Dr. Bob Sears shows a few friends the "Dracula sneeze."
Wherever you turn these days, you’re likely to run into a runny nose – or someone else’s sneeze. Seasonal flu shots are available, but H1N1 vaccine is still scarce and we’ve got no vaccine at all for the common cold. How’s a family to stay healthy?
Pediatrician Bob Sears, M.D., of the renowned Sears medical family, says he’s noticed families focusing on preventive measures to keep illness at bay. And when they do get sick, they’re embracing more natural remedies. “Americans are getting tired of just popping a pill and turning to pharmaceuticals to fix things,” says the co-author of the Sears Parenting Library series. Here are a few things Dr. Sears recommends:
- Wash those hands. We just can’t say this enough. Teach kids to wash their hands several times a day at school, especially before eating, and after using the bathroom or doing a big group project. Younger kids can sing the ABCs while they wash as a way to measure the 20-30 seconds it takes to do it right.
- Master the “Dracula sneeze.” And teach the kids, too. If you’ve got to ahhh-choo it, your elbow is the place to do it.
- Humidify. Dry air dries out the sinuses, so consider buying a humidity gauge at your local hardware store to monitor the level in your home. You want to keep humidity at around 40%, and you might need to use a humidifier to do this.
- Cut down on sugar. This will help keep your immune system strong. “Spread out the sugar,” Sears suggests. “Make that Halloween candy last.” At his house, the rule is just one treat a day. If you keep the candy out of sight, they might eventually even forget about it, he says.
- Eat a breakfast with antioxidants. Put blueberries or other berries – fresh or dried – on your child’s cereal. Or just let the kids graze on berries any time. “That would be a great snack idea,” Sears says.
- Keep up your exercise routine. That’s especially true for moms and dads. “Stress and lack of exercise definitely will lower your immune system,” Sears says.
- Supplement up. Sears recommends that families consider supplementing their healthy diets with extra vitamin C and D, and zinc.
- Go natural. Dr. Sears is big on Echinacea this time of year, and has also been promoting a product called Sinupret. This natural herbal blend is designed it keep the sinuses healthy and boost the immune system, and Sears says he tends to recommended it for anyone with sinus trouble. “It’s been a good way to keep my patients’ sinuses healthy,” he explains. (They’ve sent us a sample. We’re checking it out.)
None of these measures is guaranteed to keep your family from falling victim to this year’s cold and flu season, but they can help. And good habits like these are worth keeping all year.
The flu is big news this year. And with the first rounds of H1N1 vaccine – not to mention the regular seasonal flu shots – not due out until mid-October, those little coughs are likely to get a little extra attention during the next couple of months.
