Winter's cold, wet weather forces kids to stay holed up inside, in close proximity to other little germ carriers. This creates the perfect environment for the hundreds of different cold viruses to spread—which is why most kids catch three to eight colds a year. (Kids preschool age and younger are at highest risk because of their still-developing immune systems and their fondness for putting everything and anything into their mouths.)
Now that the FDA has warned against giving cold medicine to children younger than 2 because of potentially dangerous side effects, more emphasis on cold prevention will lead to happier times for your kids and less nose wiping, cough soothing, and sleep deprivation for you. Here are easy, doctor-recommended ways to stave off a full-blown germ invasion this season.
An Apple a Day
Yes, it seems there is something to that old maxim. "The best cold prevention is living well," says Roberta Lee, M.D., medical director of Beth Israel's Continuum Center for Health and Healing in New York City. This includes eating well and getting enough sleep—12 to 15 hours a day for kids 5 and younger.
Christopher Tolcher, M.D., a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, agrees that proper nutrition and plenty of sleep maximize the body's ability to ward off infections. A father of three, he admits to enforcing this with his own kids: "I monitor their sleep and eating constantly."
Keep It Clean
Though Tolcher says there is no silver bullet for cold prevention, hand washing comes pretty darn close. He also tries to deter his kids from putting their fingers in their noses and mouths.
When soap and water aren't an option, the next best thing is hand-sanitizing gel. According to a study in the April 2005 edition of the journal Pediatrics, the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizer may help reduce the transmission of respiratory illness in the home.
Take Your Vitamins ... Maybe
One of the benefits of vitamin C is that it boosts resistance to infection, which probably explains why it is often touted as a cold-prevention strategy. But according to the National Institutes of Health, researchers in more than 30 clinical trials have not found that vitamin C significantly reduces the risk of developing a cold.
Tolcher feels it has more of a placebo effect than anything else: "Vitamin supplements have not been shown to prevent or treat colds in children." And there is a downside: When consumed in large doses to prevent or curb cold symptoms, vitamin C can cause headaches, diarrhea, nausea, and cramps in children, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Despite your best efforts, your kid will inevitably catch a cold or two. When that happens, make sure he gets lots of rest and fluids. Also, chicken soup, a go-to cold remedy since the 12th century, may really help, according to the National Institutes of Health. It seems the combination of heat, fluid, and salt in this mom-recommended, doctor-approved remedy may help the healing process.
