Monsoon: 6 tips to boost your child’s immunity and prevent infections in rainy season

With the monsoon season here and the end of summer vacations, managing the health of their kids becomes priority for parents. With heavy downpour, respiratory infections, fever and sore throat become common health problems. Chances of stomach infection also increase multifold as most children tend to eat high calorie, spicy and mouth-watering delicacies during monsoon. Jaundice and typhoid are also common due to infected food and water. So, dear parents, here are some monsoon tips for children to help them keep infections and allergies away.

From food and lifestyle to vaccination, there are various ways to protect children from seasonal allergies and health problems. Let us take a look at some basic monsoon tips you can incorporate in your child’s daily routine.

6 monsoon tips for children

According to Dr Paula Goel, Paediatrician and Adolescent Specialist, Fayth Clinic, here are some tips you can adopt to boost your child’s immunity against monsoon infections and diseases.

1. Maintain healthy nutrition

Kids may often think healthy food is not tasty, and that it is bland. But as a parent, you can change that understanding by experimenting with healthy ingredients and recipes. Ensure that you give them a wholesome diet and keep them away from excessive consumption of junk food. Include plenty of fruits and vegetables in their diet.

2. Make them exercise

Sitting has become the villain in our lives. Prevent your child from leading a sedentary lifestyle and motivate him or her to exercise regularly. Outdoor activities should be encouraged whenever the weather permits. Indoor, make sure they are busy with aerobic activities like skipping, hopping and duck walking that provide adequate energy expenditure, instead of spending screen time.

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3. Maintain a healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle is a sum total of the right eating, exercising and sleeping habits. Decrease their screen time and avoid providing them gadgets at least an hour before bedtime. This will help them sleep better and wake up fresh.

4. Maintain hygiene

Maintaining hand hygiene is very important to avoid contracting and spreading infection. Make sure children are washing their hands regularly and bathing every day to prevent monsoon-related illnesses.

5. Reduce stress

Schools have begun after a summer break, and students can feel stressed about the new session. Try to minimize stress for them and ease their transition without putting too much academic or extra-curricular pressure on them.

6. Vaccinations

Prevention is better than cure. So ensure that your child is up to date with all required vaccines as of age, as well as the yearly influenza vaccine. Typhoid and Hepatitis vaccine prevents typhoid and hepatitis A (jaundice) caused by infected food and water.

Also read: Monsoon travel on your mind? Avoid catching dengue or typhoid with these health tips

Monsoon diet: Foods to boost immunity in children

While all the above mentioned monsoon tips for children are important, diet can play a huge role in keeping immunity stronger in kids. A balanced diet should contain 20–25 percent fat, 10–12 percent protein, and 60–70 percent carbs, says Dr Goel. She suggests the following foods for immunity as part of a monsoon diet!

* Probiotics in yoghurt prevent bacterial, viral and fungal diseases. It is always advised to consume yoghurt without any added flavour, sweeteners or colours.
* Homemade soups with mixed vegetables like carrot, beetroot, tomatoes, spinach, pumpkin, gourd and broccoli are healthy and an excellent way to increase your child’s immunity. It also helps decrease the symptoms of cough, cold and flu. Spices used in preparing soup boost immunity, turmeric and ginger have anti-inflammatory properties, and garlic has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties.
* Eggs contain nutrients such as protein, zinc, vitamins A,B,D,E,K, iron, magnesium and selenium

* A pathogen’s ideal growing environment is a moist environment. Therefore, broccoli is a vegetable that increases immunity. It is a complete nutrition package that builds immunity because it contains vitamins B, B2, B3 and B6, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, vitamin C and beta-carotene.
* Lemon can be added to meals as Vitamin C in lemon increases immunity.
* Fruits like watermelon, bananas, chikoos, apples, pears, papayas and oranges boost immunity.
* Beetroots help lower blood pressure levels, prevent anaemia, reduce inflammation, and fight against several infections. Therefore, to boost your immune system during this monsoon, include beetroot in your diet.