Source: perfectlifesuccess.wordpress.com
Schools are places of learning. Aside from knowledge, children learn how to develop friendships, affinity, tolerance, cooperation and life skills. Children are exposed to other childrens’ antics and behaviours, and learn how to adapt to an environment that may seem awkward and scary at first.
The same goes for the immune system of children who are going to school for the first time. Their immune systems are exposed to and tested against all kinds of bacteria. It is because of this that more often than not, children come home with 1001 ‘ailments’. From to the common cough and cold to diarrhea, fleas and more.
Does this mean we should just lock up our kids at home and lobby for the government to abolish public schools and implement home schooling? Maybe not…
Just like the minds and emotions of children that require conditioning and cultivation to face the challenges of life, the immune system also receives the same benefit from these “challenges”. By exposing the immune system to these germs, we inadvertedly improve the body’s defense system over time.
However, like many other things in our lives, we cannot be excessive. Just like the child falling ill with fever, it is not our intention for children to repeatedly become ill while attending school. To ensure the health of our children, parents can take the following steps to enable their children to function at an optimum level, so they can learn and play well (yes, playing is important too!)
The following steps can be categorised into 2 main points that are:
- Conserving the body’s health and immune system
- Prevention of illnesses
Conserving the body’s health and immune system
- For infants or those planning to have a child, this is good motivation to practice exclusive breast feeding
- Studies show that children who receive their mother’s milk tend to have very strong immune systems.
- Ensure children get enough sleep
- Provide nutritional food to children with enough fibre
- Low iron content in the blood (anaemia) caused by non-optimal diets can affect the agility of the minds of children and make them prone to infections.
- Staying well hydrated
- Don’t forget to prepare children with drinking water at school
- Exercise
- Strengthens the muscles and bones as well as preventing obesity
- Practicing good hygiene
Prevention of illnesses
- Ensure that immunisation is complete appropriate to the child’s age
- Risk of infection such as chickenpox, pneumococcal infections and TB can be reduced with immunisation.
- Don’t send children who are ill to school
- This can affect your child’s health and the health of other children if it is infectious. Consult a doctor if you are not sure.
- Practice hand washing
- Teach your children to wash their hands correctly as it is very effective in reducing infectious diseases such as colds, coughs and diarrhea.
- Coughing and sneezing etiquette
- Children should be taught the etiquette of coughing and sneezing politely & safely.
Apart from taking care of our own health, a clean environment is also important. Ensure that the school compound is clean and look out for sites that enable the Aedes mosquito to breed, so as to not cause a dengue outbreak. As we all know, dengue fever is still a big problem in our country.
Furthermore, good toilet etiquette is key. Apart from the ‘cosmetic’ benefits for the school, a clean toilet makes it easier for children to use them comfortably. This prevents health problems such as constipation and urinary tract infections, as holding in defecation can cause constipation that can lead to urinary tract infections. Also, “accidents” in class and bedwetting can be reduced.
These simple steps are very important in ensuring a healthy and comfortable environment for our children throughout their schooling years.
Dr. Alya Hamzah is a paediatrician based in Selangor and is currently preparing herself for a paediatric postgraduate exam. She believes the journey to good health should be followed by patients and doctors together. Find out more about her on The Team page. This article is translated from the original piece at https://www.mmgazette.com/sistem-imun-perlu-disekolahkan-juga-dr-alya-hamzah/ by Nur Nadhirah.
[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]