Children often get sick due to poor resistance?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Doctor Pham Lan Huong - Pediatrician - Pediatric Center - Vinmec Times City International Hospital

When children are sick, parents can't rest assured, especially when children are often sick, the worry is doubled. Because you are still worried about why children often get sick, is it because the child's resistance is poor or due to some other reason.

1. The reason why children often get sick

A child is said to be prone to minor illnesses if the child is sick almost every month and requires frequent medication. You may think that this condition is due to the child's body, but in fact, children often have minor illnesses for a reason. The first reason is that the child's immune system is weak or has infections and takes a lot of antibiotics ... The second reason is that the child is deficient in micronutrients due to an inadequate diet.

1.1. Poor immune system, poor resistance of children

After birth, the baby receives some immune antibodies from breast milk. As children grow up, the immune system gradually matures. Therefore, children are very susceptible to changes in the external environment. Children with weak immune systems are less able to fight off foreign pathogens, so they get sick more often.
The weaker the immune system, the more often children get sick. Common are respiratory diseases such as cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat... which in folklore is called "small illness". Therefore, if a child often has colds, sore throats, etc., this is a sign that the child's resistance is poor.
Even when the child's resistance is reduced, the child is at high risk of dangerous bacterial infections such as diphtheria, whooping cough, tuberculosis, dengue fever, tetanus...

1. 2. Poor digestion

Why does poor digestion lead to children or minor illnesses? That's because when a child's intestinal tract is not working properly, food will not be digested efficiently and will cause an imbalance in the microbiome in the gut.
All of these affect the absorption of nutrients from the digestive tract into the child's body. Once the absorption of nutrients is restricted, children are very susceptible to nutrient deficiencies, making the functioning of many organs unbalanced and prone to many diseases.

1. 3. Children are anorexic, anorexic, have no appetite

Just like adults, children need to eat enough to get energy for activities. When children are in poor health, tired, or sick, they do not need to eat or drink. Therefore, children with signs of anorexia, anorexia, you should pay attention to monitor because this can cause children to be malnourished, have poor resistance, and be easily affected by disease-causing factors leading to or ill. errands.

2. When is it necessary to strengthen the child's resistance to reduce minor illnesses?

The immune system is the "barrier" to help the body fight against the invasion of harmful bacteria and germs. For children who are often sick, there are many ways to improve resistance to help strengthen the child's immune system.
Many people are subjective and do not focus on strengthening children's resistance. This is completely wrong, there is a risk that the child will contract some infectious diseases, seriously affecting the baby's health and growth.
So, when your child shows the following signs, you need to strengthen your child's resistance as soon as possible.
Children are often sick, often have fever, cough, sore throat, flu, digestive disorders.... Children will have accompanying symptoms of anorexia, anorexia, fussiness, body fatigue, If this situation lasts for a long time, the child is likely to lose weight. Children are very sensitive to changes in the environment such as weather changes, climate changes, and changes in where they live. Even a small change in the weather can make a child sick in no time. You need to increase your child's resistance immediately. Children are more susceptible to illness than other children. When the season changes or there is any disease, children are more likely to catch it. This situation is extremely dangerous and leaves you in a constant state of anxiety. Children are easily infected from other children, when they are sick, they will recover longer and recover longer. Because resistance plays an extremely important role in the physical and mental development of children, you need to pay attention to strengthening the child's immune system whenever possible. This should be done regularly and continuously throughout all stages of a child's development, especially the following:
At birth: When the baby has just been born, and leaves the nest in absolute safety. mother's belly. Children's intestinal microflora is incomplete, the immune system is not fully developed, but children have to contact, get used to and adapt to a very unfamiliar environment outside. This makes children more susceptible to common illnesses such as colds, coughs, and fevers. Strengthening children's resistance at this time is very necessary. When weaning: In addition to being a source of nutrients for the development of the baby, breast milk also supports the baby's natural immune system. The antibodies present in breast milk help the baby have enough resistance to certain pathogens from the environment. Therefore, when weaning, the baby's immune system will be deficient in the important amount of antibodies found in breast milk. The immune system will be temporarily weakened, until it fully develops. When children start kindergarten: The classroom is a new environment for children. Children have to come into contact with many other children, which increases the risk of infection from other children. At this time, you also need to increase the child's resistance immediately. Change in weather: In winter, the air is usually very cold, and in summer the weather is extremely hot. The weather in the seasons is so clearly different, but it changes so quickly that the child's body can't adapt and get sick immediately.

3. How to increase children's resistance effectively

Sore throat, fever are common problems in children not only in winter but even in summer when children often go in and out of air-conditioned rooms. To prevent children from getting sick, you need to pay attention to clean hands and feet for children, give them enough sleep and get a flu shot every year.
However, there is a method to prevent children from getting sick that is often overlooked, which is nutritional supplements. Building a nutritious diet is the best way to strengthen children's resistance. Encourage mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months, up to 24 months of age.
According to nutrition experts, one of the reasons that need to be solved to help children stop getting sick is to strengthen the immune system, improve the child's resistance, and at the same time overcome anorexia and loss of appetite. to help children fully absorb nutrients through daily meals.
In addition, parents can add supporting foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins,... resistance so that children are less likely to get sick and have less digestive problems.
Parents can learn more:
Why do you need to supplement Lysine for your baby?
The role of zinc - Guidelines for reasonable zinc supplementation
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