NewsLocal News

Actions

Staying healthy when your child is sick

Posted at 6:14 PM, Dec 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-12-05 20:02:13-05

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — There's no telling -- after a long day at school - what kids are going to bring home with them.

"Whenever i was training to become a doctor, we knew when you rotated in pediatrics and took care of children, you were probably going to get sick," says Dr. Carlos Elizondo, a local family practitioner.

That's because kids' immune systems are still developing.

And when children get sick, they might be experiencing a virus they've never had before. It could take them even longer to get over their illness.

Meanwhile, those same symptoms in adults can be more difficult to recover from.

"When my little one gets sick, it's usually me or my husband who end up getting sick and it's usually so much worse," said Rachael Lundquist, a nurse and mother of two children.

One of the biggest reasons adults are susceptible to catching a virus is stress.

"Any kind of stress will predispose somebody to get an infection. whether the stress is at work, at school, just being a parent," Elizondo said.

The best ways to fight your child's cold from spreading, is to avoid bringing them in the kitchen, wash all dishes and utensils immediately, switch out old toothbrushes, and most importantly sanitize.

"We try very hard as much as we can avoid touching things that he's touched," said Antonio Martinez, the grandfather of Gabrielle. "Making sure we wash his hands, we make sure we wash out hands quite a bit."