How to keep children from getting sick from the heat?

Over the past few weeks, the weather in the North has been erratic with days of heavy rain alternating with days of intense heat, creating a stuffy, stuffy feeling. The high humidity has made many people feel tired and uncomfortable, especially children.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung, former Head of the Department of Pediatrics, Bach Mai Hospital, one of the leading doctors in the field of pediatrics and respiratory medicine with 45 years of experience, said that high humidity combined with hot weather makes it difficult for the body to sweat, causing discomfort. The humid environment is also favorable for bacteria to thrive, live persistently, and easily infect the human body.

Young children, whose immune systems are not yet fully developed, are the first group to be affected by this type of weather. At the medical units participating in the work, children are often seen coming to the clinic with upper respiratory infections, rhinopharyngitis, pneumonia, etc.

Mr. Hai Ha’s family (35 years old, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) recently took their two-year-old son to a private clinic because he had been coughing for two days. He said that his family usually let their son play indoors and turned on the air conditioner at night so that he could sleep well and avoid getting sick. However, when he woke up in the morning, he still saw that his son was tired and coughing.

Meanwhile, the family of Mr. Minh Hai (34 years old, Dong Da, Hanoi) has a two-year-old son who, after a night of mild fever and persistent cough, was said to have been sick due to eating a lot of ice cream and lying directly under the air conditioner fan the night before.

Associate Professor Dung said many families are concerned about the issue of “how to use air conditioning to ensure the health of young children”. They wonder what is the problem when children sleep in air-conditioned rooms and cough the next morning.

According to him, air conditioning is not harmful to health, on the contrary, it helps the body become healthier. Especially in the summer, the ambient temperature can reach 37-38 degrees Celsius or it rains but is very hot. The body generates a lot of heat in cases of physical activity, hot food, and manual labor. Therefore, the body also needs to release more heat to balance the internal temperature, helping children stabilize their temperature and balance the internal environment. Air conditioning plays a role in reducing the ambient temperature, creating conditions for the body to release heat better through the skin, maintaining the above activities.

The reason why families use air conditioning but children still get sick is mainly due to improper use of the air conditioner. A common mistake is setting the temperature too high for the child’s body, the baby still sweats even though he is in an environment with stable temperature.

Associate Professor Dung analyzed that many families have similar concepts between adults and children, for example, adults feel that the room temperature set at 27-28 degrees is cool enough and comfortable. In fact, for many babies, this temperature may not be suitable, and they still feel hot.

He added that the child’s thermoregulatory center can only tolerate a narrow range of temperature changes and depends on the age. For example, a newborn baby cannot tolerate temperatures below 22 degrees and as high as 34-35 degrees. Adults can tolerate cold temperatures of 8-9 degrees Celsius and as high as 41-42 degrees.

“This is the clearest proof that children are not miniature adults, children’s bedrooms need to be centered on the baby to regulate temperature and humidity,” Associate Professor Dung said.

From his clinical experience, Associate Professor Dung recommends that families change their air conditioning habits to better prevent their children from getting sick. Regarding setting the correct air conditioning temperature, he advises families to closely observe the baby’s condition. If the baby sweats at 28 degrees Celsius, the family should adjust it down to 27 degrees Celsius. After 30 minutes, the baby is still sweating, the family should continue to lower the set temperature and monitor for another 30-40 minutes.

The set temperature is suitable for the baby when the baby is sleeping well, lying still, cool, and no longer sweating. Adults taking care of the baby can use an extra blanket and wear long-sleeved clothes if they feel cold.

The fan speed of the air conditioner should also be considered to suit the baby. Too strong a speed will make the baby sick, too weak a speed will make the baby feel not cool enough. Therefore, the family should choose the air conditioner fan’s wind direction mode. If the air conditioner does not have a wind direction mode and change the fan speed, the baby should not lie directly under the fan.

In addition to the methods mentioned by Associate Professor Dung, the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health recommends some additional measures such as paying attention to daily hygiene of the nose and throat with saline to disinfect the respiratory tract, reducing the amount of pathogens residing there. Surfaces and objects that are in daily contact should be wiped and washed with soap or detergent to disinfect and kill pathogens, such as: doorknobs, stair handrails, table and chair surfaces, floors, children’s toys, school supplies, etc.

To avoid direct wind blowing and ensure the health of users, many air conditioner manufacturers have improved the air outlet. Mr. Tran Van Can, Head of Product Development Department of Casper Vietnam, said that the Casper EcoPrime product line, which was just launched this year, has thousands of small holes on the air vent, this design helps the wind blow out smoothly. Casper calls this the SilkAir soft air feature, which helps to spread the cold air more evenly, avoiding the cold wind blowing directly on the body. In addition, the product also integrates the BabyCare mode right on the remote control. When activated, the function will help the machine operate more smoothly and at the lowest wind speed, maintaining a suitable temperature for young children, fluctuating around 26 degrees Celsius. Or the LaCasper product line – fresh air conditioner with AirMesh air vent design also includes thousands of small holes to help the cold air blow gently and evenly throughout the room, creating a cool feeling. For those who feel a bit suffocated when using air conditioning or having to work in a closed room for a long time, this product overcomes this problem with Fresh Air technology that continuously supplies fresh oxygen to the living space.

Associate Professor Dung agreed that products such as EcoPrime or LaCasper air conditioners can help families take better care of their children in the current summer conditions. He further analyzed that when using air conditioners, families often close the doors, the air conditioner takes in fresh air to increase convection with the outside environment, change the air quality in the room, and minimize the residence of bacteria and viruses.

Associate Professor Dung pays attention to the feature of avoiding cold wind, which can help the body not feel cold and still have convection. This helps children avoid illness and have the best quality of sleep.