Winter Care for kids

As winter is approaching, so you should also be cautious about your child’s health. The utmost thing to take care is to avoid catching cold, which can easily be prevented by taking due precautions.

Important thing to keep in mind:-

• Diet:- in winters there are more options available in terms of vegetables and more green leafy items are there like palak, bathua, carrot, radish etc. these vegetable add more of vitamins and fibres in children’s diet. In terms of millet, bajra is available in market in winters which is very nutrient part of diet. Bajra roti gives lot of protein, vit b6,niacin, folate, iron and zinc,which supports healthy hair, nail and skin. It helps in modeling the bone strength also.
• Fluids:- it it very important to keep your child hydrated otherwise it leads to lethargy and fatigue. As in winters, there is less sweating and less physical activity, it leads to less intake of water, so this should be avoided which can be done by giving more juices like carrot juice, tomato juice, soups etc.
• Adequate sunlight and vitD:- in winters we generally keep ourselves fully covered with clothes and only hands and face remains exposed to sun which comprises only 3-4% of body surface area which is not sufficient to make vitd from sunlight, so whenever there is chance of getting exposed in sun do that or else take vitD supplements so as to keep levels at par.
• Skin hydration:- keeping skin well hydrated is another aspect as in winters the relative humidity in environment falls down, which leads to decrease in humidity of skin. So the skin should be kept well moisturized with topical creams and lotions. The best oil for skin is coconut oil. It can be used as routinely on daily basis or as massage.
• Hand washing etiquettes: generally due to cold weather kids avoid to do regular hand wash but hand washing should be done as and when required with soap and lukewarm water. Washing hands keeps you germ free and avoids getting gastric related issues.
• Flu shots:- if recommended by your paediatrician, the updated flu shot should be taken as winter approaches.
• Layered clothing:- small kids should be well and properly clothed. Head, feet and trunk should be covered properly, it should be kept in mind that there should not be any restriction to the body movement in newborns. Layered clothing is preferred over single thick garment.

Following all above things doesn’t warrant that your kid is protected from all ailments, still there are certain medical conditions which get aggravated during winters like:-

• Asthma: cold weather leads to aggravation of asthma in kids, which should be watched carefully like your ward will start more coughing and deep breath, appropriate medicines should be started at earlied.
• Chronic coughing: avoid giving cold fluids and eatables, prefer lukewarm things like milk, soup etc.
• Eczema: those kids predisposed to eczema and dry skin, should be vigilant for not letting the skin dry as eczema flare ups on dry skin. Topical medication interms of cream and lotion should be used liberally.