Guidelines on prevention of common childhood diseases

Clinical data shows that 80% of common respiratory and digestive tract diseases in children can be prevented through daily habits. There is no need to rely too much on health products and preventive medications. The input-output ratio of basic care is much higher than the cost of treatment after illness.

When I went to the general pediatric clinic last week, I met six parents in the morning and asked, "Is there any magic medicine that can prevent children from catching colds?" One of them, a mother, carried a shopping bag full of health products, including lactoferrin, probiotics, and multivitamins. She said that her baby had just been in kindergarten for half a year and had already been hospitalized twice. "As long as it can prevent the baby from getting sick, I can spend any amount of money."

On the matter of "improving immunity", there have been different opinions in the academic circles. In the evidence-based system of Western medicine, currently, in addition to targeted supplements for clear nutrient deficiencies (such as vitamin D deficiency, zinc deficiency), and timely vaccination of Class I and II vaccines stipulated by the state, there are no proven effective "broad-spectrum immunity-enhancing" oral products. Many bovine colostrum and immunoglobulin, which often cost thousands of dollars per jar, are essentially high-priced proteins that are decomposed into amino acids after entering the digestive tract, and cannot directly improve immunity at all. The traditional Chinese medicine system prefers overall conditioning, such as chiropractic and spleen-strengthening dietary therapy. As long as the operation is standardized and does not cause extra burden to the child, it is completely possible to try it. There is no need to beat it to death with a stick and call it an "IQ tax". After all, the psychological comfort of parents is also very important in nursing care.

Two months ago, a grandma brought her 4-year-old grandson for follow-up consultation. She used to suffer from herpetic angina once a month. Even the drugstore owner at the gate of the community knew her. Later, she listened to our advice and stopped taking all three health products that she must take every day. She only adhered to the "three steps before entering the house" - change her coat, wash her hands with running water for 20 seconds, and spray her nose with saline. After more than three months of persistence, she only had a slight runny nose once, which healed itself in two days. You see, such a simple little thing is much more effective than taking thousands of health supplements.

Many people tend to overlook that half of children’s fevers and coughs are caused by eating too much. When my own baby was just two years old, my grandma was always afraid that he would be hungry, so she would chase him behind his back to feed him. He could only eat a small bowl of rice and two pieces of ribs in one meal. As a result, the fever reached 39 degrees within two days, and the tongue coating was as thick as a layer of hoarfrost. The doctor said it was caused by accumulated food. Later, I forced myself to change the rules and give myself 20 minutes to eat. I would put the bowl away if I didn’t eat. I didn’t give any snacks except fruit between meals. On the contrary, I rarely had bloating, constipation, and even fewer colds. Oh, by the way, don’t always think that eating more will make your baby grow taller. A child’s spleen and stomach are like a small-horsepower engine. If you put too much fuel in it, not only will it not be able to run, but it will also stall easily.

The two sides have been arguing for more than ten years about whether a baby can cover his sweat when he has a fever. The older generation always says, "The fever will go away if you cover your body with sweat." Young parents have read too much popular science and always say that covering your body with sweat will lead to fever syndrome and require physical cooling. In fact, both sides are right, that is, during the scoring stage: when the baby's body temperature rises and his hands and feet are cold and he is shivering, it is okay to cover him with a thin quilt. When the body temperature reaches the peak and his hands and feet are hot, he must quickly spread the heat and don't wrap him tightly. Especially for children under 3 years old, the body temperature regulation center has not yet developed, so covering it may be really dangerous.

Oh, yes, there are also many parents who ask whether they should take their children to crowded places for fear of spreading diseases. In fact, there is absolutely no need to raise your baby in a "sterile box". The immunity is like a newly trained game account. You have to let it upgrade by fighting monsters from time to time. Going to the park for a run and getting in touch with nature can actually help improve the immune system. It’s the season when flu and hand, foot and mouth are most common, so just don’t go to enclosed indoor playgrounds or crowded shopping malls. Last year, I met a family of three children who went to an indoor naughty castle for an afternoon on the weekend. They all came back with influenza A, and their parents were also infected. It took them half a month to recover.

In fact, after being a pediatrician for so many years, I feel that there are really not that many complicated ways to prevent common childhood diseases. To put it bluntly, don’t blindly supplement, don’t blindly feed, and don’t overprotect. Let the baby eat, sleep, and run when it should, which is more effective than expensive health products and sophisticated care plans. Of course, if your baby really has a fever above 38.5 degrees and is not in a good state of mind, don’t force yourself to do it. Go to the hospital when you need to, and don’t rely on any folk remedies that will delay things.