Ira Saxena has been facing a hard time, probably due to weak immune system. Read on to see how to strengthen your child's immune system in simple ways
Ira Saxena, a resident of Colchester, England, has become a subject of much curiosity. The 9-year-old girl reportedly sneezes a whopping 8,000 times a day!
Her ordeal began in June and she now goes through 10 involuntary episodes per minute. Her present condition has forced her to stay indoors, even barring her from attending her school.
“Three weeks ago, she just woke up sneezing and she has not stopped. It started slowly and has progressed to become more constant and violent. The doctors are saying it is possibly an incorrect signal being sent from her brain or a tic, but nobody can be sure," her mother, Priya Saxena told the DailyMail.
Doctors are baffled
Ira's mother, Priya Saxena, who took her to several doctors says that the doctors are amazed by her mysterious condition. In fact, they have so far ruled out common cold and allergies.
Oddly enough, the only respite for Ira is during her sleep. She does not go through this ordeal in her sleep, but starts as soon as she wakes up.
“The one blessing is she sleeps fine. It is the only time when she is not sneezing and she can sleep right through the night," said Saxena.
More than Ira, it is her mother who seems affected by the problem. She told the daily that doctors have already given Ira antihistamines, nasal spray and steroids on regular basis, but in vain.
Ira's is not the first case
In 2009, Lauren Johnson, 12, of Virginia, US, started to sneeze almost 1000 times a day. She was later diagnosed by an immunologist who said that her immune system had broken down because of a throat infection.
Last year, Katelyn Thornley of Texas, US, also started sneezing in a similar fashion and the doctors are still trying to figure out the actual problem. However, in both cases reaction to an infection and poor immune system cannot be ruled out.
So how do you strengthen your child's immune system?
Continue reading to see easy ways with which you can strengthen your child's immune system.
5 simple ways to strengthen your child's immune system
Regardless of whether or not your children catch a lot of infections, your job as a parent is to help them strengthen their immunity from the very beginning.
And you can do that with these 5 simple steps.
#1 Include more fruits and vegetables in their diet
This is the simplest way to include immunity-boosting phytonutrients as vitamin C and carotenoids. Just add carrots, green beans, strawberries and oranges, all of which are capable of producing more infection-fighting white blood cells.
Therefore, they also block our viruses.
#2 Encourage proper sleeping time
Boost your child's sleep time because the immune system fights cancer cells and other viruses during the sleep. So encourage your child to sleep for a minimum of 8-10 hours a day.
A newborn would require 18 hours of cribtime, while a toddler would need 12-14 hours and pre schoolers may need 10 hour sleep time.
#3 Develop a habit of exercise
Apart from eating healthy, the body also needs exercise to increase the number of natural killer cells. It also brings a child's body into a routine and you can inculcate the idea that movement of any kind is actually good for health.
You can try fun activities like biking or swimming or running, if you like.
#4 Breastfeeding your baby
Building immunity starts from the very beginning. And the best way is by breastfeeding. Colostrum or the yellowish first milk provides important immune protection to an infant when he is first exposed to the micro-organisms in the environment.
It also helps to prepare the lining of the infant’s gut to receive the nutrients in milk.
#5 Maintain hygiene
Another great way to boost immunity is by simply encouraging your kid to maintain basic hygiene. Make sure they wash their hand before eating and clean and bathe themselves properly.
Also, they can be careful when in contact with somebody who has an infection. So give them disposable wipes.
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