Why Kids Are the First to Fall Sick in the Rainy Season, And How Parents Can Protect Them

The monsoon season is more than just the lush greenery, the beautiful landscape and the fresh, cool, air. With a drop in temperature and the dampness, germs spread more easily and kids fall sick frequently during the monsoon season. There is an inevitable spike in monsoon illnesses in children. Parents commonly observe coughs, colds, stomach upsets and monsoon flu in kids during the rainy season. Understanding why kids fall sick, immunity, viral infections in monsoon and stomach infections in kids can help you take effective preventive measures to safeguard their monsoon health. Read ahead and acquaint yourself on these aspects and nutrition monsoon tips for kids.

Why Kids fall sick in Monsoon season

In the rainy season, the increased humidity, stagnant water and rapid shifts in temperature create a perfect thriving condition for many disease-causing microorganisms. Other factors like contaminated food, poor hand hygiene, exposure to crowded places and a developing immune system also contribute to the spread of various monsoon illnesses in children.¹

According to health experts, the rainy season is a period where constant exposure to stressors like poorly ventilated classrooms, damp clothing and unsafe drinking water makes kids fall sick more quickly. Children often explore their surroundings by touching different objects (from benches to bathroom taps) and then touch their face without washing. That’s how germs sneak into their system easily.²

Immunity in Kids Monsoon

The immune system, the body’s natural defense, is a unique network of different organs, cells and proteins that collectively work to protect your child’s body from outside invaders like bacteria, viruses and fungi.³ Various factors such as age, diet, sleep, physical activity, hygiene, environment and overall health influence a child’s immune system. Climate change- related exposures such as monsoon season can compromise epithelial barriers in the lungs, skin and gut, leading to microbial dysbiosis.⁴ This is referred to as an imbalance of beneficial and potentially harmful microbes in the body.

Microbial imbalance can alter the immune function, making the child more susceptible to illnesses like monsoon flu, common cold, viral fever, diarrhoea and food poisoning. Frequent illnesses can affect children’s appetite, energy levels and nutritional status, which are important for healthy growth and development. Developing strong immunity in kids monsoon thus becomes crucial for their well-being. 

Monsoon Illnesses in children

Viral infections in monsoon:

Amongst the various viral infections in monsoon, common cold and influenza (monsoon flu) commonly affect children.

• Common cold:

 Children suffer from common cold, an inflammatory process of the respiratory tract usually caused by rhinoviruses during the rainy season. Symptoms include runny or stuffy nose, coughing, sore throats, sneezing, low grade fever and mild headaches.⁵

• Influenza (Monsoon flu):

It is a very contagious viral infection that affects the air passages of the lung, impacting monsoon health in children. Influenza A and Influenza B viruses primarily cause the illness in children. Symptoms like high fever, body aches, cough, sore throat and fatigue are common. It can easily spread through sneezing or coughing, using shared eating utensils, or touching something that was touched by an infected person.⁶

2. Stomach infections in kids:⁷

• Viral gastroenteritis:

It is an infectious illness caused by norovirus and rotavirus that spreads through contaminated food and water. The monsoon weather helps the virus to spread more easily in areas with poor sanitation. Watery diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain or cramps, low grade fever, and mild dehydration are the common symptoms.

• Bacterial gastroenteritis:

It is a bacterial infection of the stomach and the intestines caused by bacteria like Escherichia coli (E.coli), Salmonella and Shigella, which grow rapidly in hot and damp environments. It usually develops from eating undercooked meat, poultry, unpasteurized milk or contaminated vegetables and water and ready-to-eat foods handled with poor hygiene. Severe pain in the abdomen, fever and chills, acute onset of watery or bloody diarrhoea, loss of appetite and dehydration are commonly observed symptoms of the condition.

Strengthening the immunity in kids monsoon along with following food safety and hygiene practices is essential in reducing occurrences of viral and stomach infections in kids for better monsoon health.

Nutrition Monsoon Tips For Kids

Here are a few nutrition monsoon tips for kids that can help them stay healthy and protect them from illnesses.

• Include whole grain cereals (rice, wheat, oats) and pulses (dals) in their diet. Nutrients like carbohydrates, fiber and proteins present in them help maintain a child’s energy levels and provide satiety.⁸
• Incorporate vegetables in warm liquids like soups, or preparations like stews, khichdi, homemade cutlets and as steamed in salads to add fiber, vitamins and minerals.
• Offer nuts and seeds such as almonds, walnuts, peanuts, cashews and pumpkin seeds.
• They are rich in nutrients like vitamin E, zinc and magnesium which strengthen the immune system.
• Serve fruits like oranges, berries, amla and guava, which are rich sources of immune supporting nutrients like Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps in stimulating the activity of infection fighting white blood cells.⁹
• Use spices known for their antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, like turmeric, ginger and garlic in cooking.¹⁰ For example, a cup of turmeric milk is soothing for colds.

Conclusion

Thus, in the quest to understand why kids fall sick easily in the rainy season, it is also important to look into the various aspects that influence their overall health. Apart from including foods that build a child’s immunity and following lifestyle interventions to stay healthy, there is still a need for a reliable complete plan. It is here that, as part of a complete nutrition plan, you can include nutritional drink for kids such as Complan alongside a child’s balanced diet. Complan contains 34 vital nutrients with milk protein, including vitamin C, E, A and zinc that support a child’s immune system, along with other nutrients that aid their healthy growth and development.

Complan is not just a nutritional drink, it is a delicious addition to a kid’s daily diet. It comes in 4 kid-friendly flavours – Royal Chocolate, Kesar Badam, Pista Badam, Creamy Classic.

Try the lip smacking flavours of Complan now. Order from quick delivery stores like Zepto, BlinkIt, Swiggy Instamart or even the Zydus India website, Amazon and Flipkart