While vaccination is the best way to protect your child against infectious diseases, it is not enough. You need to boost their immune system naturally to protect them against diseases. Learn 10 immune system booster tips for children in this article. Reach out to us on https://doralhw.org/contact-us/ for a consultation with the best infectious disease doctors in Brooklyn, New York.
10 Immunity Booster Tips for Children
These tips can help you boost your children’s immune system naturally to stay protected from infectious diseases. It includes:
Fix their sleep: Sleep is crucial for maintaining a healthy immune system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When your kids don’t get enough sleep, they become vulnerable to colds, flu, and other illnesses. This happens because during sleep, our body recovers and improves its functionality. Depending on the age of your children, the amount of sleep can vary. For example, 12 to 16 hours a day for infants, 10 to 13 hours for preschoolers, 9 to 12 hours for grade-school children, 8 to 10 hours of sleep for teens, and some children may need it more than others. Understand how much sleep your child needs and fix their schedule accordingly. To encourage healthy sleep, limit their screen time at least for an hour or two before bedtime, create a comfortable sleeping environment, etc.
Develop the habit of handwashing: Washing hands is the easiest and most effective way to protect yourself from infections like the flu or a cold. Viruses like the flu can survive for up to 48 hours on hard surfaces like doorknobs, desks, and lockers. Make sure your kids learn to wash their hands after using the toilet with warm, soapy water, and scrub for at least 20 seconds and rinse properly. It is also important to teach your children to keep a tissue to cover any sneezes or coughs to avoid passing germs to others.
Focus on their gut health: According to one study, around 70 to 80% of immune cells are found in the gut, and the gut contains a gut microbiome, which includes trillions of bacteria, fungi, and microbes that help in many different body functionalities, including regulating and maintaining immune cells. Having a healthy gut keeps your immune system healthy. To keep their gut healthy, you can add a combination of probiotic foods like natural yoghurt, kefir, and miso, along with prebiotic foods like bananas, onions, garlic, kiwi, etc.
Add nuts and seeds to the diet: Adding nuts and seeds to your children’s diet allows them to get various nutrients and minerals that keep the immune system and overall body healthy. Nuts and seeds offer protein, fiber, mono and polyunsaturated fats, potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, vitamin A, B6, B12, and E. Nuts and seeds also offer a good alternative to get omega-3 fatty acids, instead of fatty fish, for vegans and vegetarians. Some of the common nuts and seeds are walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and ground flaxseeds.
Add fruits and vegetables to the diet: Like nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables are essential to add to the diet because they provide various antioxidants, which protect cells from damage and disease. Along with antioxidants, different vitamins and minerals also provide vitamin A, C, E, B2, B6, K, potassium, folate, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. It is also a good source of vitamin C, which boosts immunity, and is found in various citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, strawberries, limes, and grapefruit. So, make sure to add different fruits and vegetables to your children’s meals.
Manage their stress: Everyone experiences stress, whether they’re an adult or a kid. Children have their own fears, worries, and anxiety, which take a toll on their mental health but also weaken their immune system. That’s why you should keep an eye on their actions and create an open line of communication to let them know that they can talk about anything with you. Also, ensure your children have enough time to play and have fun. Some children also benefit from relaxation techniques like listening to music while relaxing or doing a favorite activity, meditating, and practicing breathing exercises. Meditation and relaxation apps also help you teach your kids about these techniques.
In case your child still shows the signs of mental distress, talk with your primary care physician or call us on +1-718-367-2555 to get professional medical help from our behavioral health specialist.
Keep them physically active: Staying physically active not only benefits your mental health but also boosts your immune system to fight off infections. They also fall sick often if they are physically active. So, make sure that your child not only plays video games but also goes out to make friends and play with them. Exercise also offers many additional benefits, such as:
- Better quality of sleep.
- Decrease anxiety and depression.
- Decrease the risk of getting overweight or developing Type 2 diabetes.
- Decrease cholesterol and blood pressure.
- Improve bone and muscle health.
While your child should stay physically active, it doesn’t mean they should spend too much time playing outside unless your child is a serious athlete, because it can lead to burnout or not eating enough, which can cause problems with the immune system. Make sure you monitor how long they play outside or exercise daily. To encourage your child to be active, you can limit their screen time, set a schedule for exercise, do activities together, and make exercise fun instead of a chore.
Avoid the overuse of antibiotics: Relying on antibiotics when your child gets sick without medical advice can weaken their natural immunity over time. So, always use antibiotics after consulting with the doctor.
Teach about the foods they should avoid: While some foods boost immunity, some foods make it weaker and increase the risk of infections, especially during humid seasons. Make sure you limit or prevent your children from eating those foods, including stress food, raw or uncooked foods, leftover food, unpasteurized dairy products, and fried and oily snacks. This way, their digestive system supports better immunity, especially when their systems are still developing.
Precautionary steps against infections:
You need to teach your kids simple steps to take precautions to keep themselves safe, for instance:
- Always cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue or elbow to prevent germs from spreading.
- Make sure to wash your hands regularly with soap and water after using the toilet, coming from outside, or touching commonly used surfaces. In case there is no soap or water available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Don’t touch your eyes, nose, and mouth without washing your hands first.
- Stay away from people who are sick and avoid hugging, kissing, or shaking hands. Use masks in crowded indoor spaces.
In case your child is sick, don’t send them to school, and regularly disinfect high-touch objects and surfaces, such as doorknobs, mobile devices, remote controls, and toys.
Children are more prone to infectious diseases due to their underdeveloped immune system. That’s why you should focus on boosting their immune system by following the above-mentioned tips to boost immunity and stay protected against various diseases. Need help to boost the immunity of children? Visit our infectious disease clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Book your appointment now, call us on + 1-718-367-2555 to get treated! Learn more about infectious diseases at www.doralhw.org. and stay up to date on current health topics and new research, on recent infectious diseases like COVID-19. If you need help, register your information and make direct contact with our doctors at https://yuz88hfiyh7.typeform.com/Doralintake. Or visit us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212.
