Wondering which methods actually work?
Many people can agree that the holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year, and it’s probably one of the worst times of the year to get sick.
With so much going on, you can’t afford to let your children catch a cold or flu or fever or whatever else.
This is where your trusting mommy advice comes in.
While there’s lots of information out there about how to prevent your children from getting sick during this time of year, do you know how to tell fact from fiction when it comes to advice about avoiding the flu and catching a cold?
Facts (Good ideas)…
- Wash your hands. Do it thoroughly and regularly. Make it a habit – make it a part of your children’s routines.
- Get lots of sleep — A Carnegie Mellon University study shoes that people who get less than 7 hours of sleep a night are 3 times more likely to catch a cold than those who get 8+ hours. So it just may be a good idea to let your children sleep in once in a while.
- Drink lots of fluids — It doesn’t have to be just water. There’s juice, and even coffee and tea…although you’d probably want to refrain from giving your children coffee to stay hydrated.
- Take showers — Hot ones. They help unclog noses so your children can finally breathe.
- Cover your mouth when you cough — But not with your hands! Cough in your sleeve so that the germs are less likely to get passed on to the next person.
Now, the myths:
- “Don’t go outside with wet hair.” — A wet head doesn’t have anything to do with catching colds, even if you do wear layers and layers of clothing
- “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” — I’ve never heard this one before, actually…but regardless, it’s a myth. If you’re hungry eat something light. Soup, fruit, applesauce, and toast are all good choices.
- “Bundle up, or you’ll catch your death of cold.” — Wearing clothes ’til you can’t walk still won’t protect you from catching colds. Some scientists believe that colds are more common during the colder seasons only because “low temperatures and low humidity facilitate the transmission of virus-laden microscopic moisture droplets from person to person.”
Maybe fact, maybe not:
- Eat chicken soup — Very little research has been done to prove that chicken soup actually helps a cold, but it can be true. Who knows, it could be a placebo. Regardless, doctors recommend that if it chicken soup makes your children feel better, by all means, let them have it.
- Take vitamin C — This one is kind of in between. Some studies support that vitamin C intake can help with colds, while other studies support the exact opposite. Again, if it works for you, take it.
- Now that the myths are separated from the facts, you can now give your children more accurate advice when it comes to cold and flu prevention.
Check out the full article from WebMD to get more in-depth explanations.
The Truth Behind Mom’s Cold And Flu Advice [WebMD]
