Children of school age are said to suffer from 3 to 6 colds per year on average, some lasting up to two weeks, according to the CS Mott Children’s Hospital at the University of Michigan (US). During the winter, parents can therefore be led to think that their child is almost always sick, and especially to develop tricks to prevent their offspring from catching the virus. The GfK Market Research and Audit Institute on behalf of the American Hospital thus interviewed 1,119 parents of children aged 5 to 12 to learn about their prevention strategies.
“Folk strategies”
And it turns out that the recipes used are more or less random. 70% of respondents said they try to prevent their child from catching a cold by following “Folk strategies”that is, not based on scientific data. For example, 52% of parents indicated that they asked their child to do not go out with wet hair. 48% encouraged him to pass more time indoors. However, there is nothing to indicate that these approaches have any real effectiveness in preventing the disease.
In addition, half (51%) of respondents gave their child self-service products supposed to prevent cold snap, such as vitamin C, zinc, echinacea or products touting their ability to boost the immune system. Likewise, the expected effects have not been demonstrated for any of them.
Hygiene against the spread of the virus
In contrast, almost all parents reported encouraging their offspring at a good personal hygieneincluding washing hands regularly (99%), using hand sanitizer (70%), keeping hands away from mouth or nose (94%), or sharing utensils with other young people (94%). Some respondents also clean their child’s environment (84%) and toys (49%) more, and 87% remind them to limit contact with patients.
Because it is not the cold, but the germs that cause the disease. CS Mott Children’s Hospital therefore invites parents to “Focus their prevention efforts on reducing the spread of cold viruses, paying particular attention to hand washing and avoiding direct contact with those affected”.
Finally, 23% of parents said they encouraged their child to spend more time outdoors. And they are right. Except in extreme cold, fresh air is essential for good health. Containment below also promotes the circulation of viruses.
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