As salamu alaykum my dear brother and Ramadan Mubarak.

 

Dear brother, I am sorry to hear that your family has been getting ill a lot lately. As I don’t know the nature of the sicknesses in the home, it could be due to any numerous of things. The main goals are to identify the points of entry which colds, illnesses etc. are being brought into the home, and how to reduce or prevent them from entering and thriving in your home.

 

Some Possible Causes of Spreading Illnesses

 

If there are children in the home who are in preschool, often children bring home a lot of flu’s, colds and viruses as their immune systems are still building up and they are exposed to a lot of different germs. If it is that someone takes public transportation on a regular basis, it could be that the germs and viruses are coming into the house through that mode. Buses and trains are notorious for germs and other sicknesses to be lingering. When one is in a crowded or a compacted area where there’s little air, where there is coughing, breathing, and other human aspects, this can transmit illnesses.

 

Reducing Chances of Getting Ill

 

If this is the case where you or someone else in the family takes a transit daily, they may wish to wear a face mask. In a lot of large cities, some people who use transit systems do wear face masks to reduce or prevent colds, flu’s and other illnesses.

 

I will kindly suggest that you implement extra hand-washing in your family. I am sure that everybody is very hygienic and does wash their hands, however implementing extra hand washing can often reduce the transmission of illnesses.

 

You may also want to ensure that the surfaces in your home have been sanitized, especially the kitchen and bathroom areas. There are solutions you can make or buy in the store if you are prone to family outbreaks of illnesses. I started using Clorox wipes on everything when my family started getting sick a lot and it did seem to cut down on transmission and frequency. You can also use a water and bleach solution to kill germs, or you can buy sanitation sprays and other cleaning products that are made for specific areas in the home. Try to think about the areas that are touched a lot, that one may not think about cleaning daily such as door knobs, closet handles, cupboard handles, toys, and other things.

 

Tips and Advices

 

I am not sure if this is applicable in your case or what your situation is with children’s toys, but if there are toys in the home, please do wash them on a regular basis.  I know it helped my family immensely when my children were in preschool.

 

You may also wish to implement a nutritionally based change in your family diets such as eliminating a lot of sugars, preservatives, and other things in foods which weaken our bodies. Increasing fresh fruits and vegetables and drinking lots of good, clean water also flushes out your system and strengthens the immune system.  I have found that black seed oil, raw honey, dates and turmeric with a little pepper greatly helped in times of illness.  In fact, I do give it to myself and children daily as a smoothie mixed with coconut water as a preventive measure.

 

Conclusion

 

By identifying the source of incoming illnesses such as being around or in crowded places, such as transit systems, daycare, schools and workplaces you can take preventive measures to reduce catching an illness (extra hand washing, face masks, etc.) Disinfecting commonly used items/fixtures surfaces such as doorknobs, counters, and toys etc will insha’Allah, kill anything that may get in or be lingering from a previous or current illness. Increase your family’s nutritional options with more healthy foods, eliminate or reduce harmful foods such as processed foods, sugar, and other “dead” foods.  Introduce holistic herbs, spices, teas and blackseed oil daily for added protection to fight off illnesses. Insha’Allah you can strengthen their immune systems to fight off illnesses. This of course, is not a conclusive list but a lot of people have had good success using these methods. We have all experienced times when our families seem to catch illness after illness.  It is frustrating, but with little changes in awareness, routine, habits and diet, insha’Allah you can reduce the times that you and your family are ill. We wish you the best you are in our prayers.