Hi Moms & Dads,
Cold and Cough season is amongst us, particularly with the monsoons
going on (at least for those of you in the tropics) and I have been getting a
lot of questions via
Instagram on how to deal with colds, coughs and all the pesky virals that
are going around. Instead of focusing on recovery tips, which I have covered in
the past, I would like to focus on why exactly our children are so susceptible
to getting sick, and how their immunity affects them through the years.
Our immune system is kind of the
security guards of our bodies, in a way. It fights off foreign bodies (that is,
germs, bacterial and viral infections) by trying to figure out if they are good
or bad and by making antibodies (infection fighting
proteins) to combat them.
Your child's immune system development is also something to be aware of
when you want to answer questions about how long you should nurse for, whether
to give your child immune supplements or not, whether you should be sanitizing every
time you touch your baby or toddler, and then your child.
After 2 to 3 months of age, a child’s
body starts to make its own antibodies independent of the mother's body and antibodies being passed on (though antibodies continue to be passed on too by nursing mamas). In addition to this, the vaccines given
to children at set intervals train their bodies to recognise specific diseases
as highly dangerous and fight them at the first sign of contamination. Good,
nutritious, healthy foods also protect the body's cells. Food based nutrients such as
zinc (found in fortified cereals), or folic acid (found in egg yolks), actually
build up a child's immunity and are only two of the many minerals and vitamins
that are enhancing our children’s immune systems through food. However, there
are also foods that can suppress their immunity - processed foods and sugar
(including juices which that are very high in sugar) on the other hand,
suppress it. Adequate amounts of sleep as well, have found to have benefits on immunity
(these points are for adults too! The more sleep deprived you are, the more
likely you are to fall sick).
As our
children grow, the more germs and infections they are exposed to as well, the
more their immunity and immune system develops (isn't that a shocker?). It's
true though. Early exposure to germs, surprisingly reduces the
chances of asthma and allergies and have been shown to strengthen the immune
system. Study after study now support this "hygiene hypothesis" that
shows that auto-immune diseases (diseases wherein the immune system is weakened
or where the body's antibodies attack the body itself) are more prevalent in
developed countries where antibiotics and anti-bacterials are used more
heavily!
I hope this explains a little about why
I talk about the importance of breast feeding,
vaccination schedules, sanitisers being
overused for children who are not new-borns,
antibiotics and cough and cold
medicines not being needed unless the child has a persistent
fever (and the doctor prescribes it),
and the importance of sleep and good nutrition. It all
affects your children, their immunity
and how well or healthily they get through flu season!
More to come!
-TKV
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