Introduction:
Catching raindrops on your tongue, jumping over puddles, the adventure of wading in knee-deep water, and a few extra school holidays. This is what children wait for when the academic year begins with the onset of the monsoon. Nasty visitors like viral fevers, malaria, and infectious disease turn up every year along with the first showers.
This is alarming for children who have developing immunity.
We have to be cautious about their health and wellness, provide a little extra dose of care to our children and prevent them from catching any infection.
Below are few tips that will help you in taking care of your child during monsoon season:
Tips to Protect Child from Rainy Season/Monsoon Diseases
Eat and Drink Healthy:
During the rainy season, children’s digestive systems become prone to infections. To maintain a healthy diet, we should prevent them from eating any outside food. We should not give them raw vegetables and salads unless they are consumed at home where we can wash them well.
To build immunity and to fight against airborne and water-borne diseases, we should give our children Vitamin C enriched food.
Food items such as lukewarm milk, and chicken or vegetable soup provide some comfort to your child if s/he catches a cold. Give your child only boiled or purified water. Clean water consumption helps in cleansing the digestive system by flushing out harmful toxins.
Clean and Dry Homes:
We must keep our house clean and dry to avoid attracting insects. Take some steps to clean damp walls as they attract mold and fungus, which can cause asthma and breathing trouble among children. Dirty footwear should be removed before entering the house. You can use antiseptic liquids mixed in water for cleaning floors. Make sure the interiors of your house remain dry.
Use appropriate clothes:
Apart from using a Raincoat or umbrellas, dress your child in loose clothes made of cotton. This will allow their skin to breathe in a humid atmosphere and they won’t feel suffocated. If the weather gets too cold add layers of warm clothes. With this, socks are essential for toddlers to protect them from coughs and colds.
Always be prepared:
Monsoons can be quite unpredictable, so always carry an umbrella and a raincoat for your child if you are planning to take them outside. Also, before stepping out do check the weather for the next few hours so you and your child don’t catch the rain in between.
Rain dance:
Who doesn’t love enjoying the rain? We all do and so do our children. But, don’t allow your child to get wet in the first monsoon shower because it contains the presence of mild acid which will cause an extreme drop in the body temperature of your child and will expose them to diseases.
However, if your child gets wet in the rain, make sure that the child gets bathed with hot water immediately after drenching in the rain. You can also add a few drops of antiseptic liquid to their water to kill off the germs. Also, feed them hot food like a cup of hot milk, or soup that will keep them warm from the inside.
Eye Troubles:
Eye infections like a corneal ulcer, dry eye, and conjunctivitis are very common infections in this season. Stop your child from touching or rubbing his/her eye unnecessarily. Consult a pediatrician as soon as possible if you notice any redness in your child’s eyes. Rinse their eyes with cooled boiled water to bring them relief.
NO Mosquitoes:
Don’t let the stagnant water stay for too long in/near your house, that can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Don’t forget to use mosquito nets or mosquito repellent patches for your child. Avoid mosquito coils as these may trigger an allergic cough in your child. Don’t allow your child to play near waterlogged places and educate your child to maintain proper hygiene and wash/ sanitize their hands frequently.
Encourage your child to drink plenty of water:
A well-hydrated body is better equipped to fight off flu and cold. Drinking enough water helps in cleansing the system and flushes out toxins like germs and bacteria from your child’s body. To ward off water-borne diseases only drink water that is boiled, or filtered.
Conclusion:
Such small moments like playing in rain give beautiful memories that are cherished by children forever. These small experiences matter in their lives a lot! but with this, we should also be careful about their health and well-being. These are simple actions which when implemented can keep your child away from monsoon diseases. With these steps, make sure there is no hindrance to your child’s enjoyment.