On a chilly wintry morning, the phone begins to ring at the early learning centre and a tense voice on the line tells me that her child is again not well and unable to come today.
So many parents have children who are constantly sick with coughs and runny noses even during the warmer months.
The children no sooner recover from one cold, and then shortly come down with another or they have a persistent night cough, ear infection, fever, or tummy bug.
Kids’ immune systems are developing so they pick up everything
Naturally, parents begin to wonder if their child has a weak immune system or perhaps their clothes are not warm enough or maybe they went to bed with wet hair?
Their concern is understandable but paediatricians and infectious disease specialists point to a number of factors that contribute to this pattern of frequent illness in young children.
Babies, toddlers and preschoolers immune systems are developing.
As young children mingle with lots of strangers for the first time, their immune systems are exposed to bacteria and viruses they have not encountered before.
Because they have no pre-existing immunity from highly infectious cold and flu viruses, young children are much more susceptible to getting sick, despite best hygiene practices.
A newborn baby is protected by the immunity their mother has passed down to the baby during pregnancy.
But this immunity begins to fade when the baby is about six months old.
Babies born during the pandemic lockdowns in the last two years have essentially spent their early lives in isolation.
These children didn’t come into contact with many pathogens until starting daycare or preschool.
So these children having emerged from their lockdown ‘bubble’ have little immunity to viral illnesses when exposed to shared environments for the first time.
How many colds per year is normal for children?
Researchers have found that children in daycare or with siblings at school will on average come down with up to ten infections a year, with school-age children around five or six, and teenagers around four.
They have also found that typically children can have cold symptoms lasting up to a fortnight and a cough can even last up to six weeks.
The behaviour of small children is often unhygienic leading to illness - hands in nose, mouth or nappy - or other children’s noses, mouths and nappy - and licking toys off the ground or sharing food and cups, etc.
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Kids get sick with infections that parents don’t develop lifelong immunity to
Parents may wonder why they, too, seem to catch the same illnesses from their young children.
Even though the adult immune system provides protection, some of the infections are the kinds that parents don’t develop lasting immunity to.
Viruses such as upper respiratory tract infections and flu viruses change all the time and this catches the immune system ‘off guard’.
Parents are tired and run-down
Young parents are often struggling with lack of sleep and are run-down trying to juggle family responsibilities and work commitments.
Parents are in close contact with their little ‘germ factories’ doing things like wiping snotty noses, cleaning up vomit and changing nappies.
All of these factors increase the likelihood of picking up whatever germ came home with the child.
When children are in daycare, play groups, family gatherings, they are picking up and spreading whatever bugs are in the air or on their toys.
So the germs are passed around and the cycle of sickness repeats again and again.
Robert Jacobson, a professor of paediatrics at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine writes “young children in daycare appear to have more colds than children cared for at home”.
He continues with some better news “When day-care attending children grow older and enter primary school with their peers who did not attend daycare, the children who attended daycare are less vulnerable to colds than those who did not.” This also seems to apply for gastroenteritis.
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What is a sign I should be concerned about frequent child illnesses?
The question all parents have, however, is how often is too often that my child is sick?
Ultimately a parent knows their child best and if you ever have concerns about how often your child is getting sick, it is always worth taking the child to your health practitioner for a check-up.
Needless to say, if your child is showing signs of difficulty breathing, is in significant pain, or has a temperature of more than 38 degrees centigrade, you will want to promptly see your medical practitioner.
What about ear infections?
If your child gets a lot of ear infections, it doesn’t mean that your child has a serious health problem. It may be that the tubes in the ear aren’t draining properly.
If your child has repeated ear infections, talk to your child’s medical practitioner to see if they need a referral to an ear, nose, & throat specialist
Ear tube surgery is a simple procedure that can help many children while others will outgrow this problem before age two
Stay healthy and Reduce the spread of illness
Here are some tips to reduce the risk of infection and promote your child’s overall health:
- Little ones put their hands everywhere so when hand washing is not an option, use hand sanitiser or wipes.
- Wash your child’s hands regularly with warm, soapy water, especially after coming inside from outside play and before eating.
- When your child becomes a toddler, teach hand-washing basics
- Teach your child to sneeze into their upper arm and not into their hands
- Be mindful of facilitating good sleep and healthy well-balanced nutrition habits as your child grows to help bolster the immune system
- Avoid smoke exposure as this can harm the child’s lungs and make respiratory viruses more likely
- Stay away from other children and adults with colds, if possible
- Introduce a probiotic, like yogurt with ‘live, active cultures. Studies show that children who take probiotics may have fewer cold and flu symptoms.
- Don’t let your child use anyone else’s utensils, plates, cups, bottles or pacifiers
- Teach your child to throw their used tissues in the bin immediately after use.
- Make sure your child’s immunisations are up to date
- Keep your house and your child’s toys as clean as possible by disinfecting play areas, bathroom, changing table and kitchen regularly. Use disinfectant wipes or sprays for those awkward places. Once a week wash your towels and bed sheets - and those plush toys can occasionally go into the washing machine. Use the hot water cycle as hot water kills more germs than cold water.
- Your child needs to stay home when sick with a cold or fever.
- Use Copper Guardian Antimicrobial Wand at the first sign of a cold for Parents and as a natural hand sanitizer for children. Click here to get yours: https://www.copperguardian.com/shop/
Research studies confirm that antimicrobial copper is very effective in killing those germs that cause infection.
Related: When Copper meets Covid, Great Moments In Science
with Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, on ABC Radio. https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/greatmomentsinscience/when-copper-meets-covid-antiviral/12722780
The vast majority of respiratory pathogens are viral which do not respond to antibiotics.
Taking an antibiotic for a viral infection will not help your child recover faster.
Antibiotics work against bacteria, but even some bacterial infections will get better without needing antibiotics.
Antibiotics can also have side effects, such as yeast infections or diarrhoea or rashes.
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When can my child return to childcare or school after illness?
The first five days of a virus infection are the hardest. To relieve some of the discomforts, you might find that honey is effective as a cough-suppressant (if your child is at least one year old).
Sore throats can be alleviated with salt water gargles or warm drinks or an icy pole. Plenty of liquids, comfort, - and even grandma’s chicken soup can help.
Cold symptoms can often linger for two to three weeks. As long as your child is fever free for 24 hours, normal activities can be resumed if feeling up to it.
Colds are an unavoidable part of growing up. They can’t be entirely prevented and they help build up your child’s immune system.
If your child is gaining weight and their overall health is good, try not to worry. Your child is no sicker than the average child their age.
One of the positive results of the last couple of years is that workplace parental leave options are becoming more flexible and this will result in families being better able to cope with the strain of these early childhood illnesses.
I hope this blog has been helpful. Download my free e-book The Secrets of a Natural Germ Killer to learn the scientific facts about copper, fight infection and live a healthier life. https://www.copperguardian.com/ebook
Order your Copper Guardian Antimicrobial Wand here. https://www.copperguardian.com/shop/ and stop colds before they even get started
Bye for now, Elisabeth