Description

Kids catch six to ten colds a year, that means they miss school and more than likely you miss work. Pediatrician and mom, Natalie Stern, joined us to show how to help them healthy.

Transcript

Female Speaker: How many times have you been sick over the last few months? Now what about your children? Kids catch six to ten colds a year and that means they miss school and more than likely you are missing work too. Pediatrician and mom Natalle Stern joined us earlier to show us why children catch so many coughs, colds and flu and more importantly how to keep them healthy. Female Speaker: Welcome back Dr. Stern good to have you here again. Talk to us about the cold and flu germs and why is that the kids are always the ones that seem to come home sick first? Dr. Natalle Stern: Well, because they have this silly habit to sneeze into each other face and you know touching everything, biting in the same toys and not washing their hands. Female Speaker: Everything is okay with them, right? Dr. Natalle Stern: So if really you could get them into a habit of washing their hand especially during the flu season that would be great. The CDC usually recommend 15 second of scrubbing, which is about the length of two happy birthday song if you can bear that, you know, twice for the holding. Female Speaker: Right, if you can go through it. We've just talked on this a little earlier about how kids will love to touch everything. They pick everything up and they get sick. But is there anything that you can do knowing that they're going to pick so many objects that to keep them healthy? Dr. Natalle Stern: Yes. What you can try to do is wipe, you know, at home wipe the common surfaces where everybody put their hands. Female Speaker: Okay. Dr. Natalle Stern: Like door knobs and rail, sink for set and also you can try to wipe carefully the electronics like the TV remote or the computer mouse. Female Speaker: They love touching those things. Dr. Natalle Stern: They love toughing that. What you can do too is, you'll change the tooth brush often, so you don't get the super-infection by the bacteria, the re-infection and then the good news is that those viruses are killed pretty easily by water and soap and also by the alcohol or non-alcohol sanitizer and by bleach. Female Speaker: Well the parents, let's say you are at work. Your are not able to be with your kid all day long while they are school touching every little thing too. What can you do to kind of keep your sanity intact and keep them healthy while they are at school? Dr. Natalle Stern: Tell them not to share, it's training they can't do. Just, you know, all year around you tell your kids to share but during winter don't share anything. So you can actually try to pack their little items, you know, like crayon, you know, sharpener, their own tissues so that, you know they don't have to share so much. Female Speaker: So it is okay this time around to not share. Dr. Natalle Stern: Not sharing, you know sharing germs is not polite. Female Speaker: Not good. Then you talk to us about staying hydrated, eating right, getting enough sleep, and getting enough exercise as obviously it's adults but this is something the kids need as well, right? Dr. Natalle Stern: Kid need that as well, and I think it's a good idea to reinforce that during the winter season so that may be if you look are lurky by spring they would get into that routine and eventually for the rest of their life. Female Speaker: So let's just say you do notice that your kid is getting some symptoms. They are not feeling so well, is there anything you can do, can nip it in the bud when you notice those symptoms right off the bat? Dr. Natalle Stern: Well, first what you have to see is that, daycare and school are really breading grounds for viruses. So no matter what you do chances are they are going to get contaminated. You know they share everything, their immune system is building up so they are not as strong as adult and the average kids get nine to ten cold a year. So it's going to be very difficult to prevent it. Female Speaker: A lot of people are running out in the middle of the night to go get a cough syrup and just trying to get other remedies. Dr. Natalle Stern: Exactly. So that's why you want to have everything ready at home. And one of the medication I like to have at home is the Chestal cough syrup, it's a homeopathic syrup, which is, you know very useful in like the benign cough associated with cold. So that's something you can definitely get handy and it's a very sweet honey taste, so kids love it and you know it's good for the throat. It's homeopathic medication so safe, non-toxic, no secondary effect and it's safe especially above two years of age and obviously you have to use it when you know what you are doing. So I'm talking about the benign cough. You shouldn't definitely medicate your child yourself you know sure of what you are doing. Female Speaker: Lots of good information. Good to have you back again. Thank you so much Dr. Stern. Dr. Natalle Stern: Thank you. Female Speaker: All right, if you want to pick up the Children's Chestal, it's available at CVS, Walgreens Vitamin Shop and Whole Foods markets. But before you head out make sure you get a coupon it will save you a lot of money at childrenchestal.com.