How to increase immunity in a child if he is prematurely born?

Premature babies have an immature immune system, which makes them more vulnerable and sensitive to negative environmental factors in their early years. Any caring mother will ask the question: "How to increase the immunity of the child?". Words that most accurately describe the necessary care for such a baby - "more, better and better." More attention, better protection from possible infections and better nutrition - these are the measures that will help mitigate the negative consequences of premature birth. Famous world pediatricians give several tips to improve the immunity of a weakened baby and a child of the first years of life.

How to increase immunity in a child through nutrition?

• The menu of your child should contain enough fruits and vegetables. Of course, these products should be offered in an accessible form for their age, when it is very small, it should be juices and mashed potatoes, then in the diet add boiled vegetables, fresh fruits and various dishes with their inclusion.

Fruits and vegetables are natural sources of vitamin C and antioxidants that help strengthen the immune system. Antioxidants circulate along with blood and protect the tissues from damage. Their action can be compared with corrosion protection, which helps reduce engine wear. The less wear the body, the less it is prone to infections. Stimulant, papaya, melon, pink grapefruit and blueberries have good immunostimulating effect, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes are also from vegetables, and soy products are also extremely useful. In addition, the menu of the child must be vegetables and fruits of yellow color (pumpkin, carrots, apricots, mangoes) containing carotenoids - natural substances that stimulate the production of leukocytes, natural guardians of the body.

• Include foods with omega-3 fatty acids in your baby's food. In particular, they are rich in cold-water fish of the salmon family (chum, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, coho salmon, etc.). Even in an era when there were no antibiotics, moms to strengthen the immunity of children regaled them with liquid fish oil.

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered useful for maintaining the overall health of almost all organs of the body, and they also increase the activity of macrophages and leukocytes-killer cells that kill pathogens.

In order to deliver the necessary amount of fatty acids in the body, it is necessary to eat three times a week for a good portion of salmonids. If this is not available for you, it is enough to give the baby one capsule of fish oil a day. A little tip: open the capsule and inject the fat in the first or second dish before serving. If inaccessible fish oil can be replaced with two or three tablespoons of linseed oil a day.

How to increase the immunity of a child by limiting certain products?

• The child should receive as little sugar and other sweetening substances as possible. Glucose in its pure form is not necessary for a human being, and its use is considered a harmful food habit. Studies have shown that the average daily intake of sugar (150 grams) weakens the body's immune defenses by 40% of the possible.
• Do not overfeed your baby. The body should not receive extra calories, which are stored in fat. And so pleasant to many mothers and grandmothers, the "swelling" of the beloved is in fact an insecure form of obesity for the body. Excess fatty tissues have their own hormonal activity and act unbalanced for the whole organism as well as reduce the ability of white blood cells to produce antibodies. It has been proven that children with overweight are twice as likely to have infectious diseases as children with normal weight.

How to increase immunity in a child with other measures?

• Your baby has to move a lot. In addition, that movement is necessary for normal physical development, it has a beneficial effect on immunity.
• Reduce the impact of microbes. If your child attends a kindergarten, teach him to wash his hands thoroughly after the toilet, before eating, after the street and ask the caregivers to monitor it. Elementary hygiene skills significantly reduce the possibility of infection.
• The weakest place in a premature baby is the lungs. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the baby from being in smoke-filled premises and other possible contact with tobacco smoke. Any interaction of a non-smoker with tobacco smoke is a passive smoking and can not but affect negatively his health. In preterm infants, tobacco easily damages the immature airways and makes them susceptible to infection.
• Do not forget about vaccinations, routine and current. Babies are particularly sensitive to the respiratory syncytial virus that interferes with pulmonary function. Recently, in polyclinics during periods of seasonal exacerbations, it is possible to carry out preventive vaccination, which you need to ask the child's doctor in addition.

How to improve the immunity of the child folk remedies?

• Do not forget about the traditions of the people. During the off-season and in winter it is useful to drink herbal teas: linden, from the leaves of strawberries, raspberries, currants. Necessarily in the diet should be fresh nuts, honey. Well, the best folk remedy is a gradual, very sparing hardening, which must be started with air baths. On the technique of hardening, you can ask the child's doctor or in the literature.

Some parents are interested in whether they need drugs that increase immunity in children? We answer: better than the natural methods outlined above, nothing exists. Special drugs are needed for children with serious pathologies and can be recommended only by the attending physician.