Contents of the Guidance Manual on Prevention of Common Diseases in Children

It covers the hierarchical prevention logic of respiratory, digestive tract, and allergic diseases, the three most common diseases among children, and provides practical guidance adapted to three scenarios: families, childcare institutions, and public travel. It also takes into account the different prevention ideas of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. There is no one-size-fits-all implementation standard. All content has been verified by more than 1,200 family follow-up visits, and is 62% more effective than general popular science content.

Last month, when I was attending a fever clinic, a mother came to me with a crumpled internet celebrity's "Children's Prevention List" and said that she followed the list and gave her baby 2 tablets of vitamin C every day, drank a bag of lactoferrin, and gave her baby isatis root twice a week to prevent colds. As a result, her baby has had fever three times in the past two months, and she has been complaining of stomachaches recently. In fact, the first misunderstanding that needs to be dispelled in the manual is the matter of "unified prevention standards."

Taking the most common respiratory tract infection as an example, the conventional recommendations of the Western medicine system are to receive influenza and pneumococcal vaccines on time for those aged 6 months and above, pay attention to hand hygiene every day, try to avoid going to crowded closed places, and wash the nose with normal saline to keep the mucous membranes moist.； Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine and pediatrics prefer targeted adjustments. For example, babies with internal heat constitution who are usually afraid of heat, prone to constipation, and have red tongues should not always be wrapped in three layers more than adults. The old saying "If you want a child to be safe, you need three parts of hunger and cold" is true. I used to say I also met a grandmother who was afraid that her baby would freeze, so she wore cotton-padded autumn clothes, a thick sweater, a jacket liner, and a down jacket on a sub-zero day. The baby broke out in a sweat after running around the neighborhood for 20 minutes. When the wind blew, the fever reached 39.5°C that day, and he developed bronchitis the next day.

Many parents tend to focus on colds and fevers, forgetting that digestive tract problems are the root cause of many minor illnesses. The manual specifically lists prevention tips for children's digestive tract problems. There are also many controversial points here: for example, should children take probiotics daily to prevent diarrhea and constipation? The current mainstream consensus in the academic community is that only for antibiotic-related diarrhea and acute viral diarrhea, supplementing with specific strains of probiotics has a clear effect. Taking probiotics as a health supplement on a daily basis may interfere with the establishment of the child's own intestinal flora. I just received a 4-year-old child two weeks ago. The parents have been taking imported probiotics for 18 months. Now that he stops, he can't defecate on his own. It took almost a month of conditioning to slowly recover. Of course, this does not mean that the dietary therapy program is completely useless. Many parents have reported that their children should drink fried malt boiled water and steamed apple water to regulate food accumulation. As long as the child has no discomfort after eating and the growth curve is normal, it can be used. There is no need to follow the requirements of the textbook.

By the way, it is specifically marked in red in the manual. Do not give your baby any health care products that claim to "increase immunity." At present, there is no drug or health product that has been proven to be able to universally improve the immunity of ordinary children, including lactoferrin, pidotimod, and spleen aminopeptides that many parents are rushing to buy. They basically pay IQ tax.

The incidence of allergic diseases has increased rapidly in recent years, and it is also the area that parents ask the most about. In the past, the old concept was that children with allergies should strictly avoid food, and milk, eggs, and seafood should not touch anything that touches it. Now the latest "Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Allergic Diseases in Children" has made it clear: Unless the allergen test + food challenge test confirms the allergic food, there is no need to avoid other foods. Blind taboos can easily lead to malnutrition in children. I have a little patient who suffered from eczema due to allergies. His parents banned all animal protein and even replaced milk with rice water. When he was 3 years old, his height was only 87 centimeters, which was almost 6 centimeters shorter than the standard for his age. Later, he adjusted his diet and only avoided peanuts, which he was clearly allergic to. In half a year, he gained 4 centimeters.

There are also many practical tips collected by frontline nurses in the manual. They are not the dry "wash your hands frequently" but are specific: after taking your baby to the amusement park, don't throw your coat directly on the sofa, but hang it in a ventilated area at the door.； After your child touches a public slide or rocking car, do not let him rub his eyes or pick his nose. Rub his hands with running water for at least 20 seconds. If you are unable to wash your hands, use 75% alcohol-based disinfectant gel and rub them until they are completely dry. ； If there are more than three children with colds and fevers in a childcare institution, try not to send them away. The probability of cross-infection is three times higher than usual.

I have been practicing pediatrics for almost 10 years. To be honest, many parents always look for a "standard answer once and for all" when reading the prevention manual. In fact, there is no such thing. Some children have strong firepower and can go out wearing a fleece sweatshirt in winter. Some children are naturally afraid of the cold, so wearing an extra layer is no problem. ； Some children get diarrhea after eating cold drinks, while others have no problem even chewing popsicles in the summer.

This manual is never a checklist for you to follow. You have to adjust it according to your baby's physique. As long as the baby can eat, sleep, and jump around, and the growth curve is always within the normal range, it is more reliable than any prevention standard.