What to do if your child gets sick often? Advice from experienced mothers

The baby goes to kindergarten for a week, and then sits at home for a month with snot, cough, fever, and rash. This picture is not fictional, but the most real for many Russian families. A child who is often sick does not surprise anyone today. Rather, a child who is not sick at all or does it extremely rarely is of genuine interest. What to do if frequent illnesses prevent the child from attending kindergarten normally, teachers call the child “non-kindergarten”, and parents are constantly forced to take sick leave in order to diligently treat their son or daughter’s next illness, says the famous pediatrician and author of books on children’s health, Evgeniy Komarovsky.

About the problem

If a child often gets sick in kindergarten, modern medicine says that his immunity is reduced. Some parents are sure that they need to wait a little, and the problem will be solved by itself, the baby will “outgrow” the disease. Others buy pills (immunostimulants) and try with all their might to boost and maintain immunity. Evgeny Komarovsky believes that both are far from the truth.

If a child gets sick 8, 10 or even 15 times a year, this, according to the doctor, does not mean that he has a state of immunodeficiency.

True congenital immunodeficiency is an extremely rare and extremely dangerous condition. With it, the child will suffer from not just ARVI, but ARVI with a severe course and very strong bacterial complications, life-threatening and difficult to treat.

Komarovsky emphasizes that genuine immunodeficiency is a rare phenomenon, and one should not attribute such a harsh diagnosis in general healthy child, who simply suffers from the flu or ARVI more often than others.

Frequent illnesses are secondary immunodeficiency. This means that the baby was born completely normal, but under the influence of some circumstances and factors, his immune defense does not develop quickly enough (or something has a depressing effect on it).

There are two ways to help in this situation: try to support the immune system with medications, or create conditions under which the immune system itself begins to strengthen and work more efficiently.

For parents, according to Komarovsky, it is very difficult to even admit the idea that it is not the child (and not the characteristics of his body) who are to blame for everything, but themselves, mom and dad.

If the baby is wrapped up from birth, they don’t allow the baby to stomp around the apartment barefoot, they always try to close the windows and feed him more, then there is nothing surprising or unusual in the fact that he gets sick every 2 weeks.

What medications can strengthen the immune system?

Medicines cannot achieve the goal, says Evgeniy Komarovsky. There is no medicine that would treat “bad” immunity. As for antiviral drugs (immunomodulators, immunostimulants), their effect has not been clinically proven, and therefore they only help their own manufacturers, who earn trillions of net profit from the sale of such drugs every cold season.

They are most often simply harmless, but also completely useless “dummies”. If there is an effect, it will be solely a placebo effect. The names of such drugs are familiar to everyone - “Anaferon”, “Ocillococcinum”, “Immunokind” and so on

Komarovsky is quite skeptical about strengthening the immune system with folk remedies. If this medicine does not harm your child, take it for your health. This can be attributed to juices, tea with lemon, onions and garlic, cranberries. However, there is no need to talk about the therapeutic effect. All these folk remedies are natural immunomodulators, their benefits are based on the beneficial effects of the vitamins they contain. Onions and garlic cannot cure flu or rotavirus infection that is already developing. There will be no preventive protection against them.

It is strictly not recommended to practice traditional methods, which can cause harm. If you are advised to drop iodine into milk and give it to your child, if they recommend rubbing him with badger fat, kerosene or vodka at a fever, say a decisive parental “no”. There is a “no” to dubious and very expensive remedies made from crushed Tibetan goat horns. Common sense is paramount.

There are no medications to strengthen the immune system as such. However, this does not mean that parents cannot influence their child’s natural defense system in any way. A logical and simple algorithm of actions that are designed to change the child’s lifestyle and environmental conditions can come to their aid.

Why does the baby start to get sick?

90% of childhood illnesses are a consequence of exposure to viruses, says Komarovsky. Viruses spread through airborne droplets, and less commonly through household contact.

In children, the immune system is still immature; it has yet to become familiar with many pathogens and develop specific antibodies to them.

If one child comes to kindergarten with signs of infection (runny nose, cough, tickling), then in a closed group the exchange of viruses will be as effective as possible. However, not everyone gets infected and gets sick. One will go to bed the very next day, but the other will not care. The point, according to Evgeniy Komarovsky, is the state of immunity. Will get sick with more likely the child is already treated by his parents, and the danger will pass by the one who is not given a bunch of pills for preventive purposes, and the one who grows up in the right conditions.

It goes without saying that kindergartens are completely violating simple rules hygiene, there are no humidifiers, hygrometers, and teachers don’t even think about opening the window and ventilating (especially in winter). In a stuffy group with dry air, viruses circulate much more actively.

How to examine the state of immunity?

Some parents believe that if their baby gets sick more than 8 times a year, then he certainly has poor immunity. Morbidity rates, according to Komarovsky, do not exist. Therefore, examination for immunodeficiency is required more for parents in order to calm down, realizing that they are “doing everything possible” than for the child himself.

If you really want to pay for it and learn a lot of new medical terms, then welcome to any paid or free clinic. There you will be prescribed a blood test for antibodies, a scraping will be taken from the child for worm eggs, tests for Giardia, and general analysis blood and urine, and will also offer a special research method - an immunogram. Then the doctor will try to summarize the data obtained and assess the condition immune system.

How to boost immunity?

Only by eliminating the child’s conflict with the environment can we hope that his immunity will begin to work more actively, as a result of which the number of diseases will significantly decrease. Komarovsky recommends that parents start by creating the right microclimate.

How to breathe?

The air should not be dry. If a child breathes dry air, the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, which viruses attack first, will not be able to give a worthy “response” to pathogenic agents, and the already begun respiratory tract disease will result in complications. It is optimal if both at home and in the kindergarten there is clean, cool and humid air.

The best humidity values ​​are 50-70%. Buy a special device - an air humidifier. As a last resort, get an aquarium with fish, hang wet towels (especially in winter) and make sure they don’t dry out.

Place a special valve on the radiator.

A child should not breathe air that contains undesirable aromas - tobacco smoke, fumes from varnishes, paints, detergents based on chlorine.

Where to live?

If a child begins to get sick often, this is not a reason to curse the kindergarten, but it’s time to check whether you yourself have equipped the children’s room correctly. In the room where the child lives there should be no accumulations of dust - large soft toys, long pile carpets. Wet cleaning of the room should be carried out plain water, without adding any detergents. It is advisable to buy a vacuum cleaner with a water filter. The room needs to be ventilated more often - especially in the morning, after the night. The air temperature should not exceed 18-20 degrees. The child's toys should be stored in a special box, and books on a shelf behind glass.

How to sleep?

The child should sleep in a room where it is always cool. If you are afraid to immediately lower the temperature in the room to 18 degrees, then it is better to put warmer pajamas on your child, but still find the strength to bring the temperature back to normal.

Bed linen should not be bright or contain textile dyes. They may be additional allergens. It is better to buy linen from natural classic fabrics white. Both the pajamas and bedding of a frequently ill offspring should be washed with baby powder. It is also worth subjecting things to additional rinsing.

What to eat and drink?

You need to feed the child only when he begins to beg for food, and not when mom and dad decide that it’s time to eat. Under no circumstances should you force-feed a child: an overfed child does not have a healthy immune system.. But drinking should be plentiful. This does not apply to carbonated sweet lemonades. The child needs to be given more water, still mineral water, tea, fruit drinks, and compotes. To find out the child's fluid needs, multiply the child's weight by 30. The resulting number will be the desired one.

It is important to remember that the drink should be at room temperature - this way the liquid will be absorbed faster in the intestines. If earlier they tried to give the child something warm to drink, then the temperature should be gradually lowered.

How to dress?

The child needs to be dressed correctly - not wrapped up and not overcooled. Komarovsky says that sweating causes illness more often than hypothermia. Therefore, it is important to find " golden mean"- the required minimum of clothing. It is quite simple to determine - a child should not be wearing more clothes than an adult. If previously the family practiced the “grandmother’s” dressing system (two socks in June and three in October), then the amount of clothing should be reduced gradually so that the transition to normal life did not come as a shock to the child.

How to play?

Toys for a preschooler are an important component of development. Parents must remember that babies put them in their mouths, chew them, and lick them. Therefore, you need to approach the choice of toys responsibly. Toys should be practical and washable. They should be washed as often as possible, but with plain water, without chemicals. If a toy has a bad or strong smell, you should not buy it; it may be toxic.

How to walk?

A child should go for a walk every day - and more than once. Dr. Komarovsky considers evening walks before bed very useful. You can go for a walk in any weather, as long as you dress appropriately. Even if a child is sick, this is not a reason to refuse walks. The only limitation is heat.

Hardening

Komarovsky advises strengthening a child with weak immunity. If you approach this carefully and make hardening a habitual daily norm of life, then quite quickly you can forget about frequent illnesses brought from kindergarten.

It is best, says the doctor, to start practicing hardening procedures from birth. These include walks, cool baths, douches, and massages. If the question that it is necessary to improve immunity has arisen only now and at once in full force, then there is no need for radical action. Activities should be introduced one by one and gradually.

First, enroll your child in a sports section. Wrestling and boxing are not suitable for a frequently ill child, because in these cases the child will be in a room where many children, besides him, breathe and sweat.

It's better if your son or daughter takes care of it active sports outdoor activities - athletics, skiing, cycling, figure skating.

Swimming, of course, is very useful, but for a child who gets sick very often, visiting a public pool is not the best solution, says Evgeniy Olegovich.

Additional education(music schools, fine arts studios, foreign language study groups, when classes are held in enclosed spaces) better to put it off until later, when the number of child diseases decreases by at least 2 times.

How to relax?

The widespread belief that sea air has a very beneficial effect on a child who is often sick is far from reality, says Komarovsky. It is better to send your child to the village with relatives in the summer, where he can breathe plenty of clean air, drink well water and swim in it if you fill an inflatable pool with it.

Village relatives should be prohibited from feeding their children “for slaughter” with sour cream and pancakes. Food should be given only when he asks for it. Such vacations lasting 3-4 weeks are usually enough for the immune system, which has been fairly undermined by city life, to be fully restored.

How to protect yourself from diseases?

The best prevention, according to Komarovsky, is not mountains of pills and synthetic vitamin complexes. First of all, contacts should be limited during seasonal epidemics of viral infections. It's not worth going to public transport, visit large shopping centers, circuses and cinemas.

All family members of a frequently ill child must be vaccinated against the flu, and everyone (including the child) needs to wash their hands more often, especially after returning from the street. For walks, you should choose not areas in the yard where there are many children, but less crowded parks, squares, and alleys.

How to treat?

A viral disease does not require special treatment. If a child brings home another runny nose and cough from kindergarten, we can say with confidence that he has a viral infection. Treatment should consist of following the above rules - plenty of warm drinks, clean and moist air, walks, moderate nutrition, moisturizing the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx by instilling saline solutions. It is better to take a pause of 7-10 days after recovery, let the immune defense strengthen - and only then resume attending a preschool institution, school, section.

There are no “non-kindergarten” children. There are parents who do not understand how to resist illness and maintain immunity.

The child will become quite “kindergarten-like” if, over the next 3-4 episodes of ARVI, the parents do not give him pharmaceutical medications, take him to doctors, do inhalations and steam his legs in a basin of hot water.

If he copes with diseases on his own (on compotes and fruit drinks), his immune system will learn to resist external threats, and the likelihood that the next time he will get sick, having caught the virus in kindergarten, will become minimal.

If parents are going to make a gift to the kindergarten for the next important holiday, then try to convince other parents who plan to participate financially in it, to buy a humidifier for the group with the funds raised. From such an acquisition it will be better and easier for all children - both those who are often sick and those who are strong. This includes prevention, treatment, and simply creating normal conditions in a preschool institution.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you more in the video below.

Frequently ill children are not only a problem for specific families. This is a whole medical and social catastrophe, because such children, being weakened and frail, often violate the vaccination schedule and miss school. Parents also suffer if their child is often sick. What should adults do in such a situation? Of course, they are forced to take time off from work to look after a child who has a high fever or a severe sore throat. They also spend a lot of money on expensive medicines.

Frequently ill children

The situation is most acute when the baby goes to school for the first time. preschool. New contacts lead to the child often getting sick in kindergarten. Every young mother knows what to do in this situation. The main thing is not to panic. After all, children who are often ill are not a diagnosis, but only a temporary phenomenon. Yes, and first you need to figure out whether your little one belongs to the category of frail babies. Doctors say that the following children can be called frequently ill:

• Infants under one year of age who suffer from respiratory infections more than 4 times a year.
• Children from 1 to 3 years old, if they get sick more than 6 times in 12 months.
• Preschoolers from 3 to 5 years old who catch colds more than 5 times during the same period.
• Schoolchildren who get sick more than 4 times a year.

In addition, those minors who are ill rarely, but for a long time - more than two weeks - also fall into this category. Typically, such babies complain of cough, sore throat, and runny nose. They are constantly lethargic and tired. If a child does not have these signs of acute respiratory infections, but the temperature rises, this may indicate chronic diseases or other infections.

Why is this happening?

One of the factors is wrong image family life. For example, when adults do not send a child to a sports club, do not teach him physical education and morning exercises, do not provide him with adequate nutrition, a normal daily routine and sanitary conditions in the apartment. All this leads to the child getting sick very often. colds. What to do? Feedback from pediatricians about this behavior is, to put it mildly, negative. It is clear that they emphasize that in most cases it is up to the parents how often their child gets sick. After all, if you organize the day correctly, the little one will grow stronger before your eyes. And accordingly, you will become less susceptible to infections.

Unfortunately, not everything depends on the parents. There are many other factors that are reflected in. Firstly, this is frequent contact with the source of infection - other children in school or kindergarten. Secondly, the poor environment, which contributes to an increase in the incidence of acute respiratory infections.

Other factors

These include, first of all, the so-called passive smoking. Children who constantly inhale smoke are susceptible to bronchitis and asthma. Parents, without even suspecting their guilt, often complain to doctors that their child very often suffers from colds. What should they do in this case? Yes, just never smoke in the apartment in which the toddler is located, do not go with him to those premises where it is allowed, or simply refuse bad habit, showing your child an example of the correct lifestyle. You also need to pay Special attention on the use of medications. After all, if adults unreasonably, for a long time or often give the baby antibiotics or antipyretics, this can increase the child’s sensitivity to respiratory diseases.

The child will also often get sick for other reasons. For example, if he has a hereditary predisposition or suffered from hypoxia during childbirth, which led to a disruption in the body’s adaptation to environmental conditions. Frequent viruses can also be caused by other diseases: allergies, rickets, anemia, malnutrition, morphofunctional immaturity.

How to strengthen your immune system?

Often mothers mistakenly think that the baby was already born with low and weakened immunity. Or they begin to feel guilty for not eating well during pregnancy, not walking enough in the fresh air, and constantly being nervous and crying. But these are also false assumptions. In fact, there are very few children who naturally have weak protective functions of the body. Therefore, there is almost no chance that you will have such a baby. Remember that congenital immunodeficiency is a deadly disease. Therefore, you should not attribute this serious deviation to your child.

Doctors are confident that it is the secondary immunity acquired throughout life that suffers the most from oppression. It turns out that babies are usually born completely healthy. They make them weak and frail various factors, to which they are susceptible. As a result, the child very often suffers from colds. What to do? Reviews from doctors indicate that such a toddler should be given immunostimulating drugs: “Bronchoimmunal”, “Anaferon”, “Dr. Theis’ Echinacea”. Even the youngest patients can take these medications. We should also not forget about a healthy lifestyle and proper daily routine.

Nutrition

This is very important person, his appearance and even emotional condition. If your child often suffers from colds, an experienced nutritionist will tell you what to do. He will draw up an individual map proper diet for your baby. In addition, it will give general recommendations. If you have a baby, it is recommended to feed him as long as possible breast milk. It contains proteins, fats and carbohydrates that are perfectly balanced. In addition, breast milk also contains various antibodies, immunoglobulins, vitamins and microelements.

The daily menu for older children must include dairy dishes (cottage cheese, in particular), as well as meat, cereals, vegetables and fruits. If your child attends a kindergarten, where the food leaves much to be desired, then try to feed him a healthy breakfast and dinner at home. And the main rule is no fast food. Not only hamburgers and fries are prohibited, but also various chips, crackers, sweet soda, and so on. Not only does such food not contain useful substances, it also causes digestive disorders and leads to obesity.

Hardening

Any mother asks herself this question if her child often suffers from colds: “What to do?” Feedback from pediatricians about hardening the baby is largely the same: you should not plunge the baby into ice water - start small. For example, from the first days of birth, do not wrap him up, dressing him like a turnip. Be guided by your own feelings: you are warm - take off the baby’s hat. No, he won't catch a cold from this. On the contrary, he is more likely to get sick from sweating. In addition, monitor the microclimate in the apartment. The ideal temperature ranges from 18 to 22ºC. In this case, air humidity should not exceed 40%.

What to do if you have a cold? Firstly, walk with him more often - in any weather. Don't give up the promenade because of snow and rain. Put on your raincoat and go ahead. You can hide from the wind in the courtyards: new buildings provide excellent protection from drafts. Walking in any season, the baby quickly adapts to aggressive environmental conditions. Secondly, do not forget to play outdoor games with your toddler on the playground or at the stadium. Thirdly, ventilate the room where the child lives at least 3 times a day. During the warm season, the window should be open constantly.

Water procedures

One of the most popular Again, there is no need to throw the baby into the hole. There are softer and simple ways. In any case, do not forget to consult your doctor about the type of procedures, their duration and frequency. When a child often suffers from colds, what should be done to correct the situation? It's simple. Provide regular bathing, rubbing and douching with your baby. Start with warm water, gradually reducing the temperature.

The water temperature should initially be at 32-33ºC. Wipe your baby with it for about a week, then reduce the degree by one unit. Continue in the same spirit every seven days, gradually bringing the water to room temperature. Children over 2 years old can start doing douches - according to the same scheme. Taking a bath is an excellent hardening procedure. In addition, it brings joy to the baby, improving his emotional state. Bathe your child at a temperature of 35ºC, then pour water over him, which is several degrees cooler.

Air baths

What to do if your child often gets colds? In addition to water treatments, give it air baths. You can start the process almost from the first days of the baby’s birth. First, leave your baby naked for one minute. The air temperature in the room should be at 20ºC. Gradually increase the duration of the air baths: by the time the child is one year old, they should last 15 minutes.

When the baby is one and a half years old, the procedure can be carried out at 18 degrees, and after 3 years - at 16ºC. At the same time, the little one should not sit motionless at this time: let him jump, have fun, and play. Very good method hardening - walking barefoot on an uneven surface: a carpet with a pile or a special children's rug. You can pour some pebbles or beans into the basin - it is also very useful to walk on them. When your baby gets a little older, teach him to run barefoot on the grass near the house for a while in the summer. Of course, before doing this, do not forget to inspect it for safety: remove sharp stones, broken glass and dangerous branches away.

Healthy rinse

Do not be surprised. This common and even slightly mundane procedure is another stage of hardening. Let's say a child is often sick in kindergarten. What to do, you ask your pediatrician. In any case, he will advise your little one to gargle, especially if he is prone to sore throats, tonsillitis and pharyngitis. The procedure is a preventive measure for this group of diseases, allowing you to gradually accustom your throat to the effects low temperatures.

If the child is 2-3 years old, then rinsing should be done with boiled water at room temperature. At the same time, while the baby is only rinsing his mouth, after 4 years he is allowed to treat his throat. In the cold season, when there is a strong surge in ARVI, it is imperative to use a healthy garlic solution for these purposes. It's easy to prepare. You will need one clove of garlic. It is poured with a glass of boiling water and the mixture is infused for about 2 hours, after which the solution is ready for use.

Gymnastics and self-massage

These activities also apply to hardening procedures. With their help, the toddler’s body begins to activate its defenses to fight viruses. In addition, they improve tone and have a beneficial effect on the nervous system. With the youngest babies, start doing exercises from the first days of life. For example, during each swaddling, alternately stretch the baby's arms and legs in different sides, bend them. Don't forget to massage the head, back and tummy - in a clockwise circular motion. With older children, you can already frolic actively: come up with a set of exercises with game elements and do such exercises with the whole family.

When a child often suffers from colds, you already know what to do. Add to this a massage. First, you conduct the sessions, then teach your child to do it independently. Let him, after waking up in the morning, make it a rule to stretch his palms, feet and neck. You can help your child by massaging his back and shoulders. This not only promotes hardening, but also helps maintain the health of the musculoskeletal system.

Phytotherapy

The gifts of nature will help your little one become stronger and more resilient. In autumn and winter, prepare decoctions of medicinal plants for him: mint, lemon balm, rowan, rose hips, cranberries and viburnum. These folk remedies are preventive; they saturate the body with ascorbic acid and useful substances, which actively fight viruses and increase the body’s resistance to various infections. For those kids who often get sick, a salad of nuts, honey, dried apricots and lemon will be useful.

Herbal medicine should be carried out in courses, for example twice a year. The duration can range from three weeks to two months. Between the courses themselves, the break should not last less than two weeks. Now you know what to do if your child constantly suffers from colds. Active lifestyle, sports, physiotherapy and massage with proper nutrition and a normal daily routine will make the little one healthy, energetic, cheerful and joyful.

A child who often suffers from colds, in the opinion of any parent, is a good reason for concern, a thorough medical examination and long-term treatment. And for any grandmother, this is also an indisputable basis for increased nutrition of this child, as well as for a categorical taboo on open windows throughout the house. In a word, a frequently ill child (frequently ill child) is a serious problem for the whole family. Is it really? And what should you really do if your child gets sick often? Finally, “often” is how much?

If a child often gets colds, is it really that bad? And should parents panic about this? We'll tell you!

Who and how falls into the category of “frequently ill children”?

The term “frequently ill children” (which parents usually affectionately abbreviate to FBD in conversations with each other) was coined by pediatricians of Soviet clinics - in order to track the general morbidity situation in the area and find out the reasons why certain children of different ages get sick much more often than others. Diseases, first of all, mean all kinds of acute respiratory infections.

And these days, the abbreviation ChBD often appears on children’s medical records. How do babies fall into this category? In this regard, domestic pediatrics has a clear “passing” framework:

It must be said that practice shows that most of our children suffer from acute respiratory infections (and in particular -) much more often than indicated in the table, and therefore almost all of our children, according to domestic doctors, are automatically included in the category of “frequently ill children” - literally all ChBD, with the exception of .

The frequency of so-called colds in a child increases sharply at the moment when he begins to actively communicate with other children - begins to visit kindergarten or school, communicates daily on the playground, etc.

But foreign doctors are of the opinion that for a child who actively attends children's institutions and groups (in other words, for those kids who go to kindergarten or school, and also walk on the playground, go to children's matinees and to the cinema, etc. .) getting viral infections 6 to 10 times a year is absolutely normal and even useful in a certain sense. After all, every time, coping with another infection, the child’s immunity becomes stronger and stronger. In fact, this is exactly the way it is formed.

So, it is quite possible that your worries called “my child is often sick”, from the point of view of Western doctors, have no basis at all for anxiety and panic.

The frequency of episodes of viral infections directly depends on how intensely you and your children come into contact with other people and other children. After all, every human body is a carrier of a gigantic amount of viruses and bacteria, which we constantly exchange during communication. Living in a metropolis, leading an active lifestyle and not getting sick often is almost impossible. It is important to simply change the very attitude towards this circumstance: getting sick often for children 1-10 years old is not scary, it is normal in the conditions of modern urban realities.

As the baby grows older, the child’s immunity will become stronger and the often sick child will turn into a rarely sick teenager.

It is important not how often a child gets sick, but how quickly he recovers

So, let us remind you: if a child gets sick often, this does not indicate any anomaly in his immune system, and there is no threat to his health. The child continues to remain completely normal even after the doctors wrote “ChBD” on his medical record.

The main thing in this whole situation is not how often the child gets sick, but at what cost the baby gets better. If every viral infection (ARVI) in a child proceeds within the acceptable limits, without complications, and goes away without leaving a trace within about 7-8 days, then parents simply have no reason to worry. Even if the baby picks up such viral infections once a month.

What does it mean to “get sick within the limits of what is permissible”? Normally, any standard acute respiratory viral infection in a child should go away on its own when certain conditions are created approximately 6-7 days after infection. Certain conditions mean:

• During ARVI, the child should receive plenty of fluids;
• a child with a viral infection should eat only if he/she asks for it(if the child has no appetite, it is absolutely forbidden to feed him!);
• a child with ARVI should be in a room with an air temperature of no more than 19 ° C(in this case, the baby must, of course, be dressed warmly) and a humidity of about 55-65%;

If these simple conditions are met, then, as a rule, the baby does not need any drug treatment(except for the use of antipyretics in cases where body temperature exceeds 38 ° C).

After 5 days from the moment of infection, the child’s body will independently produce such a quantity of interferons (cell protectors) that they themselves will defeat the disease, regardless of whether you give the child additional ones or not. That is why many pediatricians insist that during an acute respiratory viral infection without complications, one should not rush into drug therapy for a child, but it is quite possible to stick to drinking plenty of fluids and enjoying your favorite cartoons.

Individual symptoms, such as or even those who often suffer from ARVI, can also be treated quite effectively without medications - we have already written about this in detail.

If, under these conditions, your baby gets sick easily and recovers quickly, then no matter how often he suffers from viral infections, this should not cause a feeling of anxiety, much less a desire to “finally give him some more effective medicine.”

Can a frequently ill child eventually become a rarely ill teenager and adult?

And those children who get sick only 1-2 times a year, and those who manage to “catch” a dozen ARVIs in 6 months - both of them, growing up, equally develop stronger and more stable immunity. Accordingly, the older children become, the less often they get sick.

Frequently ill children (FIC) continue to get sick frequently during adult life usually only in cases where they grow up (and endlessly “heal”) surrounded by hypochondriac relatives. And with adequate parents (who try not to “overfeed” the child with all kinds of syrups and tablets for “every sneeze”, do not soak his feet in boiling water every evening, etc.), children, even if they are often sick, always grow up to be rarely sick teenagers

Many parents complain that babies and children before school age They practically never get out of their sores. In most cases, such a weakening of the body's defenses is a consequence of poor nutrition, lack of daily routine and insufficient sleep. If a child often gets colds after visiting crowded places and groups (for example, a kindergarten), this is a signal from the body that his immunity is reduced.

Who are frequently ill children?

The problem is when the baby spends more time at home rather than in children's institution known to many parents. The main thing in this case is not to start panicking and do everything preventive measures straightaway. In the vast majority of situations, this condition is a temporary phenomenon that does not require special treatment for the child. This does not apply to situations where the baby’s immunity is so low that the slightest acute respiratory infection can cause serious and dangerous bacterial complications that are difficult to treat.

Depending on the age and frequency of diseases, experts have identified several groups of FSD (frequently ill children):

• children under 12 months who get colds more than 4 times a year;
• children aged 1-3 years who get sick 6 or more times in 12 months;
• preschoolers ( age group 3-5 years old) suffering from colds more than 5 times a year;
• school-age children who get sick more than 4 times a year;
• small patients in whom the duration of treatment for a cold is more than 2 weeks.

Why does a child often get sick?

There are several reasons why children often get colds. As pediatricians insist, fast decision Most of them depend on the parents themselves. Adults can influence the lifestyle, and their actions determine how strong and immune to infections children’s immunity becomes. Some children have active foci of infection in their bodies, which negatively affect their protective functions. In case of enlarged adenoids, persistent cough or runny nose, it is necessary to do a bacterial culture to find out the nature of the pathogen.

In some cases, a decrease in a child’s immunity is caused by several factors:

• poor lifestyle - lack of correct mode day, sleep in daytime, walks, poor nutrition, lack of hardening procedures, walks in the fresh air;
• a decrease in the body’s defenses due to thoughtless self-administration of antibiotics, immunomodulatory or antiviral drugs;
• lack of hygiene;
• decrease in protective forces after an illness (pneumonia, tonsillitis, bronchitis);
• unsuitable temperature conditions, air parameters (low humidity levels);
• infection from sick children and adults in the children's group;
• failure motor activity, passive lifestyle.

A child under one year old often suffers from colds

At this age, the child does not yet have frequent contact with peers, so this is not the main reason for the decrease in immunity. A predisposition to frequent colds may have another cause - congenital infection of the baby or prematurity. The method of feeding is of great importance for the proper development of the baby’s body’s defenses - babies are breastfeeding As a rule, “artificial” people get sick much less often and more easily. In the presence of dysbacteriosis or hypovitaminosis, the likelihood of decreased immunity increases.

The child is constantly sick in kindergarten

Institutions for preschool children in most cases cause fear and panic in the child’s parents, since often in the initial period of adaptation to kindergarten the child gets sick every month. This situation really takes place, because children's group- a breeding ground for infections. As soon as the baby begins to visit playground or a garden group, snot and cough become frequent occurrences in life, and if these symptoms do not cause complications, this condition does not require special therapy.

What to do if your child is often sick

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to find out the reason for the frequent deterioration of the child’s health:

• foci of infection in the nasopharynx;
• adenoiditis;
• birth trauma, encephalopathy;
• problems with the endocrine gland;
• metabolic disorders;
• stressful condition;
• a consequence of long-term medication use;
• ecological situation.

How to strengthen your immune system

The off-season is the most treacherous time of the year. During this period, due to the weakening of natural immunity, respiratory infections begin to flourish. If in the fall or winter a child constantly suffers from colds (ARVI, flu), accompanied by high fever, sore throat and runny nose, you should think about methods of improving the body’s defenses. The formation of immunity is a process that begins immediately after the birth of a child and never ends. If your child gets colds very often, it’s time to take care of the health of the whole family.

Nutrition

Since up to 70% immune cells located in the gastrointestinal tract, diet is of great importance for health. It must contain required amount proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. It is believed that infants artificial feeding immunity is lower than that of babies fed on breast milk, so special attention should be paid to the selection of foods during complementary feeding. They must be introduced gradually and carefully. A menu consisting of the same type of dishes is the enemy of children's health.

The diet of all children should include cereals, vegetables, fruits and meat. To improve immunity, doctors recommend that older children (from 3 years old) include the following products in their daily menu:

• garlic and onion;
• fermented milk (kefir, yogurt, yogurt)
• nuts;
• lemon;
• freshly squeezed juices from fruits and vegetables;
• healing herbal teas and berries;
• fish fat.

Hardening

A frequently ill baby requires special care, including preventive measures. Hardening is one of the most popular methods of increasing the body's resistance to various infections. Many parents start by taking their children for long walks in the fresh air every day and often ventilating the children's room. But this rhythm of life quickly gets boring and everything returns to the usual way of spending time watching a TV or tablet. This is the most main mistake, because hardening is not a set of procedures, but healthy image the lives of all family members.

In the process of improving the health of children, follow these tips:

• You should not over-bundle your baby; although thermoregulation is not yet fully developed, this does not mean that he is cold all the time.
• The temperature in the room should not exceed 22 degrees, the air should not be too humid (up to 45%) or dry.
• We must not forget about daily walks and active games in the air; in any weather, children should spend at least 2 hours outside.
• Regular ventilation is also very important for health.
• If parents decide to supplement their daily routine with hardening procedures, they should be carried out daily, at the same time, and only if the baby is in absolute health.

Water procedures

For some reason, many parents think that water procedures- This is bathing a baby in cold, icy water, like winter swimming. Although bathing, rubbing and dousing with water at a gradually decreasing temperature in itself is an excellent method of strengthening health and immunity. Experts recommend starting procedures at 33 degrees, weekly reducing the water temperature by 1 division. Children often enjoy this kind of pastime and improve their mood and appetite.

Air baths

Fresh air– a wonderful assistant in the field of hardening. This procedure is completely safe and does not require special skills or much effort. To take air baths, you need to undress the baby and leave him naked for a certain period of time. With these simple manipulations, you can “wake up” the body’s immunity and accelerate the development of the thermoregulation system, which will help your baby get sick less and less often. The most important thing is that this procedure can be carried out from the first days of the baby.

The most common methods of taking air baths:

• airing the room (3-4 times a day, 15 minutes each);
• being naked in a ventilated room;
• walks outside, sleep and active games.

Healthy rinse

If a child is sick in kindergarten every week, then it is imperative to include time for rinsing. This is a wonderful prevention of illnesses, especially if the baby suffers from sore throat, tonsillitis and other diseases of the nasopharynx. Getting used to frequent, regular exposure to cool water hardens the throat and nasopharynx, it begins to react less and will hurt less often. For children under 3 years of age, boiled water at room temperature is used for the procedure. For older children and teenagers, to enhance the effect, you can prepare a garlic solution.

Video

In children of different ages, it is quite common to observe an increase in body temperature. In young children, an increase in temperature can be caused by teething and other reasons; in older children - infectious diseases, the development of inflammatory processes, the presence of neuralgic diseases, etc. However, often a high temperature in a child is not accompanied by other symptoms and therefore it is extremely difficult to determine the real reason its occurrence. Many parents are concerned about the question of why their child often has a fever and what to do in such situations? It is worth understanding these issues gradually.

Your child often has a fever

First, let's determine what temperature is considered elevated. Normal temperature readings range from 36-37°C; for infants, the permissible temperature is up to 37.2°C.

Next, let's find out the role of temperature rise in principle. Naturally, if a child often has a fever, this negatively affects his health and the body as a whole. If a child often has a fever, this leads to overload of the cardiovascular system, nervous system, kidneys and other organs. At a temperature, the baby’s body works in enhanced mode: the heart rate increases by 15-20 beats, and breathing increases by 4 respiratory cycles. In addition, the child loses his appetite, becomes lethargic and weak, wants to sleep and may complain of a headache.

However, parents should not perceive temperature as an enemy to the health of their child; in fact, moderately elevated temperature is a protective reaction of the body. Figuratively speaking, temperature indicates the body’s ongoing fight against infection. An increase in temperature helps to mobilize the work of organs and systems, which allows you to effectively cope with inflammation. The immune system works in an enhanced mode, due to which interferon, the main virus tamer, is actively produced. When body temperature rises to a threshold of 38-39 ° C, the development of infection stops, the growth of bacteria and the spread of the virus stops. It is much worse if there is a sluggish course of the disease and the body does not include a protective temperature reaction, which means it is not ready to fight. Therefore, if a child often has a fever, this does not always mean that it is necessary to panic; it may be a signal of the body’s active readiness to overcome any danger.

In fact, there may be many reasons why a child often has a fever; we will list only the main ones:

• Heart disease. If a child’s high fever is often not accompanied by other symptoms, then it is worth visiting a cardiologist and being examined for the presence of heart disease. At congenital defect heart temperature rises due to bacterial endocarditis. This process is triggered by bacteria entering the heart tissue. With bacterial endocarditis, the temperature first rises very high, and then the temperature remains at around 37 degrees. In some cases, the temperature is accompanied by symptoms such as rapid heartbeat and shortness of breath.
• Overheat. The most common is overheating in children in the first year of life, since their thermoregulation is still poorly developed. Of course, older children can also overheat; summer time or a child staying in a hot room for a long time is especially dangerous.
• Neurological diseases disrupt the process of thermoregulation in children's body, which leads to an increase in temperature.
• Vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome leads to impaired peripheral circulation and increased temperature.
• Allergic reactions, other than those characteristic symptoms such as skin rashes, itching and redness skin, may also be accompanied by an increase in temperature. If a child’s frequent high fever is explained precisely by allergic reactions, then such cases cannot be ignored, as they can end in the most tragic way. Be sure to consult a doctor to identify and exclude the allergen, as well as to carry out adequate treatment. Make sure you always have medications on hand that can relieve an allergy attack and stop the temperature from rising. If taking medications is not advisable (since some medications increase the risk of developing allergies), try to take all preventive measures to prevent allergic attacks.
• Inflammatory processes are necessary to localize harmful bacteria that have entered the body. Typically, inflammatory processes are accompanied by various symptoms: pain at the site of the process, runny nose, cough.
• Entry of foreign substances into the body. When foreign substances are introduced into a child's body, pyrogenic reactions occur, causing an increase in temperature. A clear example is an increase in temperature after vaccination.

When should you lower your temperature?

Since a child’s high temperature is often a sign of the body’s struggle, it is recommended to bring it down only if it rises above 38.5°C. However, a specific decision must be made in each individual case. For example, if a child tolerates temperature well, is active, cheerful and feels relatively well, then it is possible not to lower the temperature even at 38.8-39°C. But on the other hand, if the baby is lethargic, feels unwell, has chills and a severe headache, then the temperature should be reduced when it exceeds 38°C. Also, children under 2 months should have a normal temperature above 38°C. It is recommended to reduce the temperature by 1-1.5°C, and not to the normal value of 36.6°C. A special approach is needed for children with central nervous system lesions (perinatal encephalopathy, seizures, etc.) or heart disease. In such children, the temperature is reduced when it rises to 37.5°C.