What Are the Risk Factors and Complications Related to Cold in a Child?
The virus tat is responsible for causing most colds is the rhinovirus amongst many other viruses, namely coronaviruses and enteroviruses such as echoviruses and coxsackieviruses. Some of the factors that put children at high risks of being infected by viruses are discussed below:
- Immature immune systems. Babies and other young children are usually and naturally more prone to being infected by the common cold, as they have no previous exposure to most of the responsible viruses. Consequently, they do not develop an immune system against them and are so more vulnerable to catching these colds.
- Exposure to other children. Children tend to devote most of their time to playing and spending time with other kids. Children are also not careful at all about their hygiene and therefore do not bother with washing their hands or covering their months when coughing or blocking sneezes. Consequently, if your baby is left in the care of daycare centers or lives with a young brother or sister in your house, the risk of your baby catching the common cold from other infants and children is much higher.
- Time of year. The time of the year is an important factor to consider as it has been seen that the highest number of cases of the common cold usually occurs in the winter and fall months, regardless of the geographic location. This is most likely because the air during such seasons is very dry, and children during these times spend most of their time indoors, allowing germs to spread from person to person more easily.