Tips To Stay Healthy During The Colder Months

​With colder months still lingering and cold coming around every corner, it can be frustrating and difficult to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy. Keeping everyone feeling their best is a challenge for everyone but there are a few tips that can assist you from overtaking your home. Below are a few examples to try in the next few months

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​1. ​Wash Your Hands- As I’m sure you’ve heard since you were a child, wash your hands! It doesn’t matter if your kids are at home with you during the day, at a daycare facility or traveling from one activity to another, germs can spread and spread quickly! Teaching your children the proper way to wash their hands is key. This can be done by bringing into the bathroom with you, singing a song such as the “A,B,C’s” or “The Itsy Bitzy Spider” to keep them occupied while washing their hands with plenty of soap and then showing them how to dry them off with a towel. Try to do this for 30 seconds every single hand washing moment. As they get older, put small signs around the sink as a gentle reminder for them to wash their hands and keep sickness away. 

​2. Hand Sanitizer - While hand washing is more important than hand sanitizer, sometimes you might not have access to it when you need it most. I always carry hand sanitizer with me in my purse or in my car. I make sure before my kids get out for soccer practice or playing in the gym with friends, everyone gets a small squirt of the sanitizer to use before and after we enter the activity.
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​​3. Keep Tissues With You- Similar to having hand sanitizer with me at all times, I always carry boxes of tissues both small enough to carry with me in a small bag or in bedrooms, bathrooms and on the go. There is nothing worse than having your child sneeze and you don’t have anything to use or wipe it up with. Believe me, this has happened several times for this busy parent and I’ve learned my lesson to make sure that these handy little things are a must especially during the colder months when runny noses are everywhere.
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4. Eat Healthy - Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘ an apple a day keeps the doctors away “? That saying is still true. Eating a healthy plate of fruit and vegetables daily to keep your immune system feeling it’s best is a great idea. Avoid high sugared foods such as heavily sugary cereals, snacks and fruit juices. One thing I try to do with my children is always have them try a food that I know they will eat, a food that they can try and a food that I think they will eat to expose them to all sorts of various food groups and items. 

Image: IMedX

5. Visit The Doctor - Of course we can’t avoid all cold and we certainly don’t want it to get worse. Sometimes the only thing we can do to get better is by visiting the doctor to get the proper medicine to help. One thing I found most helpful was learning about not only an important job that our doctor does of diagnosing what’s wrong with our sickness but also the job of a medical transcriptionist that helps to transcribe prior diagnoses and medical notes that our kids have had in the past. A friend of mine shared with me her love of transcribing from learning more about it from a local company called iMedX. She loved learning about how this medical professional company helps community hospitals, physicians, and more to implement client’s resources and process to deliver effective and efficient data about health information for their clients. They are also one of the leading providers of health information worldwide. Having these professionals help us in our time to get better and back to our normal self is so important. 
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6. TLC - When we don’t feel good, one of the things everyone cares for is having a little TLC. It can take time for our bodies to fight off an illness and while we feel awful, having a parent or guardian to be there for us, rub our back, tend to bring us hot soup and a warm bath is another way to not only show affection but to get better soon. 

​Getting sick is inevitable but taking the proper care of our bodies when we need it, eating healthy, exercising and doing our best to fight germs when we do get a bad bug is essential. Are there some tips you do for your kids or family members to help them get through this cold season?