How to increase immunity in a child: drugs and folk remedies

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Increasingly, in the news you can see reports of exceeding the epidemiological threshold in different regions of the country. As a rule, we are talking about SARS, and the main victims of the disease are children of different age groups. So that the child is not among the sufferers, it is reasonable to take measures in advance to activate the immune system. This will prevent not only the disease, but also the complications that it can entail. Consider how to increase immunity in a child, what doctors say about this, what traditional medicine can advise.

Where to start?

The first measure, as experts say, is a change in lifestyle, activation of everyday life. Telling how to increase immunity in a child, doctors urge to stimulate the motor activity of the child. In recent years, only a small percentage of families do exercises in the morning - and this method of increasing immunity is one of the simplest and most effective, it works equally for children and for the older generation. Just a quarter of an hour in the morning allows you to wake upthe body, activate protective factors, increase resistance to negative viral, infectious agents.

Explaining how to increase immunity in a child through physical activity, doctors advise every morning to do exercises to the music, changing the set of exercises from time to time. Gymnastics will seem interesting and attractive to the child, he will not try to evade the performance of the ritual. In addition to physical, there will be emotional benefits, and the baby will go to kindergarten and school in a positive mood. From the point of view of some experts, a smile, a good mood is a factor in activating the immune system. Happy children are much less likely to get colds or the flu, researchers say.

Vitamins and their sources

Perhaps, any adult knows how to increase immunity in a child: you need to include more vitamin C in the menu. As soon as the epidemic begins, the body's need for ascorbic acid increases. To satisfy her, herbal medicine will come to the rescue. For example, fresh lemon should be added to tea daily, and honey instead of sugar. You can dilute the drink with echinacea extract. A safe alternative is ginger tea. To supplement and enhance the effect, you can buy multivitamin complexes with ascorbic acid at the pharmacy. On sale there are special kits for children aimed at increasing immunity. Vitamin C is sold in the form of fragrant effervescent tablets, which are sure to please even the most capricious child.

Indispensable products that increaseimmunity in children - a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables. Green foods will benefit the most, scientists say:

• cabbage;
• broccoli;
• polka dots.

There is no point in feeding a child with canned food, there are no useful compounds in them. To strengthen the immune system, fresh foods are needed. Ascorbic acid is destroyed almost instantly if the compound is exposed to heat or sunlight. To make vegetable dishes as he althy as possible, it is better to cut the products in the salad into large slices.

Fruit should be a daily part of a child's diet. Preference is given to citrus fruits, but do not neglect others: any fresh fruit is useful. It is believed that the greatest effect will be from the constant consumption of those fruits and vegetables that grow in the climatic zone where a person lives.

Prevention is the best cure

When explaining to parents how to increase immunity at home for a child, doctors definitely recommend making it a habit to harden. True, you need to approach the task responsibly, without undue haste. First, only the feet are treated, then the legs and arms, and the whole body is gradually included in the process. At the beginning of hardening, water close to body temperature should be used, gradually dousing the child with an increasingly cold liquid. This will debug the mechanisms of temperature regulation, activate the natural ability to resist aggressive external factors.

How to increase the immunity of a child at 4 years old? The advice that any modern doctor will surely give is to make himvaccination. From year to year, before the season of epidemics, free vaccination is organized at the state level in our country. The main condition is the consent of the parents. The child comes to the clinic with his mother or father, he is given an injection - it takes only a few minutes, but it saves him from a week or two of high fever, and also prevents complications that could provoke the disease.

Lifestyle & Immunity

Understanding how to increase the immunity of a child at home, you need to analyze the daily routine of the baby. It is known that children who spend a lot of time outdoors and go for walks every day get sick much less often. Even if the weather is not good, the air is cold, you should let the child who wants to take a walk, and if the child does not want to, come up with an incentive to interest him. The duration of walks is chosen based on the climate: if it is very cold, slushy, it is raining, you should not spend too much time outside.

Doctors, studying how to increase the immunity of a 6-year-old child, found out that children exposed to stress factors are much more likely to get sick. However, this applies to younger kids, and older children, as well as adults. Any experiences undermine the body's defenses, and under the influence of stress factors, resistance to infectious agents is sharply reduced. So that the child does not get sick, parents should control his peace of mind. At the same time, it should be checked how much time is spent on rest, how much -to classes. Overworking, especially in childhood, also undermines the immune system.

Finding out how to increase the immunity of a child of 5 years old (as well as at a younger, older age), you need to remember that he althy and long sleep is the key to resistance to a variety of diseases. During sleep, the body's defenses are restored, but lack of sleep, especially chronic, leads to a strong weakening of the body. If the child already goes to kindergarten, school, you need to monitor compliance with the daily routine, control the time of going to bed. If you succeed in accustoming a child to stability, in the morning he will get up cheerful, and his he alth will be strengthened.

What is it about?

By the way, many doctors advise: before finding out how to increase the immunity of a child of 6, 5, 3 years old and at any other age, one should delve into the very essence of the term “immune system”. By understanding how defense mechanisms work, it will be possible to independently analyze the effectiveness of various recommended approaches.

Immunity is usually called the body's ability to resist aggressive factors, alien genetic data carriers - bacteria, viruses, fungi. There is a specific immunity that is formed after an illness. This can be obtained for a limited period or for life. But congenital is non-specific, that is, a protective system that is laid down during maturation in the mother's body.

To understand if a child is often sick, how to increase immunity, you should pay attention to the existence of two types of defense systems:

• antimicrobial, naturedesigned to protect against the pathogen by destroying it;
• antitoxic, eliminating waste products of pathological agents.

Finally, it is worth remembering the division of immunity into natural and artificial. The first is formed on its own, is a response to contact with an aggressive agent. An artificial one can create drugs intended for vaccination that increase immunity in children. They ensure that the immune system meets the pathogen in a controlled form - the pathological agent is weakened, so the body's defenses can easily cope with it and receive information that allows you to quickly respond if in the future the baby meets with a carrier of a full-fledged agent.

Do I need a vaccine?

Many modern parents are faced with the fact that the child is often sick. How to increase immunity is not always clear, because the baby picks up one disease, then another. The best way is to consult a doctor who can understand the reason for the high incidence. If it makes sense, the doctor will suggest a vaccination.

It so happened that in recent years there have been whole movements on a planetary scale. Their participants are of the opinion that vaccinations are only harmful, and the child must be ill with all the prescribed diseases in an uncontrolled form. Others believe that vaccinations are made against rare pathologies that do not threaten the child. And yet, medical statistics inexorably says that the incidence rate among vaccinated babies is much lower.

At the same timetime should not be expected that the vaccine will save from everything at once. For example, every year during the flu season throughout the country, people who wish are vaccinated against certain strains for free. If the child meets with a carrier of another strain of the virus, the vaccine will not save, the risk of getting sick will still be high. As a rule, the vaccine is given against the most common types of the virus, so such an injection is fully justified.

Relevance of the issue

Some parents, figuring out how to increase the immunity of a child at 4 years old, at three or six - in a word, at any age - believe that any illness indicates a weakness in the baby's he alth. Doctors point out that this is not the case: children really should get sick, since the body only gets acquainted with pathological agents, viruses and bacteria, and in the course of the disease acquires resistance to them. Only cases where the number of cases per year exceeds five should cause concern. A poor state of the immune system is indicated by the absence of a high temperature during illness, as it indicates the body's inability to resist infectious agents.

It is worth figuring out how to increase the immunity of a child at 4 years old (and at a different age), if the baby is pale, gets tired quickly, blue circles appear under the eyes - all these signs indicate a lack of immunity. However, the reason is not the only one. Similar symptoms are manifested by various blood diseases, including anemia. Only a doctor can understand exactly why ill he alth is bothering you.

Who will help?

Before you try on your ownto figure out how to increase the immunity of a child at 3 years old, if you suspect a weakening of this system, you need to consult a doctor. The child must first be shown to the local pediatrician, who will write out a referral for an examination by an immunologist or assure that everything is normal, and also explain why the disturbing symptoms appeared. Doctors will recommend medications that are suitable for a particular case, as well as give advice on daily habits, methods and folk recipes that will help strengthen the child's defenses.

Don't try to raise the immunity of a very young child. Breastfeeding babies receive adult antibodies along with it, which provides reliable protection against various infections and viruses. Measures to increase children's own immunity at this age usually lead only to a negative result.

Some Features

Studies have shown that the immune system is stronger in children fed natural milk for a long time. Doctors are convinced that you need to breastfeed your baby for as long as possible. Of course, at first the process creates inconvenience, is unusual and sometimes even unpleasant, but gradually the body gets used to it, milk is generated in the required volumes and at the right time, so feeding becomes a pleasant everyday activity, useful for both mother and child.

It is customary to think that it is required to increase the child's immunity with folk remedies literallyfrom birth, because the child does not have its own protective forces. In addition, caring parents are trying to create almost sterile conditions at home so that the fragile body does not meet with dangerous microbes. In fact, such an opinion is nothing more than a delusion. The presence of a child in the house is a reason to keep the room clean, but within reason. Do not be afraid of walking, boiling the dishes from which the child eats, ironing clothes for a long time at the maximum temperature. Encounter with bacteria is one of the factors that form immunity.

Child recovered: how not to get sick again?

A rather relevant question for many parents: how to increase the immunity of a child at 3 years old, at two or four, at a different age, if the baby fell ill with a serious illness, recovered, but looks weak. After any severe pathology, the body has a rather weak ability to defend itself against harmful agents, so during this period the child needs special care. The period after surgery, trauma is associated with similar dangers.

The doctor can explain what to do. The doctor focuses on the individual characteristics of the case. The doctor will tell you what and how to properly feed the child, what habits are useful in everyday life, what drugs, drugs that increase immunity in children are relevant for the current situation. You should not choose pharmaceutical preparations for your baby on your own - there is a risk of harming him. In addition, all pharmaceutical products have contraindications and side effects.

Natural Remedies for Baby He alth

Understanding howto increase the immunity of a child at 2 years old, you should pay special attention to natural products and remedies. There are a huge number of folk recipes, and their effectiveness is quite high - many are not inferior to pharmaceutical products. An important feature is the minimum chance of allergies, side effects.

When studying tips on how to increase the immunity of a child at 2 years old, special attention should be paid to the rules for compiling a diet. Preference should be given to natural food, avoiding preservatives, aromatic, flavoring, coloring additives as long as possible. All these chemical compounds have a toxic effect, especially pronounced in young children. Products bring absolute harm to children at any age:

• chewing gum;
• chips;
• lemonade.

Instead, you should pay attention to different fruits, berries and herbs, which can be used to prepare delicious drinks. The classic version is the rosehip. Decoctions from its fruits are perfect instead of tea and other drinks. The exception is milk, it should not be excluded from the child's diet in any case.

Preparing rosehip broth is easy. For 200 g of fresh fruits, they take half as much sugar, a liter of water and boil for several hours, waiting for the berries to be completely boiled. The finished broth is covered with a lid and wrapped in a blanket or shawl, allowed to brew until the liquid cools, then it is decanted. You can use the decoction for food as much as you want. Healers recommend using an infusion in the amount of 100 g per 10 kg of body weight and more.

When figuring out how to increase immunity in a child with folk remedies, you need to remember that some products have specific effects. For example, wild rose decoction can increase the urge to urinate. This is a normal response of the body, there is no reason to panic.

You should consult a doctor if your baby has kidney disease.

Simple and effective

Observations show that children who often walk barefoot are much less likely to get sick. This is due to the abundance of active points on the human sole. When walking without shoes, a person constantly stimulates these places, so that the immune system becomes better. It is most useful to walk without shoes on clean sand, pebbles by the sea, and in the cold season - at home. To prevent colds, you need to control that the floor is warm and the child uses socks.

At the age of ten and older, you can use a garlic-honey mixture to stimulate immunity. 100 g of honey is taken for one head of the root crop, preferably from linden. Garlic is peeled, crushed into a fine gruel, mixed with honey and infused for a week, then used as food during a meal. Dosage - a teaspoon, frequency - three times daily. This recipe is not suitable if the baby is prone to allergic reactions to various foods, since both components are quite strong allergens.

Another simple option to strengthen immunity, which does not require significant investments, but brings joy to the whole family, is a trip to the sea. A week or two in a warm climate, by the sea, withconstant water procedures, the opportunity to sunbathe and eat fresh fruits and berries literally “from the branch” - all this provides the child with powerful protection until the next holiday season.

Methods and tools: what else to try?

To keep your child he althy and active, you can offer him to play sports. Suitable pool, dancing or any sports section. The main thing is that the classes should be a pleasure, because the imposed trainings are only harmful. Vigorous, active child is not afraid of viruses and bacteria.

In the evenings, you can make it a habit for the whole family to drink herbal infusions and teas. For their preparation, you can use ready-made pharmacy fees or prepare environmentally friendly products on your own in the summer. Will bring the greatest benefit:

• linden blossoms;
• calendula;
• mint leaves;
• oregano;
• chamomile flowers;
• St. John's wort.

All of these foods are rich in beneficial compounds. Many have a calming effect, normalize sleep.

Every day you need to walk in the fresh air for at least half an hour. Walking is not only a mandatory exit to the park path, but also a trip to and from school, to kindergarten and home. During the exercise, the blood is filled with oxygen, the nervous system becomes stronger, the child relaxes, the nervous strain of the working day goes away.

If the pressure, heart, vascular system are normal, you can practice a contrast shower. This event helps to activate the immune system andstimulate blood flow. The duration of the procedure is a couple of minutes. The temperature is changed every 10 seconds. After completing the ablution, it is necessary to thoroughly rub the entire body of the child until the skin turns red.

Another water procedure, shown if the heart is normal - sauna, bath. True, it is important not to overdo it. Its benefits have been known since ancient times. Even our ancestors knew that this is how you can prevent a variety of diseases. In the old days, a person who was absent from home for a day or more was allowed on the threshold only after preliminary procedures in the bathhouse, where all harmful microbes were washed off from him. Of course, at that time they did not yet know why it worked, but no one doubted the very fact of its effectiveness. Modern scientists have found that the sauna and bath are good not only for their disinfecting effect, but also for the ability to cleanse the body of harmful substances, activate the immune system, stimulate blood flow and expand blood vessels.

Medicines and immunity

The classic version - funds from the class of interferons. Popular drugs:

• Grippferon.
• "Viferon".

Interferons are active substances that inhibit the vital activity of pathological agents. Often they are prescribed in the treatment of colds. Clinical trials have shown that if interferons are used in the first days of illness, the symptoms soon resolve themselves, and complications occur in a vanishingly small percentage of cases.

No less benefit will bring drugs that initiate the production of interferons in the human body. In pharmacies, these are pharmaceuticalproducts:

• "Anaferon".
• "Amixin".

This class of drugs is widely used in the fight against colds. It is impossible to use interferons and medicines that induce the production of interferons in the human body at the same time. As tests have shown, the use of the composition by a he althy child will not give any positive effect.