Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:03 Hello and welcome to the Wonder Baba podcast. My name is Sheena Mitchell, I'm a pharmacist and mom of three. I combine healthcare and practical advice to help you on your parenting journey. If you enjoy listening to a Wonder Baba podcast, I'd be really grateful if you could follow or subscribe and leave a review. It really helps to support the show. Thank you. I am delighted to partner with one of my all-time favorite products, cell Plus. This is the world's first 100% natural dry salt therapy device. It's clinically proven to relieve a wide variety of allergens and respiratory conditions. The salt therapy method has been trusted for generations and has become hugely popular worldwide. As more and more people recognize the superb results achieved from a natural and noninvasive method, this device will help you breathe easier and sleep better.
Speaker 1 00:00:57 Okay, so this week is the seasoned finale of our respiratory health season. And to finish off the season, I thought it would be a good idea to take some listeners questions. So the questions that I've been asked and I'll be answering today, um, there was a lot of duplicates so I've kind of summarized them into the following. So the first is to explain the different types of cough, what kind of cough needs a GP visit or a hospital visit and what kind of cough can just be treated at home. And also the best cough bottles or treatments for coughs at home. Another question I had was, why does my child only get coughs in winter? So I'll be talking a little bit about that. And then I got a few questions about supplements or vitamins that may help. So people wanted to know, I suppose, evidence based information on what can actually help to keep coughs and colds away.
Speaker 1 00:01:54 And finally we got lots of questions on the sale, plus probably because I've been talking about it in every episode because they are our seasoned sponsors because there is no better product for respiratory health than the sale plus. So people have been asking how does it work and how loud is it? Which is a very understandable question, but rest assured the answer is very positive and I have a sound clip to prove it. So yeah, I'll get started straight away. So the different types of cough. So obviously this could be a huge question and I'm not gonna go into mega detail because if you flick back through the last episodes I talk about bronchiolitis, I talk about asthma, I talk about lots of different respiratory health conditions. So this is just some, I suppose, vague guidance to help you on how to detect what kind of cough your child has and how best you can treat it.
Speaker 1 00:02:47 So the first kind of cough would be a chesty productive cough. So this is a cough where there is definitely mucus present in the chest. Often you can get a postnasal drip at the same time, so you know, typically a really blocked congested nose and pressure in the sinuses as well. A post-nasal drip can often happen as a result of a cold or a sinus infection or allergies or nowadays covid. I have an episode on the best ways to treat congestion, so I won't go into that. Now if you look back through the episodes, I think it's called Blocked and snotty noses a lovely title for an episode. Also then with a kind of chesty productive cough, you might have a fever or your baby or child might be weak or at a sorts. And in that case it could be down to an infection and that would be a situation where you bring them to the doctor.
Speaker 1 00:03:43 So in terms of cough bottle, once your baby's over two, they will be able to take exp utex. So this is a really good mucolytic cough bottle and it works by thinning out and breaking down mucus. So as you can imagine, by making the mucus more watery, apologies, this is a little bit gross. Um, it makes it easier to cough up and clear from the chest and so it can help to prevent or reduce infection and it can help to shift the mucus off the chest quicker. So from two years of age right up to old age, I would always recommend X or vis X, which is a similar product for a chest or productive cough. The next type of cough is a dry or irritating cough. So this is a cough where there is no mucus and often it's due infection or even allergies or irritants such as pollen or smoke.
Speaker 1 00:04:37 And also you can get a dry cough from Covid joy of choice. You can also get it from asthma. And usually with asthma it's the cough is worse at night. You can check out my asthma episode from the season I think it was called All About Asthma to learn all about how to deal with and identify those symptoms. So it's good in general to treat a dry irritating cough with something like nasal saline to get rid of any irritants that are maybe in the nostrils causing the cough. And you can also use something like broncho Stop junior, which is good for dry or chesty coughs and you know, is a natural enough product. So it yeah is suitable from one year of age. So that can be very handy. A barking cough indicates inflammation or constricted airways. So sometimes this can happen with group and in group it generally gets worse at night.
Speaker 1 00:05:33 On occasion you will need a trip to the doctor if your child is really struggling. But often the use of a humidifier in the bedroom overnight can help. And if your child starts to have a very bad bite of coughing during the night, then I would bring them straight out, wrap a little blanket around them and bring them straight out into cold fresh air. And this often has the effect of just reducing the inflammation in the lungs in that second and it can just prevent a bout of coughing from continuing. So that can help a lot if it doesn't help, obviously sometimes it does require steroids or medical attention. And the both of those situations I suppose would warrant a GP or hospital visit. A wheezy cough is something else that we're always on the lookout for. If you have a whee when breathing, it can indicate asthma or bronchiolitis.
Speaker 1 00:06:24 And if you listen regularly you'll know that bronchiolitis is caused by osv, which is circulating a lot at the moment because this is being recorded in November. So we're having a very high year for RSV this year and it's an infection of the airways within the lungs. So in any instance of wheezing, I would definitely recommend getting checked out by the doctor. And the final type of cough that I'm gonna talk about today is a whooping cough. So this is a cough that is followed by a whooping sound and it's caused by a bacteria and infection called pertussis. This basically, you know, results in a whooping sound that's as a result of the baby taking deep, deep breaths after coughing all of their air outta their lungs. So you know, they're cough, cough, coughing, and then inhaling like that and making a whooping sound. So for this situation you would be contacting your doctor as because it's a bacterial infection, medical treatment is required in terms of cough bottles.
Speaker 1 00:07:22 So which cough bottles are best? Obviously here we're kind of talking about kids. So broncho stop junior is suitable from one year and that's great for much older kids and adults. You can use the regular broncho stops. So this is good for dry or chesty coughs where it's just a bit of irritation, it can help to soothe it. Obviously I mentioned earlier the exp X for parti, particularly chesty coughs and it's worth mentioning that Benin obviously do a whole range of cough bottles which are all suitable for adults. Just read the leaflet because say for example, diabetics might be more suited to Robert Usn, but for children you used to be able to give Ben to children over two. But a good few years ago now that guidance changed and it's only over six years. So just to bear that in mind, that unless your child is age six plus, you're really relying on something like Broncho stop or the exp uex from two.
Speaker 1 00:08:20 Okay, one of the other questions was why does my child only get coughing episodes in winter? And there's a lot of reasons for that. Obviously you know, there's a seasonal element to a lot of the viruses. So the common cold can cause a cough that is often caused by intro and rhino viruses. So these circulate more in the winter. And I suppose when you think about the fact that when September comes, children are all back in close contact in classrooms and even the adults are suddenly socializing inside more, you know, viruses have ideal conditions to spread. So there's definitely a seasonal element to these. There is another aspect which should be considered and it is if your child is potentially asthmatic, then cold air can actually be a trigger for coughing episodes or flare ups. And so obviously with the winter comes very cold weather, you know, using a little SNOO or a scarf around your child's mouth when they're gone, even out to the car if they're on the way to school, anything like that.
Speaker 1 00:09:29 Anytime they're going from a warm inside environment to an outside environment where the weather is cold, they should be protecting their airways from the shock of change of temperature. So you know, if you have a young baby, even putting the wind cover or the rain cover over the pram when it's, even if it's not raining, can really help to reduce some of that cold wind entering the lungs. People also often ask about vitamins. So what venoms help and do they actually help and what do they do in terms of coughs and colds? Do they really keep them away? It's important to note here that adults suffer from kind of two to five infections a year. So it could be the common cold could be anything. Um, but children suffer from about six to 12 a year. So there's definitely a seasonal element. So it definitely is worse in winter.
Speaker 1 00:10:22 But yeah, children are more predisposed to get respiratory infections than adults. Obviously that kind of flips around again when you enter old age. The role of vitamins actually is important. So vitamins help to promote a healthy immune system and they have actually been proven to lower the incidence or the severity or even the duration of symptoms of a common cold. And there's a few bits about this, I'm gonna break it down a little bit. Vitamins C, D and zinc have evidence-based efficacy. Of course there's more needed, but these have been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of common cold. So what do we know about these? So we know a lot about vitamin D. It became, I suppose, a vitamin that came under highlight after covid kicked off because it was shown to reduce the severity of disease in covid. So patients who were not deficient when in vitamin D tended to do better.
Speaker 1 00:11:24 So we know that vitamin D has a role in the immune system. We also know that it's really hard in Ireland even in the summer to get enough vitamin D from the sun and that dietary, it's really difficult to get anywhere near enough. So it's definitely something that we probably should be supplementing with, um, just based on how much sun exposure we get. And particularly at this time of year we're not outside, we're not wearing short sleeves, we don't have a chance to absorb any vitamin D from the sun. So that's one that definitely, you know, it's already recommended in young children but even in older children, adults it's something that you should look at. And the next two would be vitamin C and sink. So zinc basically is not produced by the body at all. So the only way to get it is from your diet or from supplements.
Speaker 1 00:12:16 If you're getting it from your diet, you're getting it from red meat, dairy products, whole grains, beans, poultry or nuts. And its role in immunity is to help with development and function of immune cells and it also helps with cell growth and divisions. So it's needed for healthy skin and for wound wound healing. M C is a powerful antioxidant and it protects cells against potential damage. This is a water soluble vitamin, so it's carried to the tissues but it's actually not stored in the tissues. Only fat soluble vitamins are stored in the body and this is why it's important to take vitamin C regularly to help it fight against inflammation, to help you absorb iron, to help you maintain a healthy immune function and also healthy skin. So with these two it's really clear that children may not be the most likely people to be eating an awful lot of red meat or poultry, certainly nuts.
Speaker 1 00:13:18 Um, you know, some kids will eat some whole grains and beans and dairy, but obviously you've got a lot of children who don't tolerate dairy well. And yeah, it can just all get a bit tricky and even from the point of you like if you asked me straight out does my child need to take vitamins other than vitamin D, I would say no if they have an absolutely balanced and healthy diet. But as a mother, if you ask me should my child take vitamins, I would say, well are they eating a perfectly balanced and healthy diet? And as a mother I would realize that the answer to that is most likely no. Having three kids myself, I know they all have gone through phases of being fussy about particular things, whether it be meat or soft food or anything hard food sauce, you know, food smashed too much food that's cooked too soft, anything it's, it literally is completely mood of the day.
Speaker 1 00:14:21 So there's definitely times where you know, children don't have an ideal diet. So I think it's impractical and you know, not realistic to say that no you don't need supplements. My children all take supplements and I do vary a lot in brands. Sometimes they'll take the revive Junior, sometimes they'll be on the well kid, which is the Vita bios, well kid chewable tablet, they quite like those. Actually no it's not the chewable I get given out too if I, I buy them, it's the gummy ones. So yeah, they're like a Jelly type one, they love those. Uh, for ages they went through a big phase of alive for children, which I was delighted about cause they're quite good as well. But all of these are really good vitamins. Farmers can do one like any of the main children's vitamins, any of those brands I mentioned are jam packed full of vitamin D, zinc, vitamin C, and lots of other essential minerals and vitamins.
Speaker 1 00:15:21 So I think, you know, there's a practical element here. And yeah, I do think children need supplementation, particularly in the winter when they need a strong immune system, they need all the vitamin C and zinc they can get, they certainly need vitamin D um, because there's just no sun. Whereas during the summer you know, there's less riskier immunity, children are playing more outside, they're probably eating more fruit and kind of healthier foods just by the nature of the season. Um, but in winter everything gets a bit cozy and everyone gets a bit cranky cuz people are going from cold to cold and you know, appetites can be suppressed and it's just, it can be a tricky time so there's only so much soup you can make them eat and even at that they might want to eat it. So yeah that answers that. That's my answer is on do vitamins help?
Speaker 1 00:16:12 Yes they do. Next couple of questions we're really focused about the salus. So how does the Salus work was one of the main questions and what does it do? The Salus draws air in through the back of the device and it clears it of any small particles like dust or pollen or mold spores or anything that might be in the air. That clean air is then pushed through a salt filter. The salt filter embeds the air with micro crystalline salt particles. These salt particles are so small that they travel easy and freely in the air. These are then inhaled by your child as they sleep cause you leave the device on all night and it goes down into the respiratory airways. So everywhere from their nose right into their throat and right down into their lungs. The salt then works in two ways. So first of all it helps to reduce inflammation and second of all, it works by osmosis to draw mucus out from areas where it may be stuck in the respiratory areas to make it easier to cough up.
Speaker 1 00:17:18 Using the salus at night can help to keep your child's lungs in good condition. I'm not saying that your child won't ca catch a cold or a cough, but it helps them to be able to make that cougher cold more productive and reduces the chance of you know, there being more severe symptoms. I was speaking with the Asthma Society on one of episodes. If you check out all about asthma you can listen to that chat because we spoke about you know what it's like recommending a natural product as a healthcare professional. And I think even they agreed that this is a product that is definitely worth a try as an addon to any inhalers or any medication for respiratory health that you may be taking. See how you get on with it, it's very low risk, there is evidence there to support it and yeah it's a natural product and I am all about that the way I use the Salmon Plus.
Speaker 1 00:18:12 Um, unfortunately for us I use it all year round. So in winter I am using it to you know, help keep our respiratory health in good condition. So preventing kind of coughs and colds and if we do catch them again hoping that we get less severe cases or cases that last for a shorter amount of time. But even in the spring and summer that's when we really need it because actually a good few of us in our household have pollen allergies so this helps to remove the pollen from the air and also reduce inflammation and reaction in the airways. So, well one of my little girls, I can tell <laugh> I nearly don't need to set a reminder to change the filter every four months because I can tell once she starts to get itchy and runny nose in the morning, I know that the salad plus is no longer working so I just need to change the filter and back we go.
Speaker 1 00:19:04 And yeah, it's been a real lifesaver for us and I know even for my mom she'd sign us problems and she uses it and it helped an awful lot. So it's good for a whole variety of conditions. Next question I got was how loud is the Salon Plus? So now I'm gonna play an audio of me recording the Salon Plus in my daughter's room. So I'm gonna start it low, turn it right up high using the small dial on the back and then turning it down again just so you can hear the contrast. Bear in mind during the sand clip that my phone is right beside the device. So obviously it's not gonna be, you know, right up against your ear <laugh> when you're sleeping. Although having it on a bedside locker pointing at you is a good idea but you'll hear, hear that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1 00:19:49 You will hear in this audio how dramatically different it sounds up loud and down low and this is why I recommend turning it on full blast before you go to bed for a couple of hours and then when you go up and go to sleep you can turn it right down for you as an adult sleeping. So for a child I do it the opposite way. I turn it on high before they go to bed just so that it can start working before they go into their sleep environment. Then I turn it right down to quiet even though my kids don't really mind the noise of it cuz it's kind of a constant home. Yeah, so I turn it right down uh, just so it's kind of quiet when they're reading their books and trying to fall asleep. And then when I come back upstairs when I'm going to bed I turn it right back up. They never wake from the sound of it and I swear it acts like you know, white noise, I they they stay settled. One of my children refuses to sleep without this sound now. So anyway, here we go.
Speaker 1 00:20:47 There's the dog as well
Speaker 2 00:20:49 <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:20:52 So I'm turning it up now so that's full volume and I'm turning it down and you can hear it becomes almost inau so it's still going there,
Speaker 1 00:21:19 You just can't hear it. It's brilliant. So other than my dog barking in the background cuz you can't actually ever have silence in this house, it's proven fact. Anyway, you can hear there that that is what the Salem Plus sounds like. It's really easy to get children to sleep with and even for adults and for the record it helps with adults who snore. So if you happen to be in the same room as someone who snores like an elephant, this is really good cuz it reduces inflammation in the airways and all of a sudden a few weeks later you're like, oh my goodness, I can actually sleep now. So it's a great product and yeah, that I suppose sums up all of the questions that I received during the week as a result of my INTA post. So if anyone has any more questions about respiratory health, of course don't forget to get in touch.
Speaker 1 00:22:14 Um, you can find me at Wonder Baba Care on Instagram or at Wonder Baba on Facebook. I think I'm at Wonder Baba blog on Twitter and you can email me at sheena wonder baba dot e and I will try and help you in any way I can. And I just want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Sale Plus who have been a brilliant sponsor and so fitting for respiratory health. Just before I started season two, I was trying to think about, you know, what kind of season I would do and you know, respiratory health was kind of obvious considering the time of year. And I have been selling selling Plus in my pharmacy and online for the last five years and it is the one product that never lets me down. I always get positive feedback about it and you know, it's as popular as it ever was now and all the customers who've bought it office are coming back and getting the filters too because just like my daughter, they see that if you don't change it every four months, you know you're back to square one really.
Speaker 1 00:23:15 So the benefit of the device becomes really obvious. Yeah, that's why I, uh, got in touch with them and it's been a really great season. We've explored everything from cystic fibrosis to RSV to asthma to congestion, everything really that you could think about when it comes to respiratory health. And I'll be taking a break now until the new year, but I will have a couple of episodes, don't tell anyone, but I may be interviewing Santa. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Yeah, exclusive. So yeah, I'll be doing a couple of fun episodes between here and Christmas, so please do follow and subscribe because as I mentioned there, I think that Santa episode would be a fantastic one for your children to tune into. And that will be released sometime in December. So if you're following the podcast, you'll get 'em a notification and obviously I'll post it on my social media so that you can have a listen to that as well. And other than that, I will be back in a fall swing for a season three in the new year with a whole new topic that I can't wait to explore. So thank you so much for listening. It's been a complete pleasure. My name is Sheena Mitchell and this is a Wonder Baba podcast. Thank you.
