Guidelines for the Prevention of Common Diseases in Children

Adjust your hygiene habits according to the situation, make an immunization plan that suits your own situation, and exercise moderately. There is no need to stock up on health care products worth thousands of dollars, or make your home a sterile environment. Doing small daily things right will be more effective than running to the hospital three times after your baby gets sick.

I have been working in community child care for nearly 8 years, and I have seen too many parents who hold their babies in the outpatient clinic when the seasons change. Last month, a mother told me that her baby was admitted to the hospital twice because of pneumonia last year. She spent less than 20,000 just to buy health care products that are said to "enhance immunity". However, she still fell victim to the epidemic whenever there was an epidemic. When I asked, I found out that she wanted to feed her baby to the nearest gram every day. She wiped all the countertops at home with disinfectant three times a day. She even refused to let her baby touch the slide when he went downstairs to play, saying she was afraid of getting germs. This was actually the other extreme.

Let’s take hand disinfection as an example. There is currently no unified standard answer in the academic community: colleagues in the Department of Infectious Diseases believe that cleaning public items (such as playground handrails and kindergarten public toys) with 75% alcohol-containing disinfectant products after high-frequency contact can reduce norovirus and influenza infection rates by 30%.； However, pediatric gastroenterologists have repeatedly reminded that excessive use of disinfectant products will destroy the normal flora on children's hands, which not only easily induces skin sensitivity, but also disrupts the balance of intestinal flora if residual disinfectants are eaten by children. My general practical advice to parents is also very simple: just bring a small bottle of disinfectant gel to school or to a closed public place. At home, wash it with ordinary soap and running water for 20 seconds. Disinfecting toys and tableware once a week is enough, and scalding them with boiling water is enough. Last year, there was a mother in our community who used to soak all her baby's things with disinfectant effervescent tablets every day. The baby was 3 years old and suffered from oral thrush repeatedly. After adjusting this method for 3 months, it has not recurred since then.

When it comes to disease prevention, many parents' first reaction is to get vaccinated. In recent years, there has been an ongoing debate about whether to get self-funded vaccines. Some people say that free seedlings have covered all high-risk species, and self-paid seedlings are IQ taxes. ； Some people also say that as long as all seedlings are on the market, they must be vaccinated to be responsible for the baby. In fact, there is really no unified standard for this matter. I generally advise parents: If the child is prone to colds and fevers and has a susceptible constitution, priority should be given to vaccinations for several high-infectious diseases such as influenza, 13-valent pneumonia, hand, foot and mouth, and whorls. If financial conditions permit, get vaccinated. ； If your child is usually in good health and doesn't catch a cold twice a year, he can choose according to his needs. There is no need to be kidnapped by the saying that "a good parent is a good parent who takes all the vaccinations at his own expense".

There are also many parents who are always afraid that their babies will be cold. When the seasons change, they wrap their babies like little rice dumplings, and immediately add another layer of clothes when their hands feel cold. As a result, many babies have fevers that are not caused by the cold at all, but are caused by covering up. Many elderly people may not like to hear this, but "If you want to keep your baby safe, you need to keep three points from hunger and cold" is really clinically proven. Don't touch your hands when you are judging whether the baby is cold or not. Children's peripheral circulation is already poor, and it is normal for their hands to be cold. If you touch the back of your neck, if it is warm, it is just right. My own child is 5 years old this year. He only caught a cold once last year. I usually pick him up from school and let him wash his hands and change his coat before touching things at home. I take him to the park for a run two or three times a week. I don’t take any protein powder or probiotics. Last time half of the children in the kindergarten flu class asked for leave, but nothing happened to him. Oh, by the way, there are also two opinions on whether to wear a mask all the time: the respiratory department recommends that it is best to wear it in confined spaces such as hospitals and movie theaters during the flu season, as it can block most pathogens. ； However, colleagues from the Department of Otolaryngology also said that children should not always wear them outdoors or in places where people are not densely populated. Otherwise, the respiratory tract will not be stimulated by the outside world for a long time, and immunity will not be established. Everyone can adjust flexibly, and there is no need to be black and white at all.

By the way, there is another question that everyone asks the most: Should my baby be given fever-reducing medicine immediately if he has a fever? There is currently no unified temperature line in the pediatric community: one group believes that feeding should be above 38.5°C to avoid abusing antipyretics. ； The other group believes that if the baby's mental state is poor, it can be fed even at 38°C to avoid high temperature convulsions. In fact, the core is never the temperature number, but the baby's state - if the baby's fever reaches 38°C, he can't open his eyes and cries non-stop, then feed him as needed. ； If your child has a fever of 38.5°C and is still running around building blocks, you can physically cool down first and then observe, without blocking the line. Some parents ask whether they should give their children probiotics every day to enhance their immunity. The current academic consensus is very clear: supplementing specific strains (such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Saccharomyces boulardii) can only help when the child has diarrhea or has just taken antibiotics. Taking it every day without any problem may interfere with the establishment of its own flora. There is really no need to spend so much money.

In fact, at the end of the day, you really don’t need to pursue perfect scores when raising a baby. When I usually give guidance to parents, I always say that your baby is not a sterile white mouse in a laboratory. The occasional dirt or minor illness is to accumulate experience points for immunity. Doing the core things right and taking it easy on the rest is better than anything else.