Protecting infants during winters is every mother’s top priority as they are most vulnerable to catch a common cold and flu. Here is what you can do to prevent your infant from cold and flu. We will also discuss some home remedies that you can adapt to manage the symptoms of common cold and flu.
Measures To Prevent A Common Cold
- As discussed in the article Winter Special – How to keep your little one warm, the foremost thing you need to ensure is that your infant is kept warm by wearing adequate layers of winter clothing.
- Maintain an optimum room temperature in your house and do not get tempted to go out in the windy, cold nights. Your little infant is still developing his immune system and is not ready to combat the extremes of weather changes.
- Invest in a humidifier. Humidifiers help in moisturizing the air and thus prevent dryness of the skin, throat, and nasal passages. During winters, dryness in the air can aggravate nasal and chest congestion. Installing humidifiers in your homes will rid your infant from dryness by maintaining a natural air environment.
Remedies To Treat Symptoms Of A Cold
- There is a plentitude of home remedies that you can use to manage common cold and flu in your infants.
- Maintain adequate hydration – Dryness is one of the main culprits that exacerbates the symptoms of common cold and flu in infants. If your infant has caught a cold, increase liquid intake in your infant by offering plenty of fluids in their diet.
- If your infant is under 6 months of age, try to increase nursing frequency. Breastmilk is packed with infection-fighting antibodies and help your infant recover faster.
- Moisturize your infant’s nasal passages by administering Normal Saline nasal drops.
- Honey water also helps in keeping infants’ throat well lubricated and prevents dryness during congestion. However, it is not recommended to give honey to under 1-year-old infants.
