids in layers and, in case of cold temperatures, add more garments. The trick is to put one more layer on the child than the one you’re wearing. Of course, the choice of the right clothes will also depend on whether the little one is traveling in a baby carrier, car, or by walking.

Another factor to consider is the time of exposure to cold. How long will you be outdoors with your child? What does your day look like? From there, the clues will emerge that will help you to know the type of care necessary to carry out in order to avoid possible colds.

However, every mother should make sure her child has all the winter gear they need. In other words, a hat, mittens, scarf, mittens, etc.