And just like that, India has landed itself in the third wave of Covid -19. The 2022 version of this pandemic is claimed to be more infectious than the earlier two. While some are calling it milder than the deadly Delta variant, medical experts caution against it. Especially, in children, the number of cases are rising rapidly. Here’s a detailed discussion with Dr. Neelam Mohan, Director Paediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Medanta – The Medicity, Gurugram, about how to keep our children safe and happy through this wave.
Top tips from Dr. Mohan to save your family from this spike: –
- Maintain social distancing. This variant is extremely infectious.
- Don’t consider it to be milder than earlier versions. It may get severe in the coming months.
- Make sure the children are eating protein rich diet. A well-balanced diet can be most effective in developing children’s immunity.
- Do include Vit-D supplement in your kid’s routine.
- Plan a disciplined fitness routine for kids. An hour of rigorous physical exercise helps to keep both mind & body fit.
- Make sure the kids are socially active. Parents can plan online activities or read aloud sessions for kids. Children can even play outdoors, with certain group of friends, whose exposure levels are known.
- Minimise the screen and gadget time. Make them understand the benefit of digital detox.
- Do wear N95 masks only. Studies have shown that N95 masks can reduce chances of exposure to a great extent. The cloth mask might not be very effective against this variant.
- Encourage your staff and helpers to take vaccine. This virus is here to stay. Vaccination is the only way to develop enough antibodies to sail through this pandemic. Do consider booster dose, as when it gets rolled out.
- Be innovative in planning family time so as to maintain good mental health. Parents can read books to kids, or find interesting board games, to keep children engaged.
Stay Safe. Stay Home.
-Princy Jain
1 Comment
Cool .. informative !!