Keeping a family healthy over the winter time an be tough.
There are coughs and colds everywhere. Winter stomach bugs and vomiting viruses are doing their rounds, and everyone you speak to seems to have a sniffly nose. When you’ve got young children, it’s even worse. They bring bugs home from school or nursery and infect the rest of the household.
In the summer, when we’re all outdoors, our windows are open and the air in our houses in circulating well, it’s easy to flush them out. In the winter, we’re living in close quarters, everyone is together, and the air is still. This gives germs and bacteria a chance to grow and spread, and it can feel a though you are just passing illness between each other, back and forth for months.
If you don’t want to spend the whole season either ill or looking after a poorly family member, you need to find ways to keep everyone healthy. Medical preventative care with checkups and advice from your doctor can be great, but there is also plenty that you can do at home to keep your family healthy.
Encourage Good Hygiene
Good personal hygiene is your best defense from all kinds of illnesses. Use a good antibacterial hand soap, and carry a gel when you are out. Encourage your children to wash their hands after they use the toilet, after they blow their nose, before they eat and regularly throughout the day. Help younger children to make sure that they are washing thoroughly.
Set a Good Example
If you want hand washing to become something that your children do without thinking about, you need to make sure that you are doing it yourself and setting a good example.
Regularly Wash Towels and Bedding
Damp towels left hanging in a damp bathroom are a breeding ground for bugs, as is your bedding. Wash these regularly, and especially when someone has been ill to prevent growth and spread of disease.
Keep Tissues on Hand
Kids don’t always look for things. You’ve probably heard yours cry because they can’t find something that’s right in front of them. They aren’t going to search for a tissue when they need to blow their nose. They’ll use a sleeve. Make sure there are tissues to hand and easy to reach when they need them, and they are much more likely to use them.
Get Plenty of Rest
When there’s illness going around one of the best things that you can do is rest, and encourage the rest of the family to do the same. Afternoons on the sofa with a good film and early nights will give your bodies a better chance to fight things off.
Eat Well
Eating healthily can boost your immune system massively. Make sure you are getting plenty of vitamin C from citrus fruits and green vegetables. Whole Grain carbs like brown rice and bread can also help. Then, make sure you are all drinking lots of water, and eating a range of fruits and vegetables to get all of the vitamins and minerals that you need.
Keep Warm
Wrapping up warm, and turning your heating up will help you to prevent illness, but it will also help you to feel better if you do get sick. Make sure your kids have got hats, scarves and gloves. And then spare sets for when they lose them.
