KidStuff

For That Random Runny Nose, Etc., Chicken Soup Still A Good Remedy

By Paul M. Marz, M.D.
The working parent arrives home after hours of work and is greeted by the children. As they run to the returning breadwinner, you cannot help but to notice the twin streams of green slime running out of happy noses as they are wiped on the parents’ clothing.

So the question, “Just last week they had a cold! How come they are always sick?”

A good question. Yet there is a strong historical foundation in the pediatric observation of the drippy-nosed kid.

Every pediatric office makes a strong argument to recommend and encourage the primary immunization series. These vaccinations will provide immunity to some pretty awful infections, some viral and some bacterial. History has shown the devastation that these public health targets have caused before we could offer any control of them through immunizations.

But, what about the literally hundreds and hundreds of other bugs out there that cause human disease?

Medical science is well aware that there are other sources of infectious disease, but we also know that in all likelihood, you will survive the illness unscathed. There is just not enough interest or resources to develop a vaccine against things that will probably not hurt you.

So now your little child enters pre-school, daycare, kindergarten, whatever, for the first time. After 18 months or so, your child, (and you) will have experienced the entire inventory of local cough, cold, runny nose and viruses in your area.

OK, what happens when the working parent has a new job, in Cleveland?

The family packs up and moves. On the first day of the new pre-school, daycare, kindergarten, whatever, joyful children rush over to welcome and YOU share your local bugs with them, at the same time that they are busy reciprocating. And so your own months-long illness cycle starts over for the NEW local bugs happily living in harmony in your new home town.

Fact: This is the normal pattern; your child’s immune system is not sub-optimal.

Fact: The best prevention is good foods, good sleep, and plenty of exercise to keep your body healthy.

Your grandmother had it right; when you are sick, chicken soup is good.

(Dr. Marz, a board-certified pediatrician, is supervising physician for the Town of Barnstable school system. He practices with Bass River Pediatrics in South Yarmouth.)