The common cold is an acute, viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. There are many viruses which can cause the symptoms of the common cold. Infants and children are affected more often and tend to experience more prolonged symptoms than adults. So, what can you do to improve immunity and potentially ward off colds & the flu?
The key to prevention is consistency! Once a child or mom is sick with the cold or flu, there is only so much you can do to shorten the duration or decrease the intensity of symptoms. Consistency of good self-care is paramount to prevent frequent recurrences of the cold. So what is good self-care? Exercise, nutrition, sleep, community support, and stress management. Here are some of my tips for achieving each of these to help prevent seasonal illness.
Regular Exercise
- Moms: Take a 30-minute relaxing walk outside daily.
- Kids: Play outside.
- Kids and parents: Have a dance party at home, go on a family nature walk, or pull together an all ages flag football game on thanksgiving instead of sitting and watching football on TV.
Read Dr. Naumes’ entire post over at D Magazine‘s D-Mom’s Blog.
