We’re back to school and chances are your kid will be exposed to the common cold. In fact, mine already caught it just three days into starting school. The Princess showed the early symptoms–watery eyes, sneezing, and soon enough, a runny nose. The Little Man caught it later on and before we knew it, we all had it at home.
The common cold is a viral infectious disease that infects the upper respiratory system. It is also known as acute viral rhinopharyngitis, or acute coryza. Being the most common infectious disease in humans, the cold is mainly caused by coronaviruses or rhinoviruses. (Source)
What’s worse is, both the minis had slight fever the night they caught the common cold. Fearing that it might be the flu, I knew I had to do something to help them get better before it gets worse. Thankfully, July 6th was declared a holiday so I took that chance to let the whole family recover.
There is no easy way out when it comes to the common cold because you just have to let it run its course, but I do have some tricks up my sleeves to help your child get over a cold without having to suffer from it for days on end. Here are some “hacks” I learned from experience as well as from other parents…
How to help your child get over a cold
1. Get your child to sleep, sleep, sleep. What helped my minis feel better in no time is because they had the chance to sleep for hours. They were feverish the night before the mid-week holiday so I gave them Paracetamol and allowed them to sleep in late the next day. I also encouraged them to take a nap in the afternoon to help their little bodies fight off the virus. The result? They were feeling much better by the evening! They still had a cold, but they were much better than they were the previous day.
2. Lemon-infused water works wonders! One thing the minis have gotten used to drinking (thankfully) is lemon-infused water. Lemons are a good source of Vitamin C with a whopping 187% of the recommended daily allowance. Imagine that!
3. The healing power of good ‘ol chicken soup. The minis are super hard to feed when they’re sick. You know how food become tasteless when you have the common cold? But, chicken soup never fails to get them to eat!
4. Use a nasal spray. When my kids are having a hard time breathing, our pediatrician recommended that we use a nasal spray to unblock their clogged noses. What we’re currently using is Humer, which is a French nasal care brand that recently arrived in the Philippines.
5. Rub Vicks vaporub on your child’s soles. A tip I got from fellow mom blogger Denise eons ago was to rub Vicks on my kids’ soles then have them wear socks. Other moms, including mine, swore that this works so I tried it out. True enough, it helped ease their itchy throats and got them to sleep more soundly.
6. Wash your hands! What I noticed from the past years is that the common cold will keep coming back once it enters your home…unless you do something to get rid of it. When one of our family members get sick, expect another one to fall ill, then another one, then another one. Soon, we’re all down with the common cold. And when we do get better, someone catches it again and the cycle continues. To prevent it from reoccurring, I make sure that everyone washes their hands. We have a bottle of Safeguard Foaming Anti Bacterial Hand Soap in the kitchen and our bathroom so everyone remembers to wash their hands.
7. Clean the house. When someone in the family gets sick, I go on a cleaning spree. I immediately wash our clothes and disinfect the condo by mopping the floors with a disinfectant mixed with water and by spraying Lysol around the unit. I also let some fresh air in by opening our balcony door.
Do you have other tips on how to help your child get over a cold? Share ’em in the comments section below!
