You asked

How can I avoid catching my child's cold?

Children pick up colds from time to time – especially when they are in day care, or when they have older siblings who are in school.

Like other viruses, such as flu, the cold virus is spread by contact with infected saliva or mucus. Both colds and flu result in an upper respiratory tract infection, although colds usually pass without a fever, or with only a low fever.

Because you need to have contact with saliva or mucus to catch a cold from your child, your first line of defence is to avoid that contact. That means washing your hands frequently when dealing with a sick child, and having them sneeze or blow their nose into a tissue.

Don’t share cups or other utensils with your sick child, and try to take a natural immune booster, like 500 to 1,000mg of vitamin c, zinc or Echinacea before you experience any cold symptoms. You can continue these treatments if you do catch your child’s cold, and you should have shorter and less severe symptoms.

More questions

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