Well, winter bug season is well and truly upon us! We thought we would share our best tips for getting through the winter lurgies and building up those little immune systems.
Just a disclaimer - this is all based off our own Mum experiences, definitely not medical facts or formal research!
Saline nasal spray & aspirator
Trying to get a decent sleep with blocked noses is nearly impossible...but it's even worse for those of us who haven't quite mastered the skill of blowing your nose yet! This is where saline nasal spray (or drops for really little ones) and an aspirator (a.k.a the SNOT SUCKER) comes into play. For anyone with littlies these two items are essential in any cold fighting kit!
The Fess one featured here is at most chemists and comes as an all in one kit!
Comvita Children's Lemon & Honey Lollipops
These lollipops are fabulous when the boys have sore throats. Every kid loves a lollipop! The whole Comvita range is excellent and these little suckers contain the goodness of UMF Manuka Honey with Propolis - magic stuff! Click on the image to head straight to the Comvita website.
Elevate elevate elevate
One of Mel's good tips is to put pillows under their mattress at the head end of the bed to elevate your kids if they have a cough. For those still in a cot you just use books under the legs.
Vicks on the feet (and everywhere else)!
This one really does seem to help. You rub good old Vicks of their feet and then put socks on...don't ask me why but it does seem to help with the breathing through out the night.
Multi Vitamin or Vitamin C
As a mum I will try anything to keep sickness away...so having the kids take a multi vitamin of some kind on a daily basis is a no brainer. One that we are trying this year is the Kids Good Vita-C Immunity from The Good Vitamin Co. I warn you though - they are delicious and taste exactly like real lollies so be sure to hide the bottle if you want to avoid a vitamin taking stand off!! Click on the image to head straight to their website.
Gut health is super important when trying to keep immune systems up and beating bugs. There are loads of good options to choose from (here is a link to some online options probiotics). I find the capsules are the easiest to get into little ones. If they aren't up to swallowing tablets yet then you just open it up and hide it in some yoghurt, their bottle, or a smoothie. I tell my boys they are super powers so they always check I have put their "super powers" into their smoothies when I make them!
A decent Vapouriser!
I remember when we finally got our vapouriser - what a game changer that was! We went for the good old Vicks one...which works a charm but as it uses water can cause some condensation if you don't have enough ventilation. There are now some non-water ones on the market which are apparently just as good - although I can't vouch for them.
Olbas or Eucalyptus Oil
This stuff is a MUST HAVE in my books. Easy to take anywhere and less admin than the vapouriser. Put a few drops on a tissue and place it beside your child's bed or simply drop some onto their pillow case and they will breathe easy. Another goodie is to run a hot shower, drop a few drops into the bottom of the shower and steam the hell out of those boogers!
We are using this one at the moment - and for less than $10 its been really great! Click on the image to buy online.
So there you go - a few of our go to bug fighting tips! Share yours below in the comments - we would love to hear them!
Good luck out there!
Ange x