The approach to the question of walking with the disease has always been controversial.
The desire of parents to protect their child from the negative effects of cold weather or wind is understandable, but sometimes even simple ventilation is perceived as a threat to health, and this is already superfluous.
Is it so or is it possible to walk with a child even at a temperature?
What will be better for recovery: make the child lie at home or continue to lead a normal life?
Causes of fever. What diseases can I walk with my child at?
Body temperature is a normal reaction of the body in many types of diseases, but the most common of them are colds caused by hypothermia, or SARS.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia causes the multiplication of microbes, which in some quantities live in each person and do not cause him any inconvenience until a certain time. As soon as conditions arise in which the child’s immunity does not have the experience to restrain the growth of microbes (frozen, a strong wind blew), they can easily cause a cold illness. It is not difficult to minimize the number of such diseases.
To do this, you need to start acquainting the child’s body with various environmental conditions as early as possible: cold, wind, rain, heat, air conditioning, drafts. To do this, you need to stop confusing the child, often walk, drink with liquids of different temperatures, carry out quenching water procedures, do not neglect the ventilation of the rooms.
If the child is still ill, it is necessary to adequately assess the situation and make a decision in each individual case. With a common cold, body temperature rarely rises above 38 °, so in principle, walks can not be ruled out, but you need to reconsider clothes to leave the house. The child should be comfortable. The common cold is not a time for hardening, but it is also impossible to wrap a child at this time, so as not to provoke a rise in temperature even higher, now against the background of overheating. The best way is to organize short, but frequent walks. And after the temperature drops, begin to gradually temper the child.
ARVI
SARS is a contagious disease, but on the whole differs little from the common cold. Its symptoms are fever, runny nose, cough. In the period of exacerbation and high temperature in this case, the child needs to create comfortable conditions at home to restore strength, but as soon as he gets better, you can begin to go out into the fresh air, especially since walking is much more useful for respiratory diseases than staying in stuffy the premises.
During the period when the child is forced to stay at home, you need to maximize the situation in the rooms to a favorable recovery, moisten the air, carry out wet cleaning and often ventilate the room. In dry and warm air, the virus is able to live much longer than in cool air.
Other infectious diseases
In some infectious diseases, temporary bed rest is needed to recover. These include rubella, diphtheria, and some others. Many of them are treated in special infectious diseases departments of hospitals. Moreover, with measles, for example, bed rest applies not only to a period of high temperature, but also to the next 3 days after its decrease.
Naturally, with such diseases there can be no talk of any walk until the doctor in charge decides.
What body temperature can I walk with my child on the street?
Up to 37.5
Body temperature from 37 to 37.5 degrees is a borderline condition in which proper behavior can either help the child recover or become ill even more. If a slight temperature rises, the adult in charge of the child understands that there was some kind of malfunction in the baby's body. If it is associated with a cold, then the recommendations are always the same:
• set the temperature in the child’s room about 16-20 degrees;
• monitor air humidity of at least 40%;
• eliminate the possibility of overheating of the child (remove excess clothing);
• reduce motor activity of the child;
• monitor for sufficient fluid intake.
Further actions follow the conditions proposed by the weather and created at home, it is better to be where it is cooler.
37.5 to 38
At this body temperature, you can also compare the temperature in the street and in the room and choose the most favorable option, with the condition that it is better to create a normal atmosphere at home. The temperature in the range of 37.5-38 ° can be accompanied by weakness, pain and general malaise, so the child needs more rest.
Above 38
When the temperature rises above 38 degrees, walks are extremely undesirable. This is due to impaired heat transfer of the body and possible complications of the disease. Parents must create the necessary conditions for recovery at home and come to grips with the treatment of the child, including medical methods.
Weather conditions affecting the duration and necessity of walking with a child at a temperature
Walking at subzero temperatures
Considering the fever associated with colds or infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, you can hardly be afraid to walk with a child, because walking in fresh and even frosty air is extremely beneficial:
• the greater the temperature difference between the inhaled and exhaled air, the greater the likelihood that such a walk will lower the body temperature of the child;
• warming the nose with frosty air, the child moisturizes the mucous membrane and accelerates the process of discharge of sputum, respectively recovery.
Important! If the child begins to cough, or the amount of discharge from the nose increases, you can not sharply bring the child into a warm room. It is necessary to give him the opportunity to cough, otherwise this will lead to an aggravation of his condition.
Walking in the heat
In the summer, when the air temperature rises above 20 degrees, it is better to shift the walks in the early morning or late evening because of the danger of overheating. In the morning, especially until the dew has dried up, walking with a tempering child is not only possible, but even desirable. So he will get the opportunity to breathe fresh cool air, and a change of scenery will improve his mood and facilitate the further need to spend the whole day at home.
Weather walks
At temperature, strong gusts of wind, rain, hail, severe frost or heat are a contraindication for walking.
During rain, you can go out to breathe on the balcony, but only if the child is protected from getting wet. In other cases, you need to wait until the weather normalizes, and then resume exits to the street.
How to organize a walk for a child with a temperature?
When a parent makes a decision to bring a child with a temperature to fresh air, it is nevertheless necessary to remember some rules that will correct the usual regimen and will not aggravate the patient’s state of health.
1. Calm walks.
In any disease, the child’s body sends a huge amount of energy to fight infection or germs. At this time, the child becomes lethargic, eats poorly, that is, his body itself reduces energy consumption and focuses on recovery. The task of parents is not to interfere with this process, and to organize hanging out on the street that does not excite the child: riding in a stroller, a quiet walk hand in hand with mom in the park, examining birds and trees, reading a book, etc. It is important to find a fascinating activity for the child in order to protect him from activity unnecessary at this time, as the body will not only spend energy on running or jumping, but also provoke an increase in body temperature due to accelerated blood circulation.
2. Proper clothes.
While the body temperature is elevated, special attention should be paid to the child’s clothes. For this period, breathing fabrics should be preferred so as not to create a greenhouse effect. The child should be dressed for the weather, he should not be cold or hot from the first minutes of the walk. If the clothes are improperly selected and the child is sweating or frozen, it is better to immediately return and change his clothes.
3. Walk duration.
Time spent outside on sick days should be limited. Short walks during illness exclude the possibility of overwork, overheating or overcooling in the event of imperfect weather conditions. If the child’s mode and weather allow, it is better to go outside for a short time more often than once for several hours.
4. For infectious disease exclude communication with other children. This condition is necessary to prevent infection of other children and re-infection of your child.
Important! Walking with a child at a low temperature is possible and it is much more useful than locking him at home during the illness. But it is necessary to take walks more seriously, and after the onset of recovery, make efforts to form a strong immunity in the child.
