Recently, there has been a high incidence of respiratory diseases, and children may be co-infected with multiple viruses. For example, influenza virus combined with adenovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, etc., leads to cough, fever, runny nose and other symptoms.
Exercising regularly is conducive to improving children's physical fitness and preventing the occurrence of respiratory tract infections, and moderate exercise for children recovering from respiratory diseases can help their bodies recover.
Exercise prevents the occurrence of respiratory infections
Strengthening exercise can improve children's physical fitness, prevent the occurrence of respiratory tract infections, and promote children's physical and mental health. Children of all ages should meet the minimum daily physical activity requirement.
Infants and toddlers under the age of 3 should exercise in a variety of forms, including activities of different exercise intensity, so that the body is in an active state every day.
For preschool children aged 3~6 years, the total time of physical activity should be at least 180 minutes per day. Among them, at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity and above exercise time per day. Moderate-intensity exercise usually manifests as shortness of breath than usual, a faster heart rate, and slight sweating. Exercise methods include brisk walking, running and jumping games, skipping rope, kicking a ball, etc.
Children and adolescents aged 6~17 years old should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate and high-intensity physical activity every day, including at least 3 days of high-intensity physical activity per week. High-intensity physical activity usually manifests itself in significantly shorter breathing than usual, a large increase in heart rate, sweating, and the inability to speak after stopping exercise. Exercise can be done by running fast, playing ball, kicking a ball, or riding a bike quickly. At the same time, children at this age should also carry out resistance activities to strengthen muscle strength and bone health, avoid sitting for long periods of time, and exercise appropriately between schoolwork.
Children and adolescents are encouraged to exercise in climates with fresh air and plenty of natural light. During the epidemic of respiratory diseases, outdoor activities should be carried out in places with few people, and masks should not be worn during strenuous exercise. When the air quality is poor, in case of haze, high temperature, cold and other weather, outdoor activities should be suspended or reduced as appropriate, and indoor activities should be switched to indoor activities.
For children and adolescents who have been inactive for a long time, it is recommended to take a step-by-step approach to gradually increase the amount and intensity of exercise, that is, starting with a small amount of activity and low intensity, and gradually increasing the duration, frequency and intensity to finally reach the above recommended level.
Acute infection: Exercise less and rest more
Respiratory infections not only affect the respiratory system, but also have a negative impact on the overall health of children. Children and adolescents in the acute infection stage are not recommended to exercise and should rest as much as possible to ensure adequate sleep time.
Children and adolescents need to rest more during illness, parents should carefully choose food and design recipes to let children consume sufficient energy and nutrients to strengthen the body's resistance.
Parents should use light cooking methods, such as steaming, boiling, stewing, blanching, mixing, etc., and use less frying, roasting, pickling, etc. Parents can make easy-to-digest and nutritious foods such as vegetable lean porridge, egg and vegetable noodle soup, and vegetable and meat ravioli, which can not only improve children's appetite, but also ensure the supply of protein and energy. During the illness, children should eat lean meat with low fat content in moderation, and avoid fatty meat, pork belly and other meat with high fat content.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are arranged three times a day, and preschool children can have two additional meals. The interval between the two main meals is 4~5 hours, and the interval between the additional meals and the main meal is 1.5~2 hours, and the additional meals are arranged once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
During respiratory tract infections, adequate drinking can boost the body's metabolism, help cool down, and dilute phlegm.
2~5 years old is recommended to drink 600~800ml of water every day.
6~10 years old, drink 800~1000ml of water every day.
11~13 years old, drink 1100~1300ml of water every day.
14~17 years old drink 1200~1400ml of water per day.
Drink water in small amounts, many times, and slowly, and don't wait until you're thirsty to drink water. Choose plain water and avoid all kinds of sugary drinks. Do not take medication with beverages, juices, etc.
During the rehabilitation period, the exercise intensity is appropriately reduced
Adequate energy and balanced nutrition are essential for the immune system to function and maintain its combat effectiveness. When a child's condition is in remission, it is necessary to choose a variety of foods in their daily diet, and mix them reasonably. At this time, even if the child's appetite increases greatly, it is necessary to pay attention to controlling the amount of food and drink to prevent "food relapse", that is, improper eating without the body fully recovering, resulting in recurrence of the disease.
Compared with the normal state, the exercise time during the rehabilitation period should be shortened (5~10 minutes each time), the exercise intensity should be reduced, and the low-to-medium intensity exercise (such as walking) should be appropriate, and the recurrence of the disease caused by strenuous exercise and going out to play should be avoided.
Exercise should be carried out in a warm, humid environment. The suitable ambient temperature is 15°C~22°C, and the relative humidity is 40%~65%. Environmental pollution factors can aggravate the release of airway inflammatory factors and airway pathological changes, and exercise in a polluted environment may induce respiratory symptoms, so parents should avoid letting their children exercise in a polluted environment.
It should be noted that children should not dress too much, but not too little, so as to keep their hands warm and sweat-free in a quiet state. There is an old saying in traditional Chinese medicine that children should dress "warm back, warm belly, warm feet, and cold head". The weather is cold in winter, on the one hand, in order to avoid sweating and cold, on the other hand, it is necessary to accumulate the essence of the human body and wait for the growth of the next spring, so pay attention to "winter storage". Children can do a moderate amount of outdoor physical activity in sunny and sunny weather, and avoid staying outside for long periods of time in windy and snowy weather.