Why does a child often get sick and how to help him stay healthy? Frequent urination in a child without pain: causes and treatment A 3-year-old child is often sick, what to do.

Reading time: 7 minutes. Views 668 Published 07/18/2018

Are you dreading the onset of the autumn-winter period, since your child often gets sick at this time? This situation is relevant for 40% of preschoolers, but this does not mean that the problem cannot be dealt with; you just need to identify and eliminate the cause of frequent colds.

When doctors make a diagnosis: a frequently ill child

It is normal for children to be sick. Diseases for the immune system are like physical exercises for the body, strengthening and tempering. But this does not mean that a child should walk around with a cough and snot all year round, be pale and fall from weakness and chronic fatigue. There are certain indicators that regulate the permissible annual number of colds and children.

Table for identifying frequently ill children

Children under six months old get sick colds rarely, since their body is protected by maternal antibodies. Then they disappear, the immune system weakens, and, as recent studies show, after 6 months, colds occur equally often in breastfed and bottle-fed babies.

Why do children often get sick?

The main reason why a child often gets sick is imperfection immune system. With age, immune memory is formed in the body - the body is able to quickly recognize the main types of pathogenic microorganisms and destroy them, the immune memory is filled after illnesses and vaccinations.

Young children do not have such protection, so it takes time to identify enemy microbes and produce antibodies, which leads to the development of the disease

Causes of common colds:

• genetic factor;
• infection with intrauterine infections;
• hypoxia, premature birth;
• vitamin deficiency, rickets;
• bad ecology;
• allergy;
• the presence of chronic inflammatory processes in the body, surgical intervention;
• helminthic infestations;
• endocrinological pathologies;
• failure to comply with hygiene rules.

All these factors negatively affect the functioning of the immune system, but the main factors are somewhat different, we will talk about them a little later.

How does removal of tonsils and adenoids affect a child’s immunity?

For frequent tonsillitis, doctors recommend removing the tonsils; the operation is simple, safe, and complications rarely occur. But there is no need to rush, tonsils are part of the immune system; after their removal, microbes freely penetrate into the upper and lower respiratory tract, which is fraught with chronic laryngitis and bronchitis. Surgery is needed if exacerbations occur more than 4 times a year, or if there is no improvement after antibiotic therapy.

Adenoids are an age-related problem; adults do not have this disease. Therefore, if the problem manifests itself insignificantly and does not interfere with normal nasal breathing, you can wait a little. Adenoids are also part of the immune system and prevent the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the nasopharynx.

Should we treat weak immunity, or should we just wait? Children are born with primary immunodeficiency extremely rarely; with this pathology, the child not only gets sick often, but every cold turns into severe bacterial infections - tonsillitis, bronchitis, pneumonia.

Congenital immunodeficiency is a dangerous and fatal disease, and has nothing to do with a prolonged runny nose.

Secondary immunodeficiency develops under the influence external factors, and most often the parents are to blame for this - it is difficult to admit and realize this, but it is necessary. Not proper nutrition, constant wrapping, dry and hot air in the room, lack of physical activity - all these factors prevent the child’s immunity from forming and developing normally.

What is good for a child's immunity?:

1. Clean and cool air in the room - regularly ventilate the room, maintain the temperature at 18-20 degrees, humidity 50-70%.
2. Remove all dust collectors from the child’s room - carpets, soft toys, and carry out wet cleaning regularly, preferably daily.
3. The child should sleep in a cool room, light or warm pajamas - at the discretion of the baby, he should be comfortable, he should not sweat in his sleep.
4. Do not force-feed your child, do not force him to finish everything, and do not allow snacks between main meals. Natural sweets are much healthier than artificial products.
5. Monitor the condition of your oral cavity; a hole in a tooth is a constant source of infection. Teach your child to brush his teeth twice a day for 3-5 minutes, rinse his mouth after every meal and sweets.
6. Compliance with the drinking regime - children need to drink approximately 1 liter of liquid per day. This can be pure non-carbonated water, fruit drinks, compotes, natural juices; all products must be at room temperature.
7. Sweating provokes the development of colds more often than hypothermia, put the same amount of clothes on your child as you do on yourself, and don’t bundle them up. If the baby is dressed too warmly, he moves less outside, which is also not good.
8. Long walks on fresh air, preferably twice a day; if the weather is good, you can have a quiet short promenade before bed.
9. For a frequently ill child, it is better to choose a sport where activities take place in the fresh air. It is better to postpone visiting the pool and active communication in a confined space for a while.
10. Get all vaccinations up to date, teach your child to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly.

Hardening procedures - a frequently ill child needs to be hardened, even if you feel very sorry for the little one. But start gradually, if you immediately pour a bucket of cold water on your baby’s head in the cold, it will not end well.

Hardening is not only water procedures and gymnastics in the morning, but a combination of all the listed measures to strengthen the immune system.

What is the right summer vacation?

Children definitely need a summer holiday, but trips to the sea are unlikely to help strengthen the immune system. Children should relax away from large crowds of people, eat natural healthy food, run barefoot in shorts all day, so the ideal vacation spot is a village, but most parents cannot achieve such a feat.

If you still want to go to the sea, choose places that are not particularly popular, where you can find a piece of deserted beach, and do not feed your baby harmful and prohibited foods, even on vacation.

Childhood diseases and bacteria

All these recommendations may seem very simple to you; many mothers will want to do something more significant in terms of strengthening the baby’s immune system. You can take a bunch of tests, do an immunogram, most likely, the child will be found to have staphylococci, antibodies to herpes, cytomegalovirus, Giardia - here everything becomes clear, microbes are to blame for everything.

But staphylococci are opportunistic bacteria that live in the mucous membranes and intestines of almost every person. But it is simply impossible to live in a metropolis and not have antibodies to the listed viruses and protozoa. So don't look treatment methods, and strengthen your immune system regularly.

Immunomodulators - pros and cons

Do children need synthetic immunomodulators? Such drugs activate the production of antibodies, but there are very few real indications for the use of such potent drugs; they are associated with primary and severe secondary immunodeficiency conditions. Therefore, if your baby is simply often sick, then spare his body and let everything happen naturally.

But most doctors have no complaints about natural immunomodulators based on ginseng, echinacea, propolis and royal jelly. Drugs can be used to strengthen the body's defenses, but only after prior consultation with a pediatrician or immunologist, and subject to strict adherence to all measures to strengthen the body's defenses.

Traditional recipes to strengthen the immune system

1. Grind in a blender 200 g of dried apricots, raisins, prunes, walnuts, add the zest and juice of 1 lemon, 50 ml of honey. Place the mixture in a dark place for 2 days and store in a dark glass container. Give your child 1 tsp. three times a day before meals.
2. Cut 3 medium green apples into small cubes, chop 150 g walnuts, 500 g cranberries. Mix everything, add 0.5 kg of sugar and 100 ml of water, simmer the mixture over low heat until it boils. Cool, give the child 1 tsp. in the morning and in the evening.
3. Melt 50 g of propolis in a water bath, cool, add 200 ml of liquid honey. Dosage – 0.5 tsp. every morning before breakfast.

For chronic inflammatory processes in the body, physiotherapy - ultraviolet irradiation, visiting salt caves, taking mineral waters or inhalations with them, sunbathing.

Conclusion

A frequently ill child is not a death sentence; every parent is able to create all the conditions to strengthen the child’s immunity.

The baby goes to kindergarten for a week, and then sits at home for a month with snot, cough, fever, and rash. This picture is not fictional, but the most real for many Russian families. A child who is often sick does not surprise anyone today. Rather, a child who is not sick at all or does it extremely rarely is of genuine interest. What to do if frequent illnesses do not allow the child to attend kindergarten normally, teachers call the child “non-kindergarten”, and parents are constantly forced to take sick leave in order to diligently treat their son or daughter’s next illness, says a famous pediatrician and author of books about children's health Evgeny Komarovsky.

About the problem

If a child often gets sick in kindergarten, modern medicine says that his immunity is reduced. Some parents are sure that they need to wait a little, and the problem will be solved by itself, the baby will “outgrow” the disease. Others buy pills (immunostimulants) and try with all their might to boost and maintain immunity. Evgeny Komarovsky believes that both are far from the truth.

If a child gets sick 8, 10 or even 15 times a year, this, according to the doctor, does not mean that he has a state of immunodeficiency.

True congenital immunodeficiency is an extremely rare and extremely dangerous condition. With it, the child will suffer from not just ARVI, but ARVI with a severe course and very strong bacterial complications, life-threatening and difficult to treat.

Komarovsky emphasizes that genuine immunodeficiency is a rare phenomenon, and one should not attribute such a harsh diagnosis in general healthy child, who simply suffers from the flu or ARVI more often than others.

Frequent illnesses are secondary immunodeficiency. This means that the baby was born completely normal, but under the influence of some circumstances and factors, his immune defense does not develop quickly enough (or something has a depressing effect on it).

There are two ways to help in this situation: try to support the immune system with medications, or create conditions under which the immune system itself begins to strengthen and work more efficiently.

For parents, according to Komarovsky, it is very difficult to even admit the idea that it is not the child (and not the characteristics of his body) who are to blame for everything, but themselves, mom and dad.

If the baby is wrapped up from birth, they don’t allow the baby to stomp around the apartment barefoot, they always try to close the windows and feed him more, then there is nothing surprising or unusual in the fact that he gets sick every 2 weeks.

What medications can strengthen the immune system?

Medicines cannot achieve the goal, says Evgeniy Komarovsky. There is no medicine that would treat “bad” immunity. Concerning antiviral drugs(immunomodulators, immunostimulants), their effect has not been clinically proven, and therefore they only help their own manufacturers, who earn trillions of net profit from the sale of such products every cold season.

They are most often simply harmless, but also completely useless “dummies”. If there is an effect, it will be solely a placebo effect. The names of such drugs are familiar to everyone - “Anaferon”, “Ocillococcinum”, “Immunokind” and so on

Komarovsky is quite skeptical about strengthening the immune system with folk remedies. If this medicine does not harm your child, take it for your health. This can be attributed to juices, tea with lemon, onions and garlic, cranberries. However, there is no need to talk about the therapeutic effect. All these folk remedies- natural immunomodulators, their benefits are based on the beneficial effects of the vitamins they contain. Onions and garlic cannot cure flu or rotavirus infection that is already developing. There will be no preventive protection against them.

It is strictly not recommended to practice traditional methods, which can cause harm. If you are advised to drop iodine into milk and give it to your child, if they recommend rubbing him with badger fat, kerosene or vodka at a fever, say a decisive parental “no”. There is a “no” to dubious and very expensive remedies made from crushed Tibetan goat horns. Common sense is paramount.

There are no medications to strengthen the immune system as such. However, this does not mean that parents cannot influence their child’s natural defense system in any way. A logical and simple algorithm of actions that are designed to change the child’s lifestyle and environmental conditions can come to their aid.

Why does the baby start to get sick?

90% of childhood illnesses are a consequence of exposure to viruses, says Komarovsky. Viruses spread through airborne droplets, and less commonly through household contact.

Children's immunity is still immature; it has yet to become familiar with many pathogens and develop specific antibodies to them.

If one child comes to kindergarten with signs of infection (runny nose, cough, tickling), then in a closed group the exchange of viruses will be as effective as possible. However, not everyone gets infected and gets sick. One will go to bed the very next day, but the other will not care. The point, according to Evgeniy Komarovsky, is the state of immunity. A child already treated by his parents is more likely to get sick, and the danger will pass by the one who is not given a bunch of pills for preventive purposes, and the one who grows up in the right conditions.

It goes without saying that kindergartens are completely violating simple rules hygiene, there are no humidifiers, hygrometers, and teachers don’t even think about opening the window and ventilating (especially in winter). In a stuffy group with dry air, viruses circulate much more actively.

How to examine the state of immunity?

Some parents believe that if their baby gets sick more than 8 times a year, then he certainly has poor immunity. Morbidity rates, according to Komarovsky, do not exist. Therefore, screening for immunodeficiency is required. more for parents, to calm down, realizing that they are “doing their best” than the child himself.

If you really want to pay for it and learn a lot of new medical terms, then welcome to any paid or free clinic. There you will be prescribed a blood test for antibodies, a scraping will be taken from the child for worm eggs, tests for Giardia, a general blood and urine test will be done, and they will also offer a special research method - an immunogram. Then the doctor will try to summarize the data obtained and assess the state of the immune system.

How to boost immunity?

Only by eliminating the child’s conflict with environment, we can hope that his immunity will begin to work more actively, as a result of which the number of diseases will significantly decrease. Komarovsky recommends that parents start by creating the right microclimate.

How to breathe?

The air should not be dry. If a child breathes dry air, the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, which viruses attack first, will not be able to give a worthy “response” to pathogenic agents, and the already begun respiratory tract disease will result in complications. It is optimal if both at home and in the kindergarten there is clean, cool and humid air.

Best Values humidity - 50-70%. Buy special device- humidifier. As a last resort, get an aquarium with fish, hang wet towels (especially in winter) and make sure they don’t dry out.

Place a special valve on the radiator.

A child should not breathe air that contains undesirable aromas - tobacco smoke, fumes from varnishes, paints, detergents based on chlorine.

Where to live?

If a child begins to get sick often, this is not a reason to curse the kindergarten, but it’s time to check whether you yourself have equipped the children’s room correctly. In the room where the child lives there should be no accumulations of dust - large soft toys, long pile carpets. Wet cleaning of the room should be done with plain water, without adding any detergents. It is advisable to buy a vacuum cleaner with a water filter. The room needs to be ventilated more often - especially in the morning, after the night. The air temperature should not exceed 18-20 degrees. The child's toys should be stored in a special box, and books on a shelf behind glass.

How to sleep?

The child should sleep in a room where it is always cool. If you are afraid to immediately lower the temperature in the room to 18 degrees, then it is better to put warmer pajamas on your child, but still find the strength to bring the temperature back to normal.

Bed linen should not be bright or contain textile dyes. They may be additional allergens. It is better to buy linen from natural classic fabrics white. Both the pajamas and bedding of a frequently ill offspring should be washed with baby powder. It is also worth subjecting things to additional rinsing.

What to eat and drink?

You need to feed the child only when he begins to beg for food, and not when mom and dad decide that it’s time to eat. Under no circumstances should you force-feed a child: an overfed child does not have a healthy immune system.. But drinking should be plentiful. This does not apply to carbonated sweet lemonades. The child needs to be given more water, still mineral water, tea, fruit drinks, and compotes. To find out the child's fluid needs, multiply the child's weight by 30. The resulting number will be the desired one.

It is important to remember that the drink should be at room temperature - this way the liquid will be absorbed faster in the intestines. If earlier they tried to give the child something warm to drink, then the temperature should be gradually lowered.

How to dress?

The child needs to be dressed correctly - not wrapped up and not overcooled. Komarovsky says that sweating causes illness more often than hypothermia. Therefore, it is important to find the “golden mean” - the required minimum of clothing. It is quite simple to determine - a child should not be wearing more clothes than an adult. If previously the family practiced the “grandmother’s” dressing system (two socks in June and three in October), then the amount of clothing should be reduced gradually so that the transition to normal life did not come as a shock to the child.

How to play?

Toys for a preschooler are an important component of development. Parents must remember that babies put them in their mouths, chew them, and lick them. Therefore, you need to approach the choice of toys responsibly. Toys should be practical and washable. They should be washed as often as possible, but with plain water, without chemicals. If a toy has a bad or strong smell, you should not buy it; it may be toxic.

How to walk?

A child should go for a walk every day - and more than once. Dr. Komarovsky considers evening walks before bed very useful. You can go for a walk in any weather, as long as you dress appropriately. Even if a child is sick, this is not a reason to refuse walks. The only limitation is high temperature.

Hardening

Komarovsky advises strengthening a child with weak immunity. If you approach this carefully and make hardening a habitual daily norm of life, then quite quickly you can forget about frequent illnesses brought from kindergarten.

It is best, says the doctor, to start practicing hardening procedures from birth. These include walks, cool baths, douches, and massages. If the question that it is necessary to improve immunity has arisen only now and at once in full force, then there is no need for radical action. Activities should be introduced one by one and gradually.

First, enroll your child in a sports section. Wrestling and boxing are not suitable for a frequently ill child, because in these cases the child will be in a room where many children, besides him, breathe and sweat.

It is better if your son or daughter takes up active sports in the fresh air - athletics, skiing, cycling, figure skating.

Swimming, of course, is very useful, but for a child who gets sick very often, visiting a public pool is not the best good decision, says Evgeniy Olegovich.

Additional education(music schools, studios visual arts, foreign language study groups, when classes are held in enclosed spaces) better to put it off until later, when the number of child diseases decreases by at least 2 times.

How to relax?

The widespread belief that sea air has a very beneficial effect on a child who is often sick is far from reality, says Komarovsky. It is better to send your child to the village with relatives in the summer, where he can breathe plenty of clean air, drink well water and swim in it if you fill an inflatable pool with it.

Village relatives should be prohibited from feeding their children “for slaughter” with sour cream and pancakes. Food should be given only when he asks for it. Such vacations lasting 3-4 weeks are usually enough for the immune system, which has been fairly undermined by city life, to be fully restored.

How to protect yourself from diseases?

The best prevention, according to Komarovsky, is not mountains of pills and synthetic vitamin complexes. First of all, contacts should be limited during seasonal epidemics of viral infections. It's not worth going to public transport, visit large shopping centers, circuses and cinemas.

All family members of a frequently ill child must be vaccinated against the flu, and everyone (including the child) needs to wash their hands more often, especially after returning from the street. For walks, you should choose not areas in the yard where there are many children, but less crowded parks, squares, and alleys.

How to treat?

A viral disease does not require special treatment. If a child brings home another runny nose and cough from kindergarten, we can say with confidence that he has a viral infection. Treatment should consist of following the above rules - plenty of warm drinks, clean and moist air, walks, moderate nutrition, moisturizing the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx by instilling saline solutions. As a rule, the infection goes away within 5-7 days after the onset.

After recovery, Komarovsky does not advise immediately taking the child to kindergarten or sending the teenager to school. An immune system that has been weakened by a recent illness will not be able to adequately respond to the new virus, and the child will certainly “bring” another illness. The course of the second disease will be more difficult than the first. It’s better to take a break of 7-10 days after recovery, let your immune defense strengthen, and only then resume visiting preschool, schools, sections.

There are no “non-kindergarten” children. There are parents who do not understand how to resist illness and maintain immunity.

The child will become quite “kindergarten-like” if, over the next 3-4 episodes of ARVI, the parents do not give him pharmaceutical medications, take him to doctors, do inhalations and steam his legs in a basin of hot water.

If he copes with diseases on his own (on compotes and fruit drinks), his immune system will learn to resist external threats, and the probability that next time he will get sick by catching a virus in kindergarten, will become minimal.

If parents are going to make a gift to the kindergarten for the next important holiday, then try to convince other parents who plan to participate financially in it, to buy a humidifier for the group with the funds raised. From such an acquisition it will be better and easier for all children - both those who are often sick and those who are strong. This includes prevention, treatment, and simply creating normal conditions in a preschool institution.

Children of any age are susceptible to illness. In principle, it is normal to catch a cold sometimes. And if a child often suffers from colds, what should he do?

Some parents are very worried because children, for example, 5 years old, “do not recover from illnesses.”

What then can we say about 3-year-old children who have just started going to kindergarten? If the mother goes to work, if the child has frequent colds, she has to take sick leave or ask for time off.

Sometimes this is perceived negatively by management.

In medicine, the term ChBD appeared. This is an abbreviation for the phrase “frequently ill children.” But not every patient can be called frequently ill.

And so that parents do not sound the alarm ahead of time, a table has been created according to which you can find out whether a child is often sick and whether he can be classified as a child with acute illness.

To draw a conclusion, you need to remember how many times the baby caught a cold in a year, or, easier, look at the medical record and count the visits to the doctor over the previous year with complaints of acute respiratory infections. Compare the results with the table and get the answer.

In addition, the FCD group includes only those children whose colds occur without connection with existing chronic diseases.

Why do children often get sick?

Due to weak immunity, children may experience frequent colds. At any year of life the doctor prescribes drug treatment which helps get rid of the disease.

But medications can negatively affect the immune system, especially antibiotics, which kill both harmful and beneficial bacteria in the body.

Immediately after recovery, the child is still weak, and colds may recur very soon.

Therefore, you should not immediately send your child to a children's group ( playground, nursery, kindergarten) or a place of large crowds of people (transport, shops).

After defeating the disease, strengthening the immune system should follow by saturating the body with vitamins. Otherwise, a vicious circle may result: “the child is weak because he just got sick - the child got sick because he is weak.”

You can get out of it only by strengthening the child’s body healthy food, physical exercise and hardening. But these activities should not be started during illness or immediately after it.

What are the dangers of frequent colds in a child?

In addition to the fact that a sick child has to endure medication, he also misses school. Then catching up is very difficult and unpleasant. In terms of health, frequent colds are very dangerous.

If a child often suffers from colds, complications may develop. They will also have to be treated, and this is an additional medication burden on the body.

Most often, the following complications may occur as a result of colds:

• laryngitis;
• bronchitis;
• sinusitis;
• tonsillitis;
• otitis;
• allergic reactions.

Each diagnosis is scary in its own way. So, if your child constantly catches a cold, hurry to strengthen his immunity to avoid complications.

What factors reduce immunity in children?

The task of parents is to strengthen the child’s immunity and increase his tension. But very often, due to irresponsible and ignorant parents, the child’s immune system is weakened.

The result is frequent illness. Each married couple who is planning a pregnancy or already has children should know what factors reduce the body's defenses:

• Intrauterine problems. A pregnant woman must clearly know and follow the regimen. She needs normal sleep, proper nutrition, and quitting smoking and drinking alcohol.
• Passive smoking. It has long been known that those who inhale smoke receive a greater dose of nicotine than those who smoke. Therefore, you should not smoke near a child, much less in a house where a 2-year-old child lives.
• Poor sleep. A child's body requires rest for 8 hours at night, and another 1-3 hours during the day (for children under 6-7 years old). During sleep, all systems rest and restore energy. A well-rested child will be much healthier than one who lacks sleep. Parents should monitor their children's bedtime.
• Stress, tense psychological environment at home or at school, kindergarten. A nervous, mentally “exhausted” child does not have proper protection from the external environment.
• Fast food, unbalanced diet. The body must receive all nutrients, minerals, trace elements, vitamins. And there is nothing healthy in fast food and snacks. In other words, immunity is built from bricks, half of which comes from food (natural plant and dairy products, cereals, berries and fruits).
• Sedentary lifestyle. Anyone who always sits at the computer or in front of the TV does not develop their muscles.
• Hyperprotection. The habit of wrapping children up too much, protecting them from any breeze and the slightest load is observed more often in female half population. Frequent colds in a child may occur due to this reason. You can’t behave like this with children, they should be at least a little hardened and ready for weather surprises in the form of unexpected rain, wind, snow and other things.
: many sections, duties, except for school ones. It happens that parents try to realize all their dreams and desires in their children and load them with additional activities, completely taking away their childhood. The result is constant nervous tension and lack of time to restore vitality. Often, against the will of the child himself, from an early age he is sent to study languages, wrestling, dancing and handicrafts at the same time. And then they wonder why the child often gets colds. And he simply has no time to rest and relax.
• Lack of personal hygiene. Dirty hands and all other parts of the body are a step towards illness.
• Vagrancy. Lack of permanent residence has a negative impact on health.
• Excess of flour, sweets, and semi-finished products in the child’s diet.
• Forced eating when there is no feeling of hunger. This is a common problem for children and adults. Man eats to live. Only when you feel hungry, you need to eat something. Snacking and forceful eating is an unhealthy attitude towards eating. If children from the age of 4 get used to eating without need, but only because it is necessary, by the age of 10-12 they will be obese.
• Fasting. Not eating at all is also harmful. Everything should be in moderation.
• Lack of fiber in the diet. Vegetables are rich in fiber. It is useful for the body, as it cleanses of decay products, toxins, and increases defenses.
• Insufficient intake of vitamins. It is best to saturate the body with natural vitamins contained in berries and fruits. In cold seasons, pharmacy vitamin complexes are used for this.

How to strengthen children's immunity

Strengthening the immune system is a system of measures aimed at healing the body and restoring its defenses.

How to strengthen a child's immunity? It's not too difficult. But the whole family may have to change their usual lifestyle a little. You can achieve what you want using the following actions:

• regular and nutritious meals,
• sufficient sleep duration,
• walking,
• feasible physical activity,
• vitaminization,
• hardening.

Remember that everything is good in moderation. You shouldn’t get too carried away with any of the above. Regularity and common sense- this is the path to health.

How to prevent disease

There is no point in constantly being afraid and worried, much less worrying your baby. It is important to find out the causes of frequent colds. Sometimes they lie not so much in a weakened immune system, but in the irresponsibility of parents and defects in upbringing.

It happens that a child leaves school during recess without a jacket; bites dirty nails; forgets to wash hands before eating; kisses homeless animals; pretending to be asleep, playing on the phone under the covers half the night.

To eliminate the possibility of getting sick, monitor your children and make sure they correctly understand safety precautions and basic hygiene rules.

Conduct unobtrusive educational conversations, select books of appropriate content, go to a lecture by a famous doctor.

Convince your son or daughter that everyone is responsible for their own health and can protect themselves from many problems by following simple rules.

How to prevent your child from getting frequent colds

You can find information on the Internet about how to treat colds. But you can’t do without a pediatrician, especially in difficult cases.

Self-medication can end in disaster, so you should not resort to it. To treat acute respiratory infections, the doctor usually prescribes symptomatic medications: antipyretics, antihistamines, expectorants, etc.

But to prevent colds in children, the following groups of drugs are used:

1. Herbal immunostimulants. They are the most forgiving. A course of taking echinacea, immunal or ginseng is recommended for 2 months. However, only a doctor should prescribe these medications to a child.
2. Vitamin complexes are a chance to avoid colds. The composition and duration of administration are usually agreed upon with the pediatrician. At home, parents prefer to prepare the so-called “vitamin bomb” for their children. To do this, mix chopped dried apricots, walnuts and raisins in equal proportions (1 cup each). The juice of one lemon and half a glass of honey are poured into the mixture. The resulting medicine is stored in the refrigerator and given to the child in the morning and evening every day, 1 teaspoon.
3. Interferon. It is effective only in the early stages of the disease. If the child begins to sneeze, this is the time to use interferon to stop the cold at the beginning of its development. But such drugs are not used as prophylaxis. On healthy child they won't have any effect.
4. Bacterial immunomodulators. This is a separate category. They contain very small doses of pathogens. And when the body copes with a negligible amount of bacteria, immunity is developed. Subsequently, he will be able to cope even with a large colony of harmful microorganisms of the same type. Only a pediatrician can calculate the amount of drug administered. It takes into account the weight, age, condition of the child, the strength of his immunity, and the frequency of previous diseases. Even a minimal deviation from the dose recommended by the doctor is fraught with serious consequences. Therefore, it is prohibited to take such a medicine without a doctor’s prescription. And “the same dose as last time” may be completely inappropriate in the next case of acute respiratory infections.

Conclusion

The health of children is in the hands of parents as long as the children are small. Then it’s difficult to follow their every move.

Therefore, it is so important to strengthen the immune system from childhood and instill the right habits by example.

But foreign doctors are of the opinion that for a child who actively attends children's institutions and groups (in other words, for those kids who go to kindergarten or school, and also walk on the playground, go to children's matinees and to the cinema, etc. .) getting viral infections 6 to 10 times a year is absolutely normal and even useful in a certain sense. After all, every time, coping with another infection, the child’s immunity becomes stronger and stronger. In fact, this is exactly the way it is formed.

So, it is quite possible that your worries called “my child is often sick”, from the point of view of Western doctors, have no basis at all for anxiety and panic.

The frequency of episodes of viral infections directly depends on how intensely you and your children come into contact with other people and other children. After all, every human body is a carrier of a gigantic amount of viruses and bacteria, which we constantly exchange during communication. Living in a metropolis, leading an active lifestyle and not getting sick often is almost impossible. It is important to simply change the very attitude towards this circumstance: getting sick often for children 1-10 years old is not scary, it is normal in the conditions of modern urban realities.

As the baby grows older, the child’s immunity will become stronger and the often sick child will turn into a rarely sick teenager.

It is important not how often a child gets sick, but how quickly he recovers

So, let us remind you: if a child gets sick often, this does not indicate any anomaly in his immune system, and there is no threat to his health. The child continues to remain completely normal even after the doctors wrote “ChBD” on his medical record.

The main thing in this whole situation is not how often the child gets sick, but at what cost the baby gets better. If every viral infection (ARVI) in a child proceeds within the acceptable limits, without complications, and goes away without leaving a trace within about 7-8 days, then parents simply have no reason to worry. Even if the baby picks up such viral infections once a month.

What does it mean to “get sick within the limits of what is permissible”? Normally, any standard acute respiratory viral infection in a child should go away on its own when certain conditions are created approximately 6-7 days after infection. Certain conditions mean:

• During ARVI, the child should receive plenty of fluids;
• a child with a viral infection should eat only if he/she asks for it(if the child has no appetite, it is absolutely forbidden to feed him!);
• a child with ARVI should be in a room with an air temperature of no more than 19 ° C(in this case, the baby must, of course, be dressed warmly) and a humidity of about 55-65%;

If these simple conditions are met, then, as a rule, the baby does not need any drug treatment(except for the use of antipyretics in cases where body temperature exceeds 38 ° C).

After 5 days from the moment of infection, the child’s body will independently produce such a quantity of interferons (cell protectors) that they themselves will defeat the disease, regardless of whether you give the child additional ones or not. That is why many pediatricians insist that during an acute respiratory viral infection without complications, one should not rush into drug therapy for a child, but it is quite possible to stick to drinking plenty of fluids and enjoying your favorite cartoons.

Individual symptoms, such as or even those who often suffer from ARVI, can also be treated quite effectively without medications - we have already written about this in detail.

If, under these conditions, your baby gets sick easily and recovers quickly, then no matter how often he suffers from viral infections, this should not cause a feeling of anxiety, much less a desire to “finally give him some more effective medicine.”

Can a frequently ill child eventually become a rarely ill teenager and adult?

And those children who get sick only 1-2 times a year, and those who manage to “catch” a dozen ARVIs in 6 months - both of them, as they grow up, equally develop stronger and more stable immunity. Accordingly, the older children become, the less often they get sick.

Frequently ill children (FIC) continue to get sick frequently in adulthood, usually only in those cases when they grow up (and endlessly “heal”) surrounded by hypochondriac relatives. And with adequate parents (who try not to “overfeed” the child with all kinds of syrups and tablets for “every sneeze”, do not soak his feet in boiling water every evening, etc.), children, even if they are often sick, always grow up to be rarely sick teenagers

A child does not necessarily indicate any pathology; urine is produced in larger quantities when consuming watermelon, melon, pears, juice and an increased drinking regimen.

In some cases, frequent urination may be a consequence pathological processes, which must be diagnosed in a timely manner.

The number of times a child urinates depends on age. Let's take a closer look at what is normal and what are signs of diseases of the urogenital tract in children.

How many times a day should a baby urinate normally?

• newborns in the first week of life – 4 – 5 times a day;
• child up to six months – 15 – 20 times;
• from 6 to 12 months – up to 15 times;
• from 1 to 3 years – 10 times;
• from 3 to 6 years – 6 – 8 times;
• from 9 years and older – 5 – 6 times.

According to statistics, 1/5 of children under 5 years of age urinate more often than normal.

Causes of frequent urination in children

If we do not consider the physiological increase in diuresis associated with increased fluid intake and hypothermia, then the diseases in which this symptom manifests itself are as follows:

• taking some medicines that increase diuresis (diuretics are often included in the treatment regimen by neurologists);
• (night urge to go to the toilet);
• inflammatory diseases of the urinary organs;
• neurological disorders;
• bacterial and viral infections with fever;
• dismetabolic nephropathy;
• developmental anomalies of the genitourinary system, accompanied by impaired urine outflow;
• foreign body in the urinary tract;
• vulvovaginitis (inflammation of the vulva and vagina) in a girl and (inflammation of the inner layer of the foreskin) in a boy.

Sometimes young children with an acute viral infection develop an inflammatory process in the genitals, which is associated with a general weakening of the body against the background of reduced immunity.

Signs and symptoms to look out for if your child urinates frequently

Attentive parents will notice signs of trouble in a child, which may include the following:

An older child will tell you about or in the lumbar region and pain when urinating.

Some children begin to avoid the potty, and the process of urination itself is accompanied by crying.

Anyway, If symptoms are detected, it is necessary to collect urine for analysis and consult a pediatrician for advice. Fever up to 38 -39 degrees C, chills, lethargy, apathy - a reason to call an ambulance.

What to do if your child urinates frequently without pain or with pain

Even if not pain, the temperature is normal, and general health does not suffer, it is necessary to undergo an examination, which includes the following:

• general urinalysis and;

If there are no pathological changes, you can observe the condition over time. Additionally, consultation with a neurologist may be required.

If a child frequently urinates at night, it is necessary to exclude neurological disorders associated with fear, anxiety, and spinal cord damage.

Frequent urination in small portions can be caused by an increase in adrenaline, the stress hormone. This is characteristic of a state of overexcitation. After normalization of the nervous status, the symptom goes away on its own.

Changes in a general urine test in a child: what they are and what they mean

If a child has bacteriuria, it is mandatory to undergo a urine test for flora and sensitivity to antibiotics.

Here it is important to identify the causes of uronephrolithiasis or pyelonephritis. Developmental anomalies of the upper urinary tract are often diagnosed, such as narrowing of the ureteropelvic segment, accessory vessels of the kidneys with the ureter bending through them, strictures (narrowings), accessory valves, and other pathologies.

According to indications, if there is a suspicion of anomalies in the development of the terminal parts of the ureter or structure Bladder may perform cystoscopy. Pediatric cystoscopes are specially adapted for young patients.

The appearance of casts, protein, red blood cells in the urine, with or without edema, or an increase in temperature implies the exclusion of the diagnosis . In this case, the child is hospitalized for examination and treatment in the nephrology department. A nephrologist can diagnose a wide variety of kidney diseases associated with genetic pathologies, in which changes in the child’s urine are also recorded.

Additionally, to exclude genitourinary tuberculosis , in case of recurrent urinary tract infections, examination by a phthisiourologist is justified.

Why does the child begin to urinate frequently during the day?

Outside of a confirmed infectious-inflammatory process, the cause of frequent urination in a child may be.

The urge to go to the toilet occurs every 15 to 20 minutes.

Doctors call this condition “pollakiuria,” or daytime urinary frequency syndrome in children.

Boys are more susceptible to this disorder.

Great importance is attached to the fact of psycho-emotional trauma or any previous events that changed the child’s usual way of life, for example, going to school.

This is due to the child’s character traits, which include anxiety, suspiciousness, and tearfulness.

Classes with a psychologist have a good effect, correct mode days, walks in the fresh air, sports.

Complications and consequences of frequent urination in children

Inflammatory processes in the urogenital tract, refusal of examination and treatment can lead to the development of chronic renal failure. It is important to remember that the earlier the diagnosis is made and treatment is carried out, including surgical correction, the greater the chances for a full life for a small patient.

Frequent urination in a child: treatment

The doctor selects the correct treatment regimen in each specific case individually, depending on the reasons and based on the examination. The child’s age and concomitant pathology are taken into account.

For inflammatory processes not associated with abnormalities in the development of the urinary tract, they are prescribed taking into account sensitivity to the pathogen.

Cephalosporin antibiotics and protected penicillins are most often used. Among uroseptics, pipemidic acid and nitroxoline (Palin, Pimidel, 5 - NOK) are prescribed in pediatric practice.

According to indications, surgical intervention is performed: open or endoscopic.

Indications for surgical treatment: all diseases of the urogenital tract that lead to impaired urine outflow:

• UPJ strictures;
• developmental anomalies;
• strictures;
• blocking, etc.

Children with a tendency to salt formation must be given clean water to drink, in addition to milk, soup and compotes. It is also necessary to examine the salt composition of urine, this is necessary for the correct preparation of a diet.

As aid Phytotherapy is used - treatment with decoctions of plants with anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties. It is better to buy herbal infusions at a pharmacy. The following plants (not bitter) that are useful for a urological or nephrological patient are suitable:

• Dill seeds;
• kidney tea

For a child over a year old you can buy a ready-made form, for example, Canephron, Phytolysin.

Fruit juice will be useful as an antimicrobial and diuretic, provided that the child does not have a tendency to diathesis.

In addition, with frequent urination against the background of an inflammatory process in the urinary tract, it is necessary to exclude dishes that increase the irritating properties of urine: spicy, sour, salty, smoked foods, rich broths.

If the cause of frequent urination in children is vulvovaginitis or balanoposthitis, start with local treatment. Use baths with a decoction of sage, or with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate.

Irrigation can be performed with liquid chlorhexidine or dioxidine.

In case of fungal infection in children, soda lotions are good for relieving the condition.. If the measure is not successful, the pediatrician will select a suitable antifungal agent.

Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus require treatment by an endocrinologist.

If the cause of frequent urination is due to neurological problems, a neurologist will work with the child. Additionally, drugs that improve blood supply to the brain, sedatives, and multivitamins are used.

Acute glomerulonephritis is treated in a hospital; the regimen is selected taking into account the form of the disease.

Victoria Mishina, urologist, medical columnist