Strengthening immunity in children, main types
All parents, without exception, should know how to increase the child's immunity. The methods of strengthening the baby's defenses are aimed at making the little person subject to as little risk of contracting infectious diseases as possible.
To convey the importance of strengthening immunity in children, we paraphrase Dr. Spock. A famous pediatrician believed that raising children should be done from birth, because if you start at 10-20 days, it means being 10-20 days late. The same rule applies to strengthening the child's immunity, which must be done from the moment the baby is born. Sometimes pediatricians observe other extremes: parents are seriously concerned only with how to strengthen the child's immunity up to a year. In their opinion, this is enough to establish strong immunity almost for life. In fact, the protective properties of a small organism must be kept under constant control.
Strengthening immunity is a system of measures aimed at ensuring that the natural protective forces of the baby's body are not only maintained at the required level, but also gradually increase. A child's immunity before puberty provides a barrier to disease-causing bacteria until the little body gets stronger.
The essence of strengthening immunity also lies in the fact that it is much easier to prevent an infectious disease in children than to get rid of it later. But if your child has already fallen ill (while being treated with antimicrobial drugs), this does not mean that immunity to the pathogen has developed automatically for many years. What to give a child to strengthen immunity after taking antibiotics - the pediatrician will tell you.
How to increase a child's immunity
Before starting systematic and regular strengthening of your son's or daughter's body, it is imperative to consult a child's doctor. If the child has any disease, then certain methods of strengthening the body are contraindicated for him (for example, with the flu, such methods as physical activity, contrast shower and bathing are not recommended).
A system of actions to strengthen a child's immunity consists of the following points:
- taking vitamins;
- hardening;
- proper nutrition;
- physical activity.
Taking vitamins
Practically all parents are well aware of how important the use of vitamins is for a child's growth. The same applies to supporting the body with these useful substances during puberty. Also, dads and moms know well whether children need to take vitamins for memory. But the immune-boosting properties of vitamins are not used to their full potential - although they can work real miracles. Even ordinary apples, which you regularly give your child, will protect him from serious infectious diseases in the future. And what can we say about complex vitamin therapy!
Vitamin support of the immune system is a reception:
- natural vitamins (not only in the composition of vegetables, fruits, berries, but also grains, legumes, meat, fish, etc.);
- vitamin complexes that can be purchased at any pharmacy.
There are no restrictions on taking vitamins in their natural form ("overdose" of apples or lemons is nonsense). But before buying vitamin complexes at the pharmacy, you should consult a pediatrician so that he can advise which vitamins can be given to children to boost immunity.
Hardening
Hardening is the effect on the body of ordinary physical methods, as a result of which the immune system becomes stronger (in particular, cellular and humoral types of immunity). The most common methods of hardening children are:
- air baths (stay of the child with bare skin in the open air);
- sunbaths (the effect of the sun's rays on the exposed skin of the child);
- water procedures (dousing, wiping, bathing);
- alternation of low and high (relative to body temperature) temperatures (contrast shower).
When asking yourself the question of where to start hardening a child, also focus on which procedures she likes and which ones she doesn't. If the child likes to swim in the river, start with that, and then you can unobtrusively expand the range of procedures.
The most important principles of hardening young children are moderation and caution in any of the methods used. Regular follow-up with a pediatrician is also important. Hardening of children in kindergarten should be carried out under the supervision of medical personnel and with the knowledge of parents. As the child grows up, the range of procedures is gradually expanded (according to the principle of "slowly but surely"). But the hardening of preschool children should not involve too radical methods - for example, it is better to replace the same contrasting shower with water at room temperature.
Food
Proper nutrition is the key to strong immunity. A child's diet should contain dishes with a balanced ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and minerals - without them, the immune system cannot become a full-fledged protective barrier. Sometimes moms and dads can't figure out how to boost the immunity of a child who often gets sick. Although in this case the weak link may be an unbalanced diet.
Due to proper nutrition, the necessary level of vitamins, which are needed for the immune system (which we have already mentioned above), is also maintained.
Physical activity
First of all, regular physical activity provides the body with normal blood circulation, without which the immune system cannot obtain the necessary substances for its work and get rid of "waste" in the process of its vital activity.
To strengthen immunity, any physical activity that is strong for the child is welcome:
- morning charging;
- short-term exercises, which should be carried out regularly throughout the child's daytime hours;
- classes in sports sections (running, swimming, and in winter, skiing, in particular, cross-country skiing, strengthen the immune system especially well).
You can learn more about how to strengthen immunity in children by visiting our website https://dobrobut.com. It will also not be superfluous to consult on hardening the child's body and other methods of strengthening immunity, which can be provided by the doctors of our clinic.
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