In order to answer this question, we must learn a little
about the common childhood illnesses: What causes them? How much is “too
much?” What factors increase the risk of illnesses? What can we do to prevent
them? What can we do to treat our children when they are sick?
What
Happens When Our Children Get Sick?
As we all know, there are plenty of germs out there. When
a child is exposed to any germ, it may get around the body’s defenses and
gain entry. Kids help things along by not being very concerned with where
they put their hands or how close they get to their little friends. One
child’s germs can easily make the acquaintance of his playmate.
Once inside, germs quickly find a home inside the cells
of the child’s body. They take over the cells and use them to make more
germs. This process often kills the host cell
(the
cell in which the germ is residing), releasing the new germs to find more
new cells to continue the process of reproduction. Depending on where the
germs settle, the result is a malfunction of a body system that causes
the symptoms of the illness.
If germs settle in the upper respiratory tract, we get
cold symptoms such as cough and runny nose. If they settle in the lower
respiratory tract, we get wheezing or pneumonia. If they settle in the
bladder, in the blood or brain, or in other body tissues, we get symptoms
of malfunction in those areas. To make matters worse, the germs give off
toxins that also affect the body and can make us sick.
