When cold weather arrives, so do coughs, colds, and stomach bugs! During winter it is normal to be more anxious about your child’s health. All winter sickness among children is not serious. Winter may mean snow; sleds and outdoor fun for children, but it also means colds, sore throats, fever, and flu. Although illness like cold and flu occurs more frequently during the winter months, the reasons are not always straightforward. Being colder weather outside, children tend to spend more time indoors together and catch the infection from one another.

There are over two hundred cold viruses that are ready to attack your child. Children are vulnerable to these viruses as they have generally low immunity. Viruses easily knock them down with illness and the infections spread easily from one child to another. These are some common infections that frequently attack children during winter. A pediatrician in La Puente, CA thinks that proper child care is needed to keep your children out of winter infection.

Common Cold:

Cough, cold, and sniffles are the most common illness from which children suffer a lot in the winter season. Kids catch up to 10 colds a year and there is every possibility that a minimum of one or two will surely occur in winter. This is a highly infectious disease that takes a couple of days to appear the symptoms. The condition becomes worse in the first 2-3 days. Keep your children in complete isolation as being highly infectious they pass the disease for around two weeks tells a Childcare assistant in La Puente, CA . Symptoms are – runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and a slight temperature. Congestion may occur due to swelling of the mucosa - the moist inner lining of the mouth, nose, and lungs. This is not a serious disease, only it makes life uncomfortable for 5-6 days. You may get the counter drug for this problem, but cough and cold medications are not recommended for children under age 6. Physicians think that it is always better to go natural. Keep them hydrated because a good amount of water is drained out from the body when they have a runny nose. For this purpose, offer them fluid as much as possible. Different types of soups and broth and fruit juice (at room temperature) should be given to children to keep them hydrated because kids do not like plain water. Besides this spices like garlic, ginger, onion that are used in the soups have medicinal value that helps in curing. Allow them to take adequate rest. You may give paracetamol after consulting the doctor, but do not give them antibiotics because cold is caused by viruses.

RSV:

RSV or respiratory syncytial virus is a common viral infection that may cause bronchiolitis in infancy. Symptoms of RSV infection are rapid breathing or trouble beating along with cough, congestion, wheezing, runny nose, and fever. This infection starts slowly over the first two days and worsens between 3-7 days. It can last up to two weeks. This virus infects the lower respiratory tract of the infant. Children under the age of two are prone to this infection. To give your children some relief keep your children upright and that posture will help them to breathe easily. This is a mild cold infection but may turn serious unless the necessary care is not taken. Speak to the doctor if your child has taken less than half their usual feed or breathing rapidly, stop urination, and has a high fever. Do consult a pediatrician immediately.

Influenza

Flu or influenza is another common infection of children and happens due to contagious respiratory virus. Flu often starts with dry cough along with runny nose, cough, body ache, and headache, red and irritated eyes. Rest and proper diet and holding patience are adequate to get rid of this disease. The flu remains for two days in minimum case and starts to recede after that. But, if the flu persists for more than two days parents should visit a physician along with their children. Besides this, the fear of Omicron or the third wave of COVID is the newest addition in the market. Along with fever, if your child loses their sense of smell and taste and suffers from diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps, do a COVID test of your child. Children are more likely to catch the omicron variant of Corona.

Strep Throat:

Strep throat is a contagious bacterial infection that is more common during the fall, winter, and early spring. Symptoms are sore or painful throat, fever, headache, trouble swallowing along with fever. You may give them paracetamol under the guidance of a doctor. Gargling with warm saline water helps a lot in this problem.

Earache:

Earache is a common winter infection of the child, especially at night. Many times ear infection begins after the child catches a cold. Ear infection happens when bacteria or viruses infect the trapped fluid behind the eardrum. Ear infections in most of the time clear up on their own. The doctor may recommend medicines to relieve pain. A prompt visit to a pediatrician is needed so that the situation does not get worsened.