There are many things you may not know about the enemies of your child’s immunity foundation. For instance, few people know that:
- A sneeze can surpass 100mph.
- A sneeze can travel up to three feet.
- Sneezing is also known as “sternutation”.
- Sneezing is your nose’s way of expelling an irritant.
- Your eyes instinctively close when sneezing.
- There are over 200 viruses that cause the common cold.
- A flu virus can survive outside the body longer than a common cold virus.
- The common cold is the number one reason for absences from school or work.
- Flu viruses are different from common cold viruses.
- There are three types of viruses: A, B, and C. Type A is the most dangerous, as it is usually the cause of epidemics. Type B causes outbreaks, too, but its diseases are often milder than type B. Type C is perhaps the least harmful. Its symptoms are similar to a common cold’s.
- It only takes 30 seconds of use for a hanky to have 15,000 germs.
- Flu viruses are constantly changing.
- When you cough, you send air through your windpipe almost as fast as 1000 km/h.
- A dry cough is common for flu victims. A productive cough (or coughing with phlegm) may signal other infections such as bronchitis.
- The flu virus will reproduce inside a cell. Six hours later, this cell would have produced about 1,000 new viruses.
- Swine flu was first identified in the 1930s.
- The Spanish influenza, which killed about 21 million people worldwide, was identified in 1918.
- You may catch flu if you’re within an infected person’s breathing zone, or about three to six feet, for a sustained period.
- Children are more likely to catch the flu than adults.
- An infected person may spread the flu virus even if he doesn’t show any symptom.
- Young children, the elderly, people with underlying conditions (like heart disease or asthma) and people with weak immune systems are most at risk of catching flu.
But more important than knowing all of these fast facts is knowing how to prevent your child from suffering from colds, coughs and flu. Make sure he eats a balanced diet, gets enough rest, exercises daily, and drinks immunity-boosting vitamin supplements every day.