10 Effective Home Remedies For Toddler Cold

Usually a common cold lasts for up to a week or so.

1. Steam Inhalation

An easy-to-make remedy for cold, preparing steam for inhalation is recommended. All you need are a kitchen pot, water and towel. Just put boiled  water in the pot and, cover your child’s head with a towel, over the pot. Gently ease your child into the position for steam inhalation. Doing this inhalation can relieve blocked nasal passages and soothe an irritated throat. If the pot is too risky, you can use a humidifier or sit with the child in the bathroom, with a hot shower running.

2. Soups

 You also need to make sure your toddler is hydrated during a condition of cold. An ideal way of doing this is to feed them soup. Chicken soup is an old remedy for colds and coughs. It is full of essential nutrients that can help speed up the process of recovery and it is also known to help relieve congestion. You can also give him or her tomato soup with a pinch of ground pepper. This will help clear a blocked nose, while also boosting the immune system. Rich homemade soups can be helpful in speeding up recovery.

3. Vitamin C

One of the key essentials in your child’s battle against the common cold is Vitamin C. This necessary nutrient can improve your child’s immune system, which can help quicken his or recovery from the cold. You can make sure your toddler gets Vitamin C in its whole form in various foods, like oranges, strawberries, carrots or grapefruit. While this is not a cure, it can be a great way of making sure your child’s body is properly equipped to deal with the infection.

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4. Herbal Tea

This is something your little one may not be willing to have. However, herbal teas are known to energize your child’s tired, aching, cold and flu-ridden body. You can make a simple green, mint or chamomile tea at home and give it once or twice a day. The hot tea can also calm and soothe a stressed respiratory system. Another helpful medicinal tea is made using lime, ginger and honey. This tea can soothe the nasal passages and help fight an infection

5. Salt Water or ready to use Normal Saline nasal sprays or nasal drops

 This remedy is proven to be highly effective in unblocking nasal passages. Your child’s stuffy nose can be quickly cleared up with this simple and easy-to-make solution. Just mix together ½ teaspoon of non-iodized, salt and 8 ounces of water. Then with your child’s head turned slightly back, gently squirt the solution into each nostril, using a squeeze bottle Repeat this process two or three times a day to provide your little one relief from a blocked or runny nose. Another remedy using salt is a gargle. Mix ¼ teaspoon of non-iodized salt in 8 ounces of warm water. Doing the gargle can help get rid of bacteria from the throat or mouth.

6. Ginger

Another tried and tested remedy for colds is ginger. For centuries, this humble root has been used to help with the symptoms of the common cold. The main reason is that ginger root is naturally warming and so it improves blood circulation in the body. Because of its anti-inflammatory qualities, it can help greatly with any swelling. It may be a difficult task to make your little one consume ginger, but it can be immensely helpful in speeding up recovery. Chewing on bits of the root is recommended. If this is impossibility with your child, then make a simple tea of grated ginger root, honey and water.

7. Garlic

The other friendly root in dealing with the common cold, garlic is another old remedy. As it has antibacterial and antiseptic properties, garlic can aid in boosting the immune system and preventing the condition from worsening. You can make a tea of cloves of garlic and give it to your toddler. Most children would shrink away from the smell and taste of garlic. So, instead, you can use garlic oil in preparing meals. –

8. Honey

An effective remedy against colds and coughs, honey is one more traditional way of giving relief to your little one. Getting your child to eat should be easy, because of its sweet and appealing taste. Honey has beneficial properties that can soothe the throat and provide relief from coughing. It is also known to relax and aid sleeping. So, before putting your child to bed, give him or her a teaspoon of honey or a tea with honey.

9. Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus oil is one more traditional remedy that can ease your child’s suffering. When you do steam inhalation, you can add a few drops of this essential oil to the hot water. Inhaling the vapors of the oil can help relieve blocked nasal passages. What’s more, it’s known to have antiseptic properties, so it can quicken the rate of your child’s recovery from the cold.

10. Vapor Rub

While there are commercially available vapor rubs, they usually have a petroleum base. If you want to avoid using petroleum, but still want to use vapor rub for your child, then you can make one right at home. Instead of petroleum jelly, you can dilute a few drops of peppermint or eucalyptus oil in vegetable oil. Rub this mixture on your child’s feet and chest. Dab a little under the nose, as well. The vapor rub can help ease breathing when your child is asleep. 

Common Colds: Protect Yourself and Others

Most people get colds in the winter and spring, but it is possible to get a cold at any time of the year. Symptoms usually include sore throat, runny nose, coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, headaches and body aches. Most people recover within about 7-10 days

Many different viruses can cause the common cold, but rhinoviruses are the most common.

How to Protect Yourself and Others

You can help reduce your risk of getting a cold:

·         Wash your hands often with soap and water
Scrub them for 20 seconds, and help young children do the same. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Viruses live on your hands, and regular handwashing can help protect you from getting sick.

·         Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
Viruses can enter your body this way and make you sick.

·         Stay away from people who are sick
Sick people can spread viruses that cause the common cold through close contact with others.

If you have a cold, you should follow these tips to prevent viruses from spreading to other people:

·         Stay at home while you are sick

·         Avoid close contact with others, such as hugging, kissing, or shaking hands

·         Move away from people before coughing or sneezing

·         Cough and sneeze into a tissue then throw it away, or cough and sneeze into your upper shirt sleeve, completely covering your mouth and nose

·         Wash your hands after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose

·         Disinfect frequently touched surfaces, and objects such as toys and doorknobs

There is no vaccine to protect you against the common cold.

How to Feel Better

There is no cure for a cold. To feel better, you should get lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids. Talk to your doctor before giving your child nonprescription cold medicines, since some medicines contain ingredients that are not recommended for children.

Antibiotics will not help you recover from a cold. They do not work against viruses, and they may make it harder for your body to fight future bacterial infections if you take them unnecessarily.

When to See a Doctor

You should call your doctor if you or your child has one or more of these conditions:

·         a temperature higher than 100.4° F

·         symptoms that last more than 10 days

·         symptoms that are severe or unusual

If your child is younger than 3 months old and has a fever, you should always call your doctor right away. Your doctor can determine if you or your child has a cold and can recommend therapy to help with symptoms.

What should you do if you don’t have soap and clean, running water?

·         Washing hands with soap and water is the best way to reduce the number of microbes on them in most situations. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Why? Many studies have found that sanitizers with an alcohol concentration between 60–95% are more effective at killing germs than those with a lower alcohol concentration or non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers 

 Non-alcohol-based hand sanitizers may

1) not work equally well for all classes of germs (for example, Gram-positive vs. Gram-negative bacteria, Cryptosporidium, norovirus);

2) cause germs to develop resistance to the sanitizing agent;

3) merely reduce the growth of germs rather than kill them outright, or

4) be more likely to irritate skin than alcohol-based hand sanitizers

·         Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of microbes on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs.

Why? Although alcohol-based hand sanitizers can inactivate many types of microbes very effectively when used correctly , people may not use a large enough volume of the sanitizers or may wipe it off before it has dried .

·         Hand sanitizers may not be as effective when hands are visibly dirty or greasy.

Why? Many studies show that hand sanitizers work well in clinical settings like hospitals, where hands come into contact with germs but generally are not heavily soiled or greasy .

 

However, hands may become very greasy or soiled in community settings, such as after people handle food, play sports, work in the garden, or go camping or fishing.

When hands are heavily soiled or greasy, hand sanitizers may not work well.

 Handwashing with soap and water is recommended in such circumstances.

How do you use hand sanitizers?

·         Apply the product to the palm of one hand (read the label to learn the correct amount).

·         Rub your hands together.

·         Rub the product over all surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry.

How to Wash Your Hand.

·         Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.

·         Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

·         Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.

·         Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.

·         Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Show Me the Science

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.

·          Why? Turning off the faucet after wetting hands saves water.

·         Using soap to wash hands is more effective than using water alone because the surfactants in soap lift soil and microbes from skin, and people tend to scrub hands more thoroughly when using soap, which further removes germs.

2.Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

·         Why? Lathering and scrubbing hands creates friction, which helps lift dirt, grease, and microbes from skin.  Microbes are present on all surfaces of the hand, often in particularly high concentration under the nails, so the entire hand should be scrubbed

3. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.

Why?  The optimal length of time for handwashing is also likely to depend on many factors, including the type and amount of soil on the hands and the setting of the person washing hands.  For example, surgeons are likely to come into contact with disease-causing germs and risk spreading serious infections to vulnerable patients, so they may need to wash hands longer than a woman before she prepares her own lunch at home.  Nonetheless, evidence suggests that washing hands for about 15-30 seconds removes more germs from hands than washing for shorter periods.

Accordingly, many countries and global organizations have adopted recommendations to wash hands for about 20 seconds (some recommend an additional 20-30 seconds for drying):

4.Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.

Why? Soap and friction help lift dirt, grease, and microbes—including disease-causing germs—from skin so they can then be rinsed off of hands. Rinsing the soap away also minimizes skin irritation ¹. Because hands could become recontaminated if rinsed in a basin of standing water that has been contaminated through previous use, clean running water should be used.  While some recommendations include using a paper towel to turn off the faucet after hands have been rinsed, this practice leads to increased use of water and paper towels, and there are no studies to show that it improves health.

5.Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Why? Germs can be transferred more easily to and from wet hands; therefore, hands should be dried after washing.  However, the best way to dry hands remains unclear because few studies about hand drying exist, and the results of these studies conflict. Additionally, most of these studies compare overall concentrations of microbes, not just disease-causing germs, on hands following different hand-drying methods. It has not been shown that removing microbes from hands is linked to better health ³. Nonetheless, studies suggest that using a clean towel or air drying hands are best

When to Wash Your Hands

·         Before, during, and after preparing food

·         Before eating food

·         Before and after caring for someone who is sick

·         Before and after treating a cut or wound

·         After using the toilet

·         After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet

·         After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing

·         After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste

·         After handling pet food or pet treats

·         After touching garbage

Handwashing-Clean Hands Saves Life

Handwashing is like a "do-it-yourself" vaccine—it involves five simple and effective steps (think Wet, Lather, Scrub, Rinse, Dry) you can take to reduce the spread of diarrheal and respiratory illness so you can stay healthy. Regular handwashing, particularly before and after certain activities, is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others.

I will try to explain Importance of hand washing in 3 different articles.

1. When to Wash Your Hands

2. How to Wash Your Hand

3.  What you should do when you don’t have running water.

Today we will discuss

why should we wash our hands.

·         Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.

·         How germs get onto hands and make people sick-Feces (poop) from people or animals is an important source of germs that cause diarrhea, and it can spread some respiratory infections .These kinds of germs can get onto hands after people use the toilet or change a diaper, but also in less obvious ways, like after handling raw meats that have invisible amounts of animal poop on them. A single gram of human feces—which is about the weight of a paper clip—can contain one trillion germs.

·         Germs can also get onto hands if people touch any object that has germs on it because someone coughed or sneezed on it or was touched by some other contaminated object. When these germs get onto hands and are not washed off, they can be passed from person to person and make people sick.

·         People frequently touch their eyes, nose, and mouth without even realizing it.  Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick.

·         Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick

·         Removing germs through handwashing therefore helps prevent diarrhea and respiratory infections and may even help prevent skin and eye infections. 

Teaching people about handwashing helps them and their communities stay healthy. Handwashing education in the community

·         Reduces the number of people who get sick with diarrhea by 31%

·         Reduces diarrheal illness in people with weakened immune systems by 58%

·         Reduces respiratory illnesses, like colds, in the general population by 21%