Washing Hands to Catch the Baby – Necessity or Exaggeration?
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When a baby arrives at home, the whole house and its routine are radically transformed. It’s time to learn how to change habits in many ways, especially when it comes to hygiene. Small attitudes like washing your hands to get the baby , for example, need to be learned for several reasons.
Primarily because babies are very sensitive to bacteria due to their low immunity. These bacteria do us no harm, but they can cause major health problems for them. But to better understand the importance of small attitudes in everyday life, let’s explain how a baby’s immune system works and how it develops.
How Does a Baby’s Immune System Work?
If you have ever had a baby in your care, you know that they are very fragile and tend to get sick much more easily than we do. This is because their immune system works differently, precisely because it is still in formation.
The vast majority of child deaths (around 50%) recorded in the world are from babies under 4 weeks of age. This is because the smaller the baby, the lower the immunity and, consequently, the more fragile it is.
Fortunately, all this fragility does not mean that you should despair or that your baby may be about to die at any moment. It just means that all the indicated care must be done with attention so that, during its development, the baby’s immune system also gets stronger and stronger.
The breastfeeding is the main form and source of strengthening the immune system of a baby. That is why it is extremely important that every baby is breastfed at least until he or she is 6 months old.
Most Dangerous Bacteria for a Baby
First of all, it is important to note that bacteria that are common to us and do not reach us in almost any way can be great villains for babies. This is one of the main reasons why washing your hands to get the baby should be a routine and part of everyone’s life.
This is the best way to prevent him from contracting a disease and at the same time let his development take place without major problems. Another point that is also worth saying is that diseases are part of the life of all human beings , from the youngest to the oldest.
It is simply impossible to prevent your baby from becoming ill at some point in life. What is not common is that the baby is always sick, needing to go to the hospital with serious problems very often. It is at this time that parents should rethink how they are taking care of their child.
What Are the Most Common Diseases in Babies?
Some diseases that are very common in babies, can be avoided with attitudes like washing your hands to get the baby for example. Some of them are:
- Gripe
- Virosis
- Otitis
Let’s talk about each one in more detail so you can understand how they affect babies and what their consequences are.
Gripe
Perhaps the most common disease not only in babies, but all of us, the flu takes advantage of babies’ weak immune systems, especially in the first year of life . Controlling the child ‘s fever and breathing helps to make the illness go away, but it is important to be careful that the baby does not get the flu often.
Virosis
The famous viruses are a real headache for mothers. They cause vomiting, diarrhea, colic and malaise in babies. But despite having so many effects, this is not one of the most dangerous diseases , and its main consequence is dehydration . That is why it is important that the baby is always very well hydrated and that, if he already eats solid foods, he has a low-fat diet with easily digestible foods.
Otitis
The otitis is nothing more than an ear infection, very common in babies, especially in winter. When bacteria present in the nose and throat spread to the ear canals, otitis may appear. It can appear at various levels and cause a lot of pain in babies and treatment is usually done with antibiotics.
Low Baby Immunity: How to Cope?
It is very common for babies to get sick easily and this, as we mentioned earlier, is due to his immune system, which is still developing. So that the baby’s low immunity does not become a problem, there are some actions you can take, for example:
- Keep the baby up to date with the vaccines ;
- Prevent the baby from taking cold;
- Breastfeed;
- Take care of visits that may be sick.
Diseases will always appear in everyone, regardless of age. It is good for you to keep this in mind and not despair when your child becomes ill. However, by taking these simple steps, you can protect your baby and prevent your low immunity from becoming a problem for your health.
Other precautions to be taken
In addition to washing your hands to get the baby, some other actions can also be taken to prevent it from becoming contaminated in any way. Some of these attitudes are:
- Clean the baby properly when changing diapers and throwing them in a suitable place where the baby will not have contact;
- Regular bathing of babies;
- Avoid contact of babies with any type of waste such as garbage, for example.
By taking these actions, you will protect your baby from many bacteria that can cause serious illness. However, as previously mentioned, it is not always possible to prevent a disease from appearing and, when that happens, it is essential to remain calm and take care of the baby in the best possible way.
Having a baby means going through big changes. But sometimes, small changes can make a lot of difference so that your daily life and that of your child are better, lighter, healthier and free from certain dangers.
Of course, just taking some actions like washing your hands to get the baby will not rid you of all the dangers, but it will certainly help to prevent some problems from occurring.
Always remember all the actions that can be taken to avoid problems and make your baby take the least number of risks. This is one of the ways to care for and keep your baby healthy from the first months of life.
See also: 3 Tips on Visiting Newborns
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.