KidsPrimary School
Parent’s winter toolbox to fighting colds and flu
On average, kids catch six to eight colds a year. Here's how to keep your children - and yourself - cold and flu-free this winter.
It’s that time of the year again when colds and flu can strike your family. The good news is, there’s plenty you can do to help keep your child from being one of many who get colds and flu each year.
Protect yourself and your children with these handy tips:
Boost your child’s immune system
- Increase your child’s vitamin C intake.
- Give your child multivitamin supplements.
- Decrease your child’s stress levels. Let them read a book or relax in a warm bath.
- Ensure your child exercises regularly, but avoids any exercise when they have flu symptoms.
- Make sure your child drinks lots of fluids or healthy herbal teas.
Take precautionary measures
- Take the whole family for the flu vaccination.
- Encourage your child to keep their hands away from their nose and eyes to reduce their chances of getting the flu virus. We typically touch our face 15 times in one hour, without washing our hands, making it easy to transfer germs from surfaces we touch to our nose and eyes.
- Teach your child to wash their hands often to kill any potential germs they may have picked up from contaminated items like pens, pencils, and toys.
- Sleep deprivation can compromise your child’s immune system and lower their resistance to fighting off germs, so make sure your child gets at least eight hours of sleep every night.
Stock up your medicine cabinet with these must-haves
Most colds clear up within a week, but you can use these medications to help relieve the symptoms.
- Sterimar saline nasal spray (0 – 3 years) to keep your little one’s nose open.
- Iliadin nasal decongestant for children up to six years or Otrivin paediatric dose spray.
- Polyrinse eye drops for children of all ages to treat red, itchy eyes caused by allergies.
- Goldex, Linctagon, or Viral Forté throat lozenges for children five years and older.
- Nurofen Junior (from three months) and Lotem Syrup (from two years) for all cold symptoms.
- Probiflora Junior probiotic to lessen the severity of symptoms.
- Paracetamol syrup, drops, and chewable tablets to treat sore throats, fever, and body aches.
- Paracetamol syrup: Calpol and Panado syrup from three months.
- Paracetamol drops: Panado drops from three months.
- Paracetamol chewable tablets: Panado Children Meltaps from one year.
- Paracetamol suppositories: 125g from 3 – 12 months and 250g from 1 – 5 years.
