How to avoid common cold in winter: 10 immune boosting tips
There are plenty of simple and effective ideas for how to avoid common cold in winter and boost your child’s immune system.
Now, I know there’s a lot of conflicting information out there about what works and what doesn’t.
But that’s why I’m here, to break down the facts and give you actionable tips that you can immediately start incorporating into your daily routine.
First things first, let’s talk about the importance of a healthy diet. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “you are what you eat,” and it couldn’t be more true when it comes to fighting off germs and keeping our bodies strong.
I’ll share some of my favorite immune-boosting foods and how to easily incorporate them into your family’s meals.
But it’s not just about what we put in our bodies, it’s also about how we care for ourselves as a whole. From getting enough sleep to incorporating exercise and stress-relief techniques, I’ll share key tips for how to avoid common cold in winter for the whole family.
So, grab a cozy blanket, make yourself a cup of tea and let’s dive in together. I’m confident that with these key tips, you’ll be able to avoid seasonal illnesses and enjoy the cold weather with your little ones.
Seasonal illnesses like the cold or flu are very common, but in some cases, can be disastrous for your household. Kids with low immune systems are at much greater risk of complications from the flu, and with the cold, it seems to keep spreading from one family member to the next.
The best thing you can do is try to avoid these illnesses entirely.
Key Tips for How to Avoid Common Cold in Winter
How to Avoid Common Cold in Winter Through Habits
Encourage Hand-Washing
When you notice your little ones aren’t taking the time to wash their hands properly, you may soon have children with colds. Show them how to wash their hands with soap and water thoroughly and how to dry off entirely. Set up a timer in the bathroom too so that kids are washing their hands for the correct amount of time. This is the number one easy tip for how to avoid common cold in winter.
Be careful with hand sanitizer! Isopropyl alcohol is poisonous and little kids love to put their hands in their mouths. If your child will be touching food or sucks their thumb, please do not use hand sanitizer in place of soap and water. Not only is it poisonous, but it doesn’t even work as well as the good ole fashioned stuff!
Discourage Sharing of Personal Items
Another tip for how to avoid common cold in winter is knowing what to share and what not to share. While you certainly want your kids to learn how to share their toys and books, you don’t want them sharing water bottles and the like, especially during cold and flu seasons. You can talk to your little ones about positive and negative types of sharing. And, a tip for you, savvy momma, is wipe shared toys with a sanitizing agent, whether it be soap and water or a child-friendly hand sanitizer.
Head Outside
This might be challenging during the colder months, but believe it or not, the outdoor air in winter has fewer germs than your home’s cozy warm air. That’s because viruses and bacteria have a hard time surviving in those low temps. So, a great tip for how to avoid common cold in winter is to bundle up and get outside!
Instead of spending day after day in a crowded indoor play space filled with coughs and sneezes, hit the park, the sledding hill, the ice rink, the woods, or even your backyard, if you have one. And, fortify them with extra benefits during the warmer months by letting let play with dirt. Yes, getting dirty strengthens their little immune systems.
Get Proper Rest
Good sleep hygiene is a must! Sleep deprivation causes the immune system to not work so well. Your child’s body can’t make new cells or get rid or old, defective cells if they don’t get good rest. Sleepy time is when all the magic happens that makes your child strong and resilient. If your child struggles to settle down, try some Counting Sheep on the bottoms of their feet.
Manage Stress
Another surprising way of how to avoid common cold in winter is managing stress. This can look like exercise through outdoor activities or a winter indoor soccer league. Or, it can look like quiet mindfulness activities indoors. Both of these things support and boost the immune system. But, bottled up anxiety, anger, frustration, or other negative emotions can actually depress the immune system. That’s because stress turns on the fight-or-flight response, which takes energy away from things like digestion and immunity. Help your child with stress and emotional intelligence to make sure their immune system is in tip top shape!
Diffuse Germ Fighting Essential Oils in Your Home
I can’t make any guarantees, but using aromatherapy safe for kids might be just the thing. Choose germ-fighting oils that can help you keep your child’s immune system strong without being irritating to young lungs and noses. Diffusing in their room and areas where they play frequently are the best spots. Some great examples are the Kids Line at Rocky Mountain Oils: Immunity and Breathe. You can even use the roll-ons on your kids’ feet to give them extra support!
Stay Home
If someone you know has signs of illness, it’s okay to just stay home. You can always reschedule that winter playdate. It’s not worth risking it just to get out of the house. And , of course, in the event that your kids are showing signs of the cold or flu, you want to show the same courtesy. In addition, you should allow your kids to stay home from school so that they can rest and recover.
How to Avoid Common Cold in Winter Through Nutrition
I told you we’d talk about immune boosting foods and a few supplements that are super helpful for kids. Here we go!
Probiotics
Believe it or not, a great way for how to avoid common cold in winter is to take probiotics! Yes, those critters in your child’s gut play a role in defending their body against germs. There are several great brands that offer probiotics for children. If they start having diarrhea, stop the probiotics.
Stay Away from Sugar!
Sugar is your child’s worst enemy when it comes to how to avoid common cold in winter. Sugar slows down their immune system and causes inflammation. And, for children, it causes their adrenaline levels to skyrocket! Choose healthier options for after school and lunch snacks and minimize the holiday treats, if possible.
Eat Immune-Boosting Foods
Want to know how to avoid common cold in winter with great nutrition? Try to get more of these foods in your child’s diet:
You may have to try drying them to make chips or pureeing them in soups, sauces, or stews, or sneaking them into smoothies. In addition to these fruits and veggies, it’s also a great idea to add cod liver oil for essential fatty acids and vitamin D.
Consider Supplements
We all know that little kids don’t always eat the most balanced, healthy diet. So, another way for how to avoid common cold in winter is to give them a quality, whole foods based, supplement that includes zinc, vitamin C, and vitamin D3. These super stars support the immune system and help ward off illness. Here are some great options:
- Garden of Life Vegetarian Multivitamin Supplement for Kids
- NanoVM Allergen Free Unflavored Multivitamin Powder
- Kids Greens and Reds Superfoods Powder (this powder doesn’t show nutritional values. However, it is food-based and contains all the phytonutrients your growing child needs!)
Keep a Few Herbal Remedies Stocked
I like to keep Elderberry Syrup, Echinacea, and Oregon Grape stocked in my cabinet for those just in case times. As soon as I hear a sniffle, out comes the herbal arsenal. I also diffuse essential oils in their rooms so their lungs get those germ fighting phytochemicals.
And that’s a wrap! I hope you found this helpful to you.
