How to improve my child’s immune system? How to make sure my children are always healthy? How to prevent my children from diseases? There are so many similar questions that every parent would concern about.
This is a question from a mother:
I have a 3 years old son and a six-month-old daughter. What can I do to ensure that they are always protected from illness? Will a good diet and a healthy lifestyle help my young ones?
A good diet and a healthy lifestyle are important to keep us healthy. A healthy and well-balanced diet will boost their immune system to fight germs. For the young infants, giving them breastfeeding will give them the added benefit of passive antibody from mother’s milk as their own immune system is still developing.
It is every parent who wishes to protect their young one from illness. However, we are constantly exposed to various germs in our surroundings. Hence, maintaining good hand hygiene and cleanliness is of utmost importance. Washing hands and keeping the environment clean will reduce exposure to unwanted germs. We need to teach our children to wash their hands properly, especially before mealtime. Good handwashing is the most easiest and practical way of infection prevention.
Other than that, we also need to ensure that our children are vaccinated against several severe infectious diseases like Measles, Polio, Diphtheria, etc. In Malaysia, we have the National Immunization Programme to protect all our children against 12 childhood diseases. In the year 2020, the Ministry of Health Malaysia has added the pneumococcus vaccine in their schedule. Some optional vaccines like influenza vaccine, Rotavirus vaccine, Meningococcal are available at most private healthcare services.
Article by：
Dr. Anne Yeoh
Sri Kota Specialist Medical Centre
Paediatric Consultant
