Building Up The Immune System...

[Skeptic Ginger]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Building Up The Immune System...

I wouldn't disagree with what you've said, skeptigirl, I may have been making my point too extremely.

But I think you missed that the daughter in question is a 22 years old working at a daycare (or maybe I'm getting it wrong).

Oops. Where's that pink faced smiley? I did read the post as a mom asking about a toddler.

So, to revise...hand washing, hand washing, hand washing, and don't drink out of drinking fountains.

And, take it upon yourself to teach the other staff members if they don't get it. What I usually find is adults don't take preventing transfer of germs seriously enough. Peer pressure makes it hard to be fanatical enough to prevent disease without being fanatical enough to be labeled obsessive compulsive.

Reducing stress is helpful but I wouldn't expect miracles.

As to catching everything and then numbers of infections will decrease, I can attest to that personally as well. I was sick 11 times in the first 12 months I worked as a pediatric nurse. And yes, I did count. I wasn't as knowledgeable then as I am now.

When my son was born and started bringing home all those day care infections, I caught about 60% of them. Even when you are well informed it's impossible to care for a toddler in your home and not be exposed to their viruses. Maybe that's true in a day care as well. It is darn hard.

Now that my son is older, I rarely catch any of his infections. He still gets sick every September when school starts up again. He washes his hands but inconsistently and not well when he does do it.

As far as the nutrition and immune building supplements, I have not seen any evidence supporting anything except preliminary results that zinc lozenges taken at the very beginning of a URI can abort the infection. Not all the research confirmed the results so the jury is still out.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

So far, on the other forum (where the lady posted about her 22-daughter), the most unusual suggestion has been "Cod Liver Oil". Is that popular for children again? I can't remember being subjected to it in my early years, but my husband sure does.

Very old wives tale for health benefits and not something I would recommend. I think the idea was to give the kids a laxative and clean out the system every once in a while.

If you or your kids need a source of omega three fatty acids, I think it can be used as a supplement but there are probably better choices.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

To provide evidence of what clarabelle said:


As a mom-volunteer in kids' preschools I have made sure my hands are washed... AND did supervising of the kids' hand washing. They do need guidence.

I have also helped by cleaning surfaces and toys (including washing fabric items in my washer).

Fortunately, most of the stuff came and went. The worst bug to go through was chicken pox... but there was not much to avoid that (it went through our house a year before the vaccine was available).

That is a key point if your children attend day care. You have to go there and get involved.

I got both the preschool and the two schools my son went to to provide bottled water and cups. All three had drinking fountains in the same sink the kids washed their hands in. Talk about a hazard. And the teachers and principals were totally oblivious there was any problem with that.

Then a day care somewhere else had an outbreak of E-coli directly related to a similar drinking fountain in the hand washing sink and the daycare's fountain was ordered removed by state regulations. Trouble was the regulations didn't cover the school fountains.

My son took bottled water to school. When he got to middle school they had a rule about no bottled water. I went straight to the principal and made a stink. I told him I'd get a doctor's order if needed and he wasn't going to stop me. I asked him if he knew if the fountains were in the hand washing sinks and he said he didn't know. Well they were.

Then, without ever admitting to me he recognized the problem I was addressing, bottled water and cups turned up on each end of the hallway.

BTW, I wouldn't drink out of any fountain that didn't have continually running water which they don't normally have because it wastes resources. If you don't believe they are a hazard, try culturing your nearest fountain.

 

[Rolfe]

I think these claims are all rubbish, because I don't know how they are quantified. That said, in my little world, some brands of dog food (Iams) have started making claims about boosting immunity in older dogs with percentages attached. I've never bothered to challenge the company. Maybe Rolfe knows more.

These adverts were quite short-lived, and at the time I recall thinking they were a breach of the advertising rules.

I asked about this on an email forum, and was given a link to the ruling by the ASA which basically told them to cease and desist. Their justification for their claims gave a whole new meaning to the word "tenuous".

Rolfe.