Is it safe to give all these natural products or can it be harmful for a 9 month old baby?

Question

My 9 month old daughter is building her immune system with her big sister going to daycare and bringing home several colds over the past few weeks. I wanted to give her a hand and I am wondering what to give to help my baby strengthen her immune system. I have in my possession Echinacea for baby from the green mouse brand and probiotics from the biogaia brand for baby. I would tend to give him some every day in addition to his vitamin D but is that too much?

Alexandre Chagnon · Accepted Answer

Hello, There are not really any products or medications to boost the immune system unfortunately. Echinacea is sometimes used to prevent colds, however this product is not really proven effective for this. It is the same thing for probiotics. Given the questionable effectiveness of these products, I would not recommend them. Unfortunately, frequent colds are a normal part of children's development. It is actually normal for children to have more colds per year than adults. The best way to prevent these is through hygiene. For example: washing hands frequently, teaching children to sneeze into their elbows, cleaning toys and surfaces frequently, not sharing utensils and glasses, etc. Also, the only way to truly strengthen a child's immune system is to follow the recommended immunization schedule. In addition, the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends flu vaccination for children. I hope this answers your questions. Catherine Deslandes student in pharmacy Supervised by Alexandre Chagnon pharmacist