Cold and flu season is upon us. Listen up, parents! Read up, kiddos! Dr. Hillary Dinning dives into a subject that comes up frequently this time of the year in our clinic:
I wanted to share a general theme I’m having these days in my kiddo patient visits. It’s this format 1. Assess general health practises 2. Give these supplements/tips for acute sicknesses 3. Give these supplements/tips for prevention or to lengthen the time in between illnesses.
What we want to remember is that, although it can be anxiety provoking (or just a general pain in the rear end!) when our littles are sick – reorganizing schedules, worry over them, etc – we want to remember that that’s how their little thriving systems learn the bugs such that the next time they encounter that same butt touch of a virus, their body will remember it and either a) get a more mild version or b) god help us, not get sick!! Run-on sentence? Yes please. More please.
In order for our littles to survive and thrive this ‘kleenex’ season (I mean ‘tissue’ season if we are in Canada!) general body systems I assess are digestion, including diet, adrenals, sleep, skin (an eye into digestion), and overall how well they are fighting the bugs so far (ie do they linger or do they come in contact with them and then fight them off something fierce!)
- Digestion: This is the basis of our immune system. When this is in order, we have the ability to fight off viruses even when they come in contact with us! Diet is a huge piece of this, so understanding what foods may be causing disruption or inflammation is great for reducing them. Even better, ADDING IN all the rainbow foods gives your cells a big hug. Each and every one of them
- Sleep: This is a given, right?? I’m constantly asking about this – are they restless, do they snore, do they mouth breathe, can they get to sleep, do they stay asleep – that’s because this is the number one healer! Good sleep is where all the healing juju comes from. The trouble is that when they’re sick, their sleep quality is poor…so how do you get through this vicious cycle? Another post…
- Skin: I put this in here as its a good ‘eye’ into digestion. When routes of elimination are not working properly then we can excrete through the skin. This may come in the form of random rashes – eczema, bumps, hives etc. So in some cases digestion sounds like its working ‘fine’ yet skin is telling us a different story. We then support digestion and potentially shift not only the skin picture yet strengthen the immune system
- Adrenals: You think this word only gets paired with adult health, and its not the case! Little ones that are off to daycare for the first time, transition into school, transition into a new routine, adjusting to life situations in general – all of that can have an effect on cortisol, which plays a yoyo role with the immune system. So, assessing where cortisol may be at in a child (clinically) can give insight into how well their immune system may work.
Secondly – if a child is acutely ill, we want to make sure that those underlying systems are working properly AND add in some super mighty hulk potions to make their little immune systems feel supported to fight off the bugs. This can be in the form of herbs, homeopathy for clearance of lymph nodes, and nutrient supplements to support depletion.
Lastly – if, from the child’s history or currently in the midst of repetitive illness, then sometimes we want to support the body in between the illnesses in order for it to feel less susceptible to the next little critter waiting to pounce in their nose. Generally speaking this can involve immune boosting support as well as adrenal support. When we can support cortisol, we then reduce the chance of a cortisol drop and an immune flare. Hellooooo health!
