More Ways To Help Keep Kids Safe During COVID-19
Being a Mom of a kid who is immunocompromised, in fact, in a family that everyone is immunocompromised during these days of COVID-19 is terrifying. I needed help trying to figure out how to help keep my family safe, so I asked Dr. Robert Melillo for help. I’ve read a lot of his theories on treating people with OCD and other disorders including in the ways I deal with my child with OCD, so I trusted his response. This is what he shared with me:
Those most at risk of severe problems from the Coronavirus are the people that are immune compromised such as kids elderly, and disabled individuals. This means that kids with disabilities are particularly at risk due to their troubled immune systems from two aspects-being a child and their disability. Since there is no medication or cure for COVID-19, the only defense we have against it is our immune systems. When you think of your immune system you probably think of improving it as supplements like Vitamin C or actions like eating well and exercising regularly, which are great ways to strengthen and maintain your immune system. However, your brain also has a big part to play in your immune system. Here’s how.
Two Sides
Your brain has two main sides that have different functions, your left and right brain. Your left brain works to boost and activate your immune system, among other things, while your right brain can actually work against your immunity. So a great way to help defend against a virus like this is to work to stimulate the left brain.
Stimulating Your Left Brain
Even though that idea seems a little obscure, there are many ways that you can stimulate the left hemisphere of your brain. Some great tips are to do things that make you laugh, use more of the color red in your environment, play word games or math games, read-especially more fun or fiction books, and much more. You can find more ideas on this from the book Disconnected Kids Kids that have neurological imbalances could benefit greatly from more specific brain exercises or stimulation to keep their brain functioning well and by extension improve their immune system.
How the Virus Affects Disabilities
Kids with different disabilities may experience different reactions to the virus, which is why it’s important to understand how their brain function plays a role in the reaction. Those with impaired left brains such as in learning disabilities or dyslexia have weakened immune systems and could face difficulty fighting the virus or even die from it. Kids with disabilities such as Autism, ADHD, tics, etc. do not need left brain stimulation due to its high activity but also have overactive immune systems that could lead to inflammation, asthma, and possibly even seizures. Each disability and individual reacts differently and has different levels of brain activity.
How Else Can You Help?
Of course, the most important thing to remember in any child is to make sure to wash their hands regularly and disinfect toys, surfaces, and other environmental objects that come in contact with a child regularly. There are also supplements that can help in boosting and regulating immune systems. Vitamin D-3 helps balance the immune system, Vitamin D and C in combination work to strengthen immunity, Zinc has been shown to inhibit viruses such as the Coronavirus in some lab studies, and other vitamins like Selenium, Vitamin A palmitate, Nacetyl Cysteine, and Glutathione all are great for the immune system.
Overall, the risk that this virus poses to children with disabilities can be serious. But there are many ways that parents or caretakers can work to combat this danger by strengthening kids’ immune systems and keeping the environment disinfected. It is hard to think about what could happen if a child that is immune-compromised gets the virus, but even though there aren’t surefire ways to treat or cure this virus there are at least ways to work to prevent risks during this threat of the Coronavirus.
It seems like a lot of work, but honestly, they are easy changes to make. We are all stuck in our houses anyway, so I’m willing to make changes to help keep my kids safe. I recommend checking out Dr. Melillo’s book, Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders if you have a child who is different.
