The secret to preventing the flu for pregnant mothers: Nutrition and exercise are not enough!

Pregnant women are very susceptible to catching colds because the body has many hormonal changes that make the immune system much weaker. According to experts, the secret to the most effective prevention of influenza for pregnant women is not only in diet and personal hygiene, but the most important thing is to find ways to increase the body's resistance, especially among them. skin resistance.

The flu is a benign illness. Normally, when you have a cold, the patient just needs to eat, eat, and rest properly, then after only a few days the disease will be relieved. However, with pregnant women, flu infection not only affects themselves but also risks harm to the fetus. How to prevent minor illness, dispel fatigue during "pregnancy"? If you are wondering about this, the following sharing of aFamilyToday Health will definitely help you a lot. 

Flu - A constant worry of pregnant women every season

The flu is a respiratory infection caused by the flu virus. This disease occurs often throughout the year but develops most strongly during the winter-spring season or when the weather changes season. It is easily spread from person to person by close contact, possibly by splashes of saliva while talking, coughing or sneezing.

Pregnant women are very susceptible to colds because during the "pregnancy" period, the body's resistance to disease is also much weaker. The first symptoms of flu are usually fever, itching, and sore throat. In addition, pregnant women may also experience some other symptoms such as:

Runny or stuffy nose

Sneeze 

Cough

Tired

Body ache

Mild headache

Weep

There is no specific treatment for the flu yet. For pregnant women, the main treatment is to relieve pain, reduce fever, fight stuffy nose, and relieve cough. For the average person, the disease will be in remission within 4 to 5 days, but for pregnant women, the duration of the disease can be prolonged with more severe symptoms.

Using medicine is a quick and effective treatment for the flu. However, for pregnant women, taking drugs must be very careful because some drugs can potentially have many adverse effects for the development of the fetus. Therefore, if you intend to take medication for treatment, consult your doctor. If not, here are some tips to try:

Drink plenty of water to keep your body moist 

Add garlic to dishes because it is a spice with powerful antiviral properties

Drink ginger tea to clear the throat

Use normal saline to clear airways, avoid stuffy nose

Gargle with salt water to ease a sore throat

Drinking honey mixed with a few drops of lemon juice and warm water is also a very good remedy for dry cough 

Eat more fruits, green vegetables to supplement vitamins, minerals, fiber to help increase the body's resistance

Invite you to refer to the article Pregnant mother skin changes a lot during pregnancy, you know? 

The secret to preventing the flu for pregnant women is very simple

To prevent influenza during pregnancy, pregnant women need to find ways to enhance the body's immune system to fight against the virus that is "invading" every day. Here are some flu prevention tips that pregnant women can try:

Exercise regularly: Pregnant women exercise regularly can help improve the body's ability to prevent disease.

Drink plenty of water: This is a way to both keep the body moisturized and help prevent colds and sore throats very effectively. Every day you should drink about 1.5 - 2 liters of water.

Avoid crowded places: Limit travel to public places or crowded places because these places are often at high risk of contracting the flu.

Keeping clean: Regular hand washing and body hygiene with soap and shower gel can effectively and safely kill bacteria. In addition, you should also rinse your mouth with salt water regularly to prevent sore throat and infection. 

Prevent the flu with a nutritious diet

According to medical experts, diet plays an important role in enhancing the body's resistance . If you know how to maintain a balanced and scientific diet, pregnant women will reduce their risk of catching the flu during pregnancy. A good diet for pregnant women includes: 

Foods rich in vitamin A: Vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant that enhances resistance and supports the development of the fetus. Foods rich in vitamin A that pregnant women should add to the diet are carrots, potatoes, mangoes, almonds ...

Foods rich in vitamin D: Vitamin D is a vitamin that is essential for health, especially during the seasonal transition period because this vitamin works to prevent the flu very well. To supplement vitamin D, you can add some foods to your diet such as fish oil, eggs, cereals ...

Iron-rich foods: Adding iron-rich foods to the diet will help support the production of blood cells and strengthen the immune system, thereby helping to prevent flu for pregnant mothers. Food sources of iron include red meat, green leafy vegetables, beans ...

Foods rich in probiotics: Probiotics found in yogurt, honey, oatmeal ... not only help increase resistance, prevent colds, but also help your digestive system work more smoothly.

Increased skin resistance - How to prevent influenza is simple but not everyone knows

In addition to the above measures, another simple flu prevention secret that pregnant women should apply is finding ways to strengthen and strengthen skin resistance . Because skin resistance is an important component of the immune system, it is the first and strong armor that protects the body from attack by harmful agents, especially pathogenic bacteria. Skin resistance consists of 3 main barrier layers:

Physical barrier: Including keratin fibers of keratinocytes closely linked together, helping to resist the corrosion of protein-digesting enzymes secreted by bacteria. 

Chemical barrier: Contains antimicrobial agents such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), antimicrobial lipids (AMLs) produced by the sebaceous glands and keratinocytes, which inhibit certain types of bacteria and facilitate the innate immune cells in the skin function optimally.

Biological barrier: A balanced microflora permanently residing on the skin. They fight off pathogenic bacteria by activating the immune system and secreting substances to inhibit the settlement and growth of harmful strains of microorganisms.

Skin resistance helps prevent bad bacteria from entering the body. To increase skin resistance, you should:

Daily hygiene care with shower gel with silver ion + formula (silver ions, Thymol, Terpineol), better protection of the body from bacteria, optimizing skin resistance.  

Building a nutritious diet with a variety of green vegetables and fruits to increase resistance, especially skin resistance.

Drink plenty of water and maintain exercise every day.