How a Naturopathic Doctor Protects his Babies from the Coronavirus Outbreak
In light of the coronavirus outbreak, immunity is on everyone’s mind, even more so if you have kids at home. Babies tend to be more susceptible to infection, due to lack of stringent personal hygiene practices such as washing hands, keeping their hands out of their mouth (and nose), and not being able to wear a mask. But we try to increase awareness and implement protocols at home to prevent them from catching infection. After all, as parents we control their diet, sleep, and environment, and they can’t do anything about it!
My top health & safety tips during the Coronavirus outbreak include:
- Personal Hygiene Practices
- Diet & Nutrition
- Sleep Routine
Personal Hygiene Practices
Normally, we have an innate laissez-faire approach to health and safety. They have a strict daily schedule complete with meals, play time, naps, etc. However, during this time we have been stricter about what they can and cannot do. These are the key health and safety guidelines my household follows:
- The kids are indoor cats now – they have gone out briefly around the housing complex we live in for some fresh air, but in the stroller only.
- Frequent hand washing – this has been a normal task for them since they were little so they’re used to always washing their hands after play, before meals, and coming back from the outside world.
- Guidelines for visitors – this might sound a little crazy, but having experience in quarantine control, we have all outside visitors (namely grandparents) follow some guidelines:
- Wearing a mask when they are out and about and of course when they come to visit
- They have a spare set of clothes to change into when they visit
- All outside shoes stay outside until cleaned
Diet and Nutrition
I’ve always focused on balance, variety, and moderation as their main points for their diet. They eat pretty much everything under the sun from what they’ve been introduced to and we continue to monitor as we add more food ingredients to their diet.
In addition to food, a regimen of supplements is routine in our household. The twins have been taking supplements since they were born, either through breastmilk or direct.
Their normal routine is:
– Every Day: Colostrum and Probiotics
– Alternate Days: Omega 3’s and liquid Vitamin D3 after breakfast
During this Coronavirus epidemic, they’re on addition supplementation to boost their immune defences:
– Daily Vitamin C liquid
– Echinacea drops for kids
Sleep Routine
Sleep is a key component of a healthy immune system, not just for the kids but for the adults too!
Although initially I wasn’t sure we needed one, I’m glad we brought in a Sleep Trainer to help sleep train the kids. The twins have been sleeping through the night since they were 7 months old, so now we follow a table of allowable awake times on top of reading “sleepy signs” for nap time.
6:00am – wake up time, even if they are awake we don’t go into their room until 6am
9:30-10:45 – first nap lasting 1h 15m
~2:15 – second nap, this nap is open-ended with no specific time limit although we do wake them up at 4pm if they aren’t up
6:15pm – begin night-time routine of bath time, diaper change, milk, brush teeth, clean face, story time and bedtime by 7:30pm
It can take some time to implement changes to the household routine but with everyone on board, these tips can significantly reduce the chances of infection and help build a strong immune system for your children. After all, healthy kids make happy parents!
Dr Ken Chu, Naturopathic Doctor
Kenneth J. Chu is a practicing naturopathic doctor, and is also a board member of the Integrated Association of Naturopaths in Hong Kong. Ken Practices a holistic healing approach, using a combined approach of clinical nutrition, homeopathy, and herbal medicines to address the root causes of his patients’ problems. He has an interest in pediatrics, gastroenterology, and sports medicine.
After obtaining his Bachelors Degree in Biological Sciences, Ken then graduated from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) in Toronto. Ken also did further education programs in advanced clinical nutrition, and expanded his homeopathy knowledge by training with the Ullmans, Jonathan Shore, and the Rajan Sankaran and the Bombay Group of Homeopathy in India.
Ken was selected to advance his studies in the sports medicine rotation at CCNM and he treated many athletes at Canada’s largest wellness/multidiscipline clinic in Edmonton, including some of Canada’s Olympic sportspersons and also several MMA athletes.