WINTER SAFETY: ADVICE FOR PARENTS TO PROTECT BABIES AND TODDLERS FROM EXTREME COLD

Winter is a great season for outdoor activities, such as sledding and skating. Cold weather, ice, and snow can be fun but also dangerous for children. The following tips will help parents and children enjoy winter activities safely.

IN GENERAL 

• Children shouldn’t play outside alone. Establish a buddy system with one or more friends and have them look out for one another. Children younger than 8 years of age should always be supervised outside. 
• Consider keeping them indoors whenever the temperature or the wind chill is reported to be -27°C (-16°F) or lower. At these temperatures, exposed skin will begin to freeze.
• Never send children outside unsupervised in extreme weather conditions such as snowstorms.
• Check often to see that your child is warm and dry. Younger children should take regular breaks and come inside for a warm drink.
• Help children choose play areas with a warm shelter nearby (e.g., near home or a friend’s home).
• Apply sunscreen to exposed skin, even when it’s cloudy.

CLOTHING

If your child’s feet and hands are warm, what they are wearing is usually good. If your child is dressed too warm, she could sweat and feel colder when she stops playing.

• Dress your child in layers of clothing that can be put on and taken off easily.
• Infants being pulled in a sled need extra bundling. Because they aren’t moving, they can’t generate body heat the way a playing child can.
• Wear a hat because a lot of body heat is lost through the head.
• Keep ears covered at all times to prevent frostbite.
• Wear mittens instead of gloves so that fingers can be bunched together for warmth.
• Wear warm, waterproof boots that are roomy enough for an extra pair of socks and to wiggle toes.
• In younger children, remove drawstrings from clothing that could catch on climbing or play equipment. Use Velcro or other snaps instead. Use a neck warmer instead of a scarf, and mitten clips instead of a string to prevent choking.
• Remove wet clothing and boots immediately after playing.

WINTER PLAY

Active games, making snow angels and building snowmen will help to keep your child warm. Teach your children a few important rules to go along with winter play.

• Stay away from snowplows and snow blowers.
• Choose play areas away from roads, fences and water.
• Take extra caution when crossing roads. It might be hard for drivers to see you playing if they have snowy or frosty windows. Icy roads can also make it difficult to stop.
• Snowballs should never be aimed at people or cars. They are especially dangerous when the snow is hard-packed or icy. Instead, throw snowballs at safe targets, like trees or telephone poles. 
• Building forts and tunnels can be fun, but this activity should always be supervised by an adult. Forts and tunnels can collapse and suffocate you.
• Don’t play on roadside snow banks. Snowplow drivers or other drivers may not see you.
• Don’t put metal objects in your mouth. Lips and tongues can freeze to the metal and cause an injury.
• Don’t eat snow, which can be dirty.

GENERAL WINTER HEALTH TIPS FOR ALL CHILDREN

We will get to some specific recommendations shortly, but when it comes to winter health, there are some tips that can help the winter go a bit easier for almost all parents and children. These include:

• Getting a yearly flu shot.
• Teaching good hand washing techniques.
• Minimizing or avoiding infections by not taking your newborn or younger infant out and around a lot of other people until he is older.
• Encouraging kids to avoid people who are obviously sick with a cold or the flu.
• Teaching your kids 'cough etiquette,' which the American Academy of Pediatrics describes as teaching children to turn their heads and cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue or the inside of their elbow if they don't have a tissue, instead of simply coughing or sneezing onto their hands, which will then spread their germs onto everything they touch.
• Taking a reusable water bottle to school, like a Sigg or CamelBak, instead of using the school water fountain, which may become contaminated with germs, especially during cold and flu season.

OTHER HEALTH TIPS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS HEALTHY THIS WINTER

• Keep in mind that while many parents use a cool mist humidifier during the winter to help kids with nosebleeds and dry skin, those higher humidity levels can also increase the levels of dust mites and mold in your home, which can trigger allergies in susceptible people.
• Dress kids appropriately for the cold weather, typically adding one extra layer to whatever an adult would wear to be comfortable. Kids should wear several layers of loose-fitting, light, tightly woven clothing under a heavy jacket to keep them warm, plus mittens or gloves, a hat, scarf, and waterproof boots, especially if they are going to play in the snow.
• Try to keep your kids physically active during the winter. Although it is often too cold for outdoor sports, unless you live in an area where you can play ice hockey or regularly go snowboarding, many kids stay active in the winter by taking up an indoor sport, such as basketball, indoor soccer, indoor flag football, or volleyball.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Unfortunately, washing your hands and getting a flu shot won't help you avoid other health problems that can be triggered by winter weather, such as:

• Asthma: Changes in the weather and cold weather often trigger asthma attacks, which makes it important to have refills of your asthma relief medicines (Albuterol, Proventil, Ventolin, Xopenex, etc.) ready for the winter and an asthma management plan in case your child starts coughing or having other symptoms of an asthma attack. If your child's asthma always gets worse during the winter, it might be a good time to start an asthma preventative medicine (Flovent, Qvar, Symbicort, Advair, etc.) too.
• Chronic coughing: Although many kids have a cough during cold and flu season when they get sick, if your child typically develops a chronic cough that lasts most of the winter, then ask your pediatrician if he might have asthma.
• Dry skin: a lack of humidity from cold, dry air outside and the warm, dry air inside often leads kids to have itchy, dry skin during the winter. This can especially be a problem on a child's hands, which is made worse by frequent hand washing, and around his mouth (perioral dermatitis). Using a mild soap or soap substitute when your child bathes and then quickly applying a moisturizer for eczema within a few minutes can help to avoid and treat dry skin. You may have to reapply the moisturizer several times during the day though.
• Eczema:  Kids with eczema often have red, itchy skin year round, but it can be worse in the winter. Talk to your pediatrician if your usual eczema regimen isn't working during the winter for advice on treating hard to control eczema, especially if using a topical steroid and moisturizers isn't working to control your child's symptoms.
• Nosebleeds: when caused by dry air, nosebleeds can be prevented by moisturizing your child's nose with saline or a nasal gel each day. Keep in mind that kids can also get nosebleeds when they have colds, sinus infections, or allergies.

WINTER HEALTH MYTHS

Winter health myths are common and although some are silly, some can actually be harmful, such as these:

• You can get the flu from a flu shot. The flu shot is made from a killed virus, so can't cause the flu. Even the nasal spray flu vaccine, although it is made from a live, attenuated virus, and shouldn't be used for people with a weak immune system, doesn't cause the flu.
• Extra vitamins and minerals can keep your kids from getting sick in the winter. Although some parents load their kids up with extra orange juice and vitamin C and other vitamins that claim to boost their immunity, they likely won't keep your kids from catching colds and the flu during the winter.
• Kids can catch a cold from playing out in the cold weather, especially if they don't wear a jacket or their hair gets wet. Colds and the flu are caused by viruses, not by being outside in the cold. Of course, if your child is playing outside with someone who is sick with a cold, they may very well get sick too. Being underdressed in cold weather still isn't a good idea, though.
• You can't get a sunburn during the winter. Although the sun's rays might not be as strong in the winter as they are in the summer, they can still cause sunburn, especially when they reflect off snow, so be sure to use sunscreen year-round.
• Kids can play outside as long as they want when it's cold. Kids are at risk for frostbite and hypothermia, so have them come inside to warm up at regular intervals, especially if they start to feel cold or tired.
• Your kids can stop their allergy medicines during the winter. Not all kids have seasonal allergies that are only triggered during the spring or fall. Some kids have year-round allergies, even during the winter. These children, who may be allergic to dust mites, mold, or pet dander, would likely do well to continue taking their allergy medicines during the winter.
• Kids need an antibiotic every time they have a runny nose, especially once the discharge is green or yellow. This is perhaps one of the more dangerous winter health myths, as it can lead to the overuse of antibiotics, which aren't needed for most runny noses, as they are often caused by colds and other viruses.

DR NITIN GUPTA

BEST PEDIATRICIAN IN GAUR CITY, 

GREATER NOIDA WEST
http://drnitin.drsuchiguptagynaeclinic.com/