Help Getting Your Child Through a Cold and Help Preventing Them

It is that time of the year, again. Children are in school and the air inside our homes and schools are much dryer due to the use of furnaces. What does this mean? It means your child is much more likely to get a cold.

We all know how miserable colds are. You can have the sniffles, the sneezing, the sore throat, the cough, the body aches and the congestion. All of this can led to a very miserable child.

It is estimated that a child can get up to 8 colds a year. It is also estimated that colds are the number one reason why children have to stay home from school and the number one reason why they have to go to the doctor. Colds are also the most common infectious disease in the United States.

We all know that colds are caused by germs, rhinoviruses, to be exact. Rhino is the Greek word for nose. The virus usually spreads through the air we breathe. Thus the combination of rhino and virus. But we also can catch colds from touching things and then touching our mouths, eyes or noses.

Colds are very contagious, especially for the first two to four days after symptoms appear. But you can still be contagious up to three weeks after symptoms appear. The cold virus is usually caught by breathing in the virus because when one sneezes the virus particles can travel up to 12 feet through the air. That is why it is essential to teach your children to cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze.

Some simple steps can help keep your child from catching a cold.

1. Try to keep your children away from others, who all ready are affected with the cold virus.

2. Teach them to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently, especially after playing with other children or before eating.

3. Do not allow your children to use a towel after someone else, especially when that person has a cold.

4. Also teach your children never to eat or drink after someone else. You never know who may be coming down with a cold.