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Comment by 76543210 | Hacker News Reader

So is there a way to prepare our bodies for getting sick? Me and my wife and our 8 month old live 40 hours a week in public, so it's going to happen.

We already eat healthy, me and the wife workout. But the kid? Not sure how to prepare him.

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Young kids appear to be unaffected currently. Not sure if this will change but also if your kid is breastfeeding then he be protected by mom's immune system. I would minimize people holding him that aren't you or your wife and obviously wash hands frequently.

Protein is vital for your immue system and to fight viral and bacterial infections. Chicken soup with lots of potein and vitamins is a not just an old wives tale.

But unless your kid has an underlying health issue or vitamin deficiency, then not really. Eat well, get some sunlight if you can, wash your hands often, don't touch your face, follow the guidlines doctors are mentioning at your state/local or federal level.

I'd say you're doing the only thing a person can.

You see many people speak of "boosting your immune system" but it's pure quackery. A person's immune system is many layers and types, a system, it's not a single thing that can be adjusted at will.

The way I see my immune system is a 100 liter tank of water. You can't overfill it but it can be low. At most it can only be 100 liters. Your immune system can only be as good as normal there's no turbo button to over-boost it.

Get enough sleep.

Yes, this is often understated. Not enough sleep and stress makes our body not protect itself as well as it could.

Yes. Pure speculation, but lack of sleep might have been a factor in relatively young doctors in Wuhan dying from the virus. And quantity of viral matter might also be an important factor.

Zinc + vitamin c

Everything I read so far about it is saying that the virus is nothing special for anyone under 10 year old.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-se...

Also you can read about SARS which is similar.

Seems like what kills most people is the immune system overreacting.

There is a potential risk with having a very healthy immune system in cases like this. It's called 'Cytokine release syndrome' and happens in healthier and younger individuals and it is far deadlier than the viral infection itself.

I don't believe that applies here. I remember seeing on another thread that you would expect to see lots of 20-50 year old deaths with CRS, like the Spanish flu. From what I've seen, COVID mortality seems to be proportional to age, with a lot of very old people succumbing.

Based on the statistics so far the most vulnerable people are the elderly, the lower the age the easier the recovery seems. Many people had mild symptoms and you might even think you just had regular flu, unless you are one of the unlucky ones.

It's widely recommended that babies receive vitamin D supplementation even in the best of times.. but under these circumstances, and certainly if you're in the northern hemisphere, it's worth being proactive with this in advance.

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