Dr Phil Kieran: My child picks up every bug going — how can I help boost his immune system? 

There are several steps you can take to help improve your child's immune system

Dr Phil Kieran: "If your child is miserable and has a fever, give them paracetamol to bring it down. If, however, your child has a high temperature, but is in reasonably good form, eating and drinking well, and active, there is usually no need to treat the fever itself."

My nine-year-old gets a temperature spike every time he picks up a bug, which I manage with paracetamol. He seems to pick up every cold and cough going, which is worrying. What can I do to boost his immune system?

When parenting young children, it can seem like they are constantly sick,  and statistics show this is not far from the truth.

Children get between six and 12 infections per year. Each viral infection typically lasts three to five days, characterised by symptoms such as fever, tiredness, and coughing. For many respiratory infections, the cough can persist for three weeks or more after the infection has resolved. Many feel, at this stage, that they need a medical intervention, like inhalers or antibiotics. However, for the majority of cases, all that is needed is time.

If the infections were spread out evenly over a year, it would not be unusual for your child to feel unwell for three out of every four weeks. What may seem even more oppressive is that most of these events will occur during the winter. So, you could easily have a viral infection every two weeks or so.

Not all children get high temperatures with every infection. Some viruses are more likely to cause high fevers than others, and some children get higher temperatures in response to infections than others.

One child might run a fever over 39°C, while another hovers around 38.1°C, but feels just as unwell. The actual temperature is not particularly important. It doesn’t usually reflect how sick the child is or how severe the infection will be, so I usually advise parents to be more mindful of the child’s condition, rather than focus on the thermometer reading. 

If your child is miserable and has a fever, give them paracetamol to bring it down. If, however, your child has a high temperature, but is in reasonably good form, eating and drinking well, and active, there is usually no need to treat the fever itself.

To improve their immune system, there are several steps you can take which apply equally to adults and children. Eating a healthy diet is essential, particularly having vegetables and fruit. 

This ensures that you won’t be deficient in essential vitamins and also that you have enough fibre to help with gut health. We are continuing to learn that gut health is a key component of a healthy immune system.

Sleep is another crucial factor in immune health. Children aged six to 13 need between nine and 12 hours of sleep per night. Hormonal changes that occur during sleep are critical for developing a healthy immune system.

In Ireland, particularly during the winter, we don’t make sufficient vitamin D. For this reason, we recommend supplementing vitamin D from Halloween until St Patrick’s Day. Vitamin D is predominantly important in developing healthy bones, but it also has an impact on the immune system.

• If you have a question for Dr Phil Kieran, please send it to [e-mail]