8 reasons your child is falling sick post resuming school | Health - Hindustan Times
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8 reasons your child is falling sick post resuming school

Apr 21, 2022 05:20 PM IST

Experts say the reason behind the poor health of children after resuming school could be due to multiple reasons ranging from lack of physical activity for a prolonged period to non-exposure of bacteria and virus while being at school with other classmates.

Schools reopening has brought back normalcy in lives of the little ones to a great extent and it is rightly regarded as a much-needed step for the social and cognitive development of children. However, returning to schools after a gap of two years has been physically and mentally taxing for many kids who are falling ill more frequently than before. Experts say the reason behind the poor health of children after resuming school could be due to multiple reasons ranging from lack of physical activity for a prolonged time to non-exposure of bacteria and virus while being at school with other classmates. The undisciplined lifestyle and erratic sleep cycles of kids thanks to the pandemic situation is also leading to many problems as children now have to adhere to a strict routine. (Also read: Is your child having a hard time post school reopening? Expert tips on what parents can do)

The undisciplined lifestyle and erratic sleep cycles of kids thanks to the pandemic situation is also leading to many problems as children now have to adhere to a strict routine.(Pixabay)
The undisciplined lifestyle and erratic sleep cycles of kids thanks to the pandemic situation is also leading to many problems as children now have to adhere to a strict routine.(Pixabay)

Difficulty in re-adjusting to hectic offline mode

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"The transition from online classes to offline classes has not been easy for kids physically as well as mentally. The pressure is not just to wake up early in the morning to head for schools, but also of carrying the heavy school bags and completing the never-ending written work at school while that was not the case in remote learning. Children are also not used to being disciplined by teachers in all these years and many of them are now getting traumatised when scolded. Their stamina has definitely taken a beating and I can say that as a dance teacher because children are unable to cope up with offline dance practice and get tired very easily. My suggestion to the schools is to take things slowly and pick up the pace as kids slowly re-adjust to offline classes," says Kalashree Janhavi Rajaraman, Bharatanatyam Dancer and Founder & Managing Trustee- TAPAS (The Academy for Performing Arts)

Over-sensitivity of parents

"First and foremost is the heightened sensitivity of parents towards even common cold in the post-Covid scenario. Earlier, a running nose was attributed to a cold shower and a sore throat had an ice-cream behind it. But in current times, as soon as the kid gets a sore throat, the suspicion of Covid-19 infection pops up in the mind of parents as the first possibility even though the actual reason is still the same innocuous ice-cream. The parents need to get out of this hypersensitivity towards common cold and cough," says Dr Manish Ramteke, Consultant - Pediatrics & Neonatologist, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Navi Mumbai, Vashi.

Sedentary lifestyle of children

Reduced physical activity of children is another reason that could making them sick. A study done in Norway has shown that physical activity of 70% of school going children during Covid-19 pandemic has been less than 15 minutes in a day.

"Online learning has definitely affected the physical development of children. There have been multiple studies which have shown that children with sedentary way of living tend to fall ill more often than children having daily physical activity or play. With regular schools resuming, it is expected that children get back their balance of study and routine play times," says Dr Ramteke.

Non-exposure to viruses and bacteria

The fact that children were not exposed to viruses and bacteria for so long has also impacted their immunity.

Dr. Krishan Chugh, Principal Director & HOD, Paediatrics, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram says that regular exposure of children to small innoculums of the viruses and bacteria from their school and play mates during their close and prolonged interactions results in development of the disease or a sub clinical infection which leads to formation of antibodies and cellular immunity. "Both of these protect them from subsequent infections and disease. During the lockdown and stay at home periods their body didn’t get an opportunity to go through this process at the natural pace," says the expert.

"There is increase in rate of infection among children post opening of schools. For the last two years most of the things like schools, parks, entertainment and amusement parks were closed due to pandemic, hence the kids were mostly indoor not exposed to anything that cause infection. Now we are back in the pre pandemic mode with all the restrictions being removed. Children are more likely to go out and have foods from outside increasing the chances of infection. Further due to increase in air pollution there is increase in viral illness and other infections," says Dr Fazal Nabi, consultant paediatrician at Global Hospital, Parel Mumbai.

Water-borne infections

Dr Chugh says water and food borne infections are quite common in summer months and this is the reason many children suffer from diarrhoea, vomiting and food poisoning during this period of the year, generally due to poor food hygiene.

"Children have almost been without the habit of lunch boxes in last couple of years. So, with onset of schools and the recess/lunch breaks, the lunch boxes are making a comeback. But as the habit of hand sanitizers has caught up with every kid due to pandemic, it is possible that they have forgotten the importance of hand washing. There was also not much of a habit of eating outside. So, food borne (or rather hygiene related) infection is another reason owing to which children are falling ill after resumption of schools," says Dr Ramteke.

Erratic sleep cycles

Dr Mickey Mehta, Global leading Holistic Health Guru, says the sleep cycles of children were disturbed in these two years of being at home with an indisciplined lifestyle. Dr Mehta says it is possible that being sleep-deficient could be making them immuno-compromised.

"After experiencing complete freedom and free run at home with television, laptop, smart phone, getting boxed backed into classrooms would certainly give rise to a lot of anxiety, feeling low and mentally disturbed," says Dr Mehta.

"Children in the lockdown period have been consuming junk food, so easily available through popular food apps. This combined with lack of physical activity has further reduced their immunity," says Dr Chugh.

Normal to fall ill for children aged 3-6 years

"For younger children in the age group of 3-6 years, getting cough and cold every month is considered normal. School going kids can have up to 6 to 8 episodes of viral fever in a year. This is a normal phenomenon and one should not be worried about this trend. The children just need to rest for couple of days, be adequately hydrated, and take paracetamol as and when needed. After recovering from viral fever, they are perfectly fit to resume school at the earliest," says Dr Ramteke.

Incomplete immunization of children

Dr Ramteke says as routine vaccination was not a health priority during the 19 pandemic, it had taken a backseat. "Missed or incomplete vaccination can put your child to increased risk of getting measles/ chicken pox/ influenza, as these tend to be more prevalent during the current season. Hence it is important that all pending vaccinations and booster doses are completed as early as possible. Try and give annual flu shots to children," says the expert.

As children re-adjust to the 'old normal', parents and teachers can certainly make this transition smoother by taking steps to ease their anxiety and boost immunity.

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