Tis the Season for Allergies
Allergies can grind our daily lives to a halt. We wanted to bring you some very timely information because it’s still wintertime, which for many can bring with it illnesses and allergies. Winter comes with seasonal allergies because of drastic weather changes, daylight hours change, and in Texas the temperature can be like a Yoyo. The leaves and dust cause problems because it’s much drier than in the spring and summer.
We all get sick, but seasonal changes can ramp illness up, so it’s important to know what to do to stay well.
You may be tempted to head to the pharmacy or even the hospital at the first sign of illness. But knowing what to let take its course and what needs attention is an important distinction.
Kids get sick a lot because their immune systems are learning. If they never come in contact with germs, their immune system will be out of practice and weak. It’s important to let our bodies fight off things that are safe to handle naturally. The lack of illness isn’t the main goal. The goal is to build a strong body, including our immune system, so that it can fight off invaders.
This situation is composed of our neurology, physiology, and immunology. We must fight off illness to build the strength to overcome illness. It’s like training to fight, or to do anything really. We are not good at things immediately. We need time to train. So, our bodies also must train to fight off illness.
Congestion can turn into a cold, which should only last a few days and is a great opportunity for our bodies to train the immune system. However, if a cold lasts a week or more, and comes with trouble breathing, and a nasty tight cough, it’s not as simple. You could still fight it off naturally but paying attention to danger signs is much more important. Trouble breathing and high temperatures over 104 are some good danger signs they need additional help.
Build Your Immune System in Advance
To help your child kick the illness naturally, the first step is to avoid things that harm the immune system. Namely, drugs. Drugs can mask symptoms and prevent the body from naturally taking care of illness. Think about vomiting, runny nose, fever, sneezing, and coughing. Those are all ways our body handles illness. What do all of these symptoms have in common? They all expel something from our bodies. If you suppress it, then your body can’t get rid of what it’s trying to expel. And, hindering your body’s natural response can come with some nasty progressions like bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. Understanding how to responsibly deal with illness, without overcomplicating it with medications, is half the battle.
A Shift in Perspective
Parents typically think the first step when children get sick is to go to the pediatrician. But pediatricians treat problems in a much different way than a pediatric chiropractor. Chiropractors specialize in a holistic, or integrated, approach to wellness. Sometimes medical doctors are needed in a particular situation, and sometimes they aren’t. Much like you may be able to change your own oil in your car, but you’ll likely go to a mechanic if the engine won’t run smoothly. At that point, maintenance and prevention are too far gone and it requires a more drastic action.
Our bodies were designed to be strong, but not immortal, so illness will happen. What matters is how it’s handled. Just like training for anything, your body needs challenges to make it stronger.
The Big Picture
As kids grow, their nerves, muscles, and tissues stretch. Their neck, shoulders, and spine grow and stretch which can affect ears, nose, throat, lungs, and lymphatic system. Their growth spurts can also affect congestion, which is normally handled by the muscles from the neck to the thorax. When these muscles are disrupted and tight, they can’t effectively move and drain the congestion through the lymphatic and respiratory systems.
The problems can start as early as birth, exacerbated by the stress of delivery, teething, and rapid changes in their bodies. This, combined with the pressures of school, sports, and social life can take a lot of energy. Kids typically get less sleep than they need and drink much less water than they should. With less sleep, more stress, dehydration, and a constant barrage of input from their phones, computers, TV, etc. it’s no wonder they are more susceptible to getting sick.
Holidays – The Aftermath
During the fall and holiday season, beginning with Halloween, kids take in a bunch of sugary foods and drinks. Candy, cookies, pies, and cakes are all foods eaten in moderation until this time. But when January rolls around, many of us are dealing with a lowered immune system from our holiday diet, stress, and weather changes. The trend of illness in January, February, and March is well documented but we act surprised when colds and flu make their way through our families after Christmas.
Normally, these stressors are easy to deal with one at a time. But when they all happen at once, it’s a perfect storm for sickness. These combined can be hard to handle, particularly if your child was born by c-section, had birth intervention with suction and forceps, and has had a history of colic, reflux, or intestinal issues. If they’ve had developmental milestone delays, balance issues, low muscle tone, or if they have respiratory issues. Respiratory immunological illnesses happen more in children with movement challenges. A pediatric chiropractor can help your child’s body function more as it should, helping the flow of processes that are designed to handle many of life’s stressors.
Steps to Keep Your Children Naturally Healthier
Chill Out – Parents tend to push their kids hard in some areas like sports. But overloaded schedules lead to overdoing it and can negatively affect our immune systems. If a child isn’t feeling well, let them get some rest and incorporate some moderate exercise, like taking a walk, to help things like congestion move and clear out. Movement is good but a crazy overloaded schedule isn’t good for the mind or body.
Get Adjusted – Chiropractic adjustments are an important because a subluxation can create congestion and inflammation. Fixing subluxation can help reduce stress symptoms and open constricted areas that cause blockages in the body’s normal function.
Get Boosted – Things like vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, fruits, vegetables, sleep, and plenty of water can help boost our immune systems. Essential oils in a diffuser can help keep airways clear.
Go Easy on the Sweets – Nobody is asking you to do without all the wonderful foods over the holidays. But some moderation is in order. Limiting the amount of unhealthy fats and sugar can prevent the overload many people experience during the holidays that damages our immune systems.
Go Medical Only When Needed – Some prescription medications can have amazing results knocking out sicknesses. Without them, some people would die or have lifelong issues. But overusing these modern miracles can have an adverse result.
As an analogy, think about a machine that does sit-ups for you. How long would it take before you couldn’t do a sit-up on your own? Prescription and over the counter medications can either mask symptoms, stop beneficial but uncomfortable symptoms or do the work for our bodies. If drugs do the work, our bodies don’t have to. It doesn’t sound so bad, does it? But, if we don’t do the work, we lose the ability to do the fighting and need the drugs to do it for us. That’s not a good situation and one that gets worse over time.
Research has shown that kids have more immune system challenges after taking antibiotics. Things like allergies and respiratory illnesses are more likely to cause trouble when our immune systems are compromised.
So, the choice is to allow the child to fight off their illnesses, bolstering their immune system, or opt to let drugs do the fighting and weaken the immune system. We feel that the short-term victory from drugs can create long-term side effects. We aren’t saying never take your child to a medical doctor, but we caution against using antibiotics and drugs too often. There are absolutely times that medical intervention is necessary. Medicines can help turn around an illness going the wrong way. We just feel that it should be used as a last resort.
As a prenatal and pediatric chiropractic clinic, we welcome the opportunity to help you with a care and wellness plan that’s right for you and your child. We support our patients’ rights to choose the proper care for their families and look forward to proving what chiropractic care can do. Our process includes examination, treatment, and education so that you can feel more confident in your decisions. Let us help you and your family live healthier lives.