By Dr Sarah Jarvis
Illustration by Andi Ipaktchi

Winter is upon us, and with it the season of miserable, apparently interminable, coughs and colds. Many experts consider six to eight colds, ’flu-like illnesses and ear infections a year in the first five years of life to be perfectly normal. In fact, you can probably expect even more (sometimes up to twelve or fifteen) if your child is in close contact with other children, such as older siblings or nursery playmates.

Unfortunately, there’s no way round the annual battle against the common cold because your child’s developing immune system needs to fight off these unwelcome invaders in order to help it build up resistance. Strange as it may seem, there’s good evidence that the more acute infections a child has, the less likely they are to suffer from chronic inflammatory diseases, like allergies and asthma, later in life.

Of course, that’s little consolation at 3am, when your little one is grizzling inconsolably and doing a good impersonation of a radiator. However, by taking simple measures, you can rest assured that you’re doing everything you can to help them fight off the infections quickly – and reduce the frequency with which they get new ones.

Breast is best for colds (as if you needed another reason)
Breastmilk is turbo-charged with disease-fighting antibodies and white blood cells. Colostrum, the thin yellow ‘pre-milk’ you produce in the first few days of breastfeeding, is especially rich in antibodies. Breastfeeding guards against ear infections, pneumonia, some colds and meningitis, as well as allergies, diarrhoea and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). For maximum effect, you should try to breastfeed exclusively for the first few months, and continue for the first year.

Exercise as a family
Research shows that exercise increases the number of natural disease-fighting cells.

Five a day keeps colds at bay!
All fruit and vegetables contain immunity-boosting phytonutrients such as vitamin C and carotenoids. These are believed to increase the body’s production of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibodies. A serving for toddlers is about two tablespoons. For older children, a 4oz portion of vegetables or berries, a piece of medium fruit (apple) or two pieces of smaller fruit (plums) count as one portion. Fortunately, unless they’re very fussy eaters, most children can get more than enough of the vitamins and phytonutrients they need from a balanced diet, without supplements.

Fatty fish makes healthy kids
Oily fish, like salmon or mackerel, is great for your child’s immune system as it is rich in omega 3s, which increase the activity of the white blood cells that eat up bacteria. Other sources of omega 3 come from fortified eggs, milk and bread, nuts and seeds. Unfortunately, plant sources of omega 3s are not processed as efficiently as fish sources so you need to eat a lot to get the 200mg a day your child needs. There is no substitute for fish oils, so if your child won’t eat oily fish, consider a cod liver oil supplement.

Consider echinacea
Echinacea comes in pill, liquid or herbal tea form. There’s no need to give it to your child regularly, but it may slightly speed their recovery.

Chuck out toothbrushes regularly!
Your child can’t catch exactly the same virus twice but viruses can hop between brushes with ease, infecting others in the family. They can also reinfect themselves with certain bacterial infections, like the ones that cause tonsillitis.

Sarah Jarvis' book Children's Health for Dummies, Published by John Wiley & Sons £14.99, is available now.