Many Parents Use Scientifically Unfounded Methods Of Preventing The Common Cold For Children

Many parents use scientifically unfounded methods of preventing the common cold for children

Many of them are ineffective and require additional expenditures, such as the use of bioactive supplements with vitamins and minerals. And folk methods often come from a time when people had no idea about viruses.

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When it comes to preventing colds, a large number of parents still rely on the advice of grandparents, as in many aspects of parenting.

In a recent American poll, 70% of parents reported using old advice that does not have any scientific evidence to prevent colds. The survey was conducted by researchers from CS Mott Children's Hospital and the University of Michigan. They interviewed over 1000 parents of children aged 5 to 12.

To give credit to the prevention of colds, parents widely use scientifically based methods. In particular, they teach children how to wash their hands (99% of respondents) and other rules of personal hygiene, as well as teach them to avoid sick people (87%) and clean the room (84%). But 70% also said they believed in "folk remedies" to prevent colds, and another 51% said they rely on multivitamins and nutritional supplements, which have not been shown to prevent colds.

It is a common myth that the use of multivitamins and nutritional supplements can prevent colds. Healthy children who eat a balanced diet do not need additional vitamin supplements. According to Dr. Michael Russo, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, multivitamins and supplements have never had any effect on preventing colds, and parents could save money on it. According to him, we just tend to remember times when we didn't get a cold after taking vitamins and supplements, but we tend to forget when we caught a cold despite taking them.

As for folk methods, scientists note that they continue to be passed down from generation to generation. The problem in this case is that these traditions have roots in a time when people did not know that the common cold is caused by microorganisms.

Dr. Gary Freed, pediatrician at Mott Children's Hospital and co-author of the survey, said:

“It is important for parents to understand what strategies for preventing colds are scientifically justified. While some of them are very effective, others are completely ineffective."