Snot in a month old baby: what to do?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Every loving mother always takes care of her child and tries to protect him from all troubles and misfortunes. However, it is not always possible to protect the child from viruses, infections and allergens. Often the child has snot. The first thought that arises in young mothers: "What to do?". In this article, we will just try to figure out how to treat snot in a one-month-old baby, and whether it should be done at all.

Snot in the baby

Newborn babies can change very often. However, each change should not be regarded as a threat to their life and he alth. There are certain physiological changes that help the little man adapt to this complex world. One of these conditions is snot.

Snot in a month old baby is not always an indicator of the disease. During the first month of life, many systems and organs of the baby continue to develop. This also applies to the mucous membrane of the child. After all, now sheit is necessary to adapt to the new changed conditions of existence. In the womb, the mucosa was not bothered by anything, and now she needs to constantly be in contact with dust, microbes and all kinds of allergens. Sometimes the most adequate reaction to an irritant is snot. The mucous membrane thus tries to get rid of the irritant, preventing it from getting further and entailing unpleasant consequences.

In this case, the increase in mucus production is called the physiological runny nose.

Causes of a runny nose

We found out that snot in a month old baby is absolutely normal. But do not forget that there are still a lot of reasons that can cause a runny nose. In this case, you need to contact a specialist. These reasons include:

• infections;
• allergens (pollen, animal dander, hygiene products);
• dry, dusty air (contributes to overdrying of the mucosa and a greater likelihood of injury);
• low temperature (threatens to cause colds and stuffy nasal passages);
• anatomical features of the nasal passages (may lead to impaired airflow and, as a result, stagnation of mucus and swelling of the mucosa);
• mucosal injury (as a result of improper care);
• overheating (decrease in the protective function of the mucosa due to increased sweating and drying of the mucosa due to dehydration).

Manifestations of a runny nose

Beforeto decide what to do with snot in a month-old baby, it is necessary to consider the symptoms of rhinitis. The most important thing that depends on the parents is to detect the onset of the disease in time. Usually during the first 3-4 days the snot is watery and clear in color. After that, the snot becomes thicker and acquires a yellow tint. Usually 10 days is enough to get rid of the symptoms of a runny nose.

You should pay attention to the fact that if rhinitis is caused by allergens, then the snot remains watery throughout the duration of the runny nose.

Usually, snot in a one-month-old baby is accompanied by the following conditions:

• appearance of breathing through the mouth due to nasal congestion (sniffling);
• dry mouth;
• changes in behavior (harmfulness, whims, irritability, anxiety);
• sleep disorders;
• difficulty breastfeeding (baby refuses to breastfeed);
• manifestations of dyspepsia (due to swallowing large amounts of air during feeding).

When should I see a pediatrician?

How to understand that the snot in a month-old baby is a symptom of the disease, which means it can cause complications? You need to carefully monitor your baby, because no one knows him better than yourself. So, if you notice that the child began to act up, became restless, breastfeeding becomes problematic, because the baby constantly throws the breast, and you also hear wheezing, then you need to visit a pediatrician.

Young children have a peculiarity -their salivary glands are very active. As a result, the child may blow "bubbles" from the mouth and nose. Some parents take it for snot, but they are wrong. But when a month-old baby has snot and cough, then most likely in this case we will talk about a disease, and not about a physiological runny nose.

The most important indicator is the overall well-being of the child. If the baby is active, strives to explore the world and is gaining weight well, then there is no particular cause for concern.

Why should you not delay the treatment of the common cold?

Since the immune system is not yet stable in young children, it is impossible to delay the treatment of snot. In addition, due to the anatomical features in children, often complications of a runny nose spread to the ears, causing otitis media.

Respiratory organs are also often affected. Therefore, the infection in the nose must be removed as soon as possible, preventing it from spreading to other organs. Frequent illnesses that provoke a runny nose and weakened immunity can even lead to developmental delay.

If a child has green snot, this is the first bell to see a doctor. This may mean the development of a bacterial environment in the nasopharynx. But when an admixture of blood is observed in the discharge from the nose, this indicates the presence of an inflammatory process and damage to the capillaries of the mucous membrane.

Snot in crumbs at 2 months: treatment

When starting to deal with snot in a 2-month-old baby, it is necessary to accurately determine the cause of their occurrence. Righta diagnosis can be made by a qualified specialist and only after passing the necessary tests. Doctors often prescribe treatment and preventive measures for the baby.

You need to start by washing your nose. To do this, use special preparations based on sea water ("Aquamaris", "Akvalor", "Salin") or ordinary saline, 2 drops in each nasal passage. After these manipulations, the nasal passages are cleaned with an aspirator from mucus.

You can also brew chamomile and sage. This decoction will not only help get rid of accumulated mucus, it will relieve inflammation and have a wound healing effect.

When nasal congestion, pediatricians prescribe vasoconstrictor drops such as "Nazivin" or "Nazol Baby". However, these drugs have a number of side effects. They are addictive, dry out the mucous membranes, itching may appear, so you should not use them longer than the prescribed period.

Rhinitis treatment at 3 months

Snot in a 3-month-old baby can be mucopurulent or purulent. In this case, pediatricians can prescribe antiseptics. The most popular drug is Protargol. It is based on silver, which is safe for infants.

Albucid is also used. Although these are eye drops, they are effective in the fight against purulent rhinitis.

You should pay attention to the fact that antiseptics can greatly dry out the mucous membrane and even lead to burns. Therefore, they must be accepted.very carefully and clearly follow the recommendations of the doctor. Pediatricians themselves are in no hurry to prescribe them if it is possible to do without them.

Causes of a runny nose at 5 months

Snot in a 5-month-old baby is a fairly common phenomenon. At this time, the body loses the immune protection received from the mother, and "transitions" to its own immunity. This hole in his immunity leads to frequent illnesses accompanied by a runny nose.

In addition, at 4-5 months, children generally begin to erupt their first teeth. This process can lead to a decrease in immune defenses and the occurrence of an allergic rhinitis.

At the age of five months, diseases accompanied by a runny nose, at first have a plentiful transparent secret. There is an inflammatory process and nasal congestion. In addition, a runny nose can lead to lack of oxygen, insomnia, or refusal to breast or bottle.

The treatment process begins with the care of the nasal passages. They need to be constantly cleaned, try to prevent stagnation of mucus and drying of the mucosa. It is the mucosa in this case that is the protective barrier of the body.

At this age, heating of the nasal passages is allowed. To do this, use bags with heated s alt. They are applied to each nasal sinus for 10 minutes. This increases blood flow, relieves intoxication and strengthens the body's defenses.

However, not every runny nose can be warmed up. With a viral disease, this procedure will benefit, but with a bacterial one, on the contrary, it will aggravate the situation. Because the elevated temperatureand a humid atmosphere speeds up the reproduction of microbes.

Therapy at 6 months of age

Treatment of snot in a 6-month-old baby is practically no different from previous age periods. However, there is one controversial method of treatment. This is the instillation of breast milk into the nose. The older generation actively advises treating a runny nose in this way, arguing that breast milk contains numerous mother's immune cells.

Pediatricians have a different opinion on this matter. They are categorically against this therapeutic method. This can only aggravate the situation and cause the development of other pathologies. Since milk is a product that can lose its freshness, dropping it into the nasal passages can cause a fungal infection. After all, an acidic, humid environment is a paradise for fungi and bacteria.

Consequently, mother's milk is only suitable for oral use. Only in this case, it will benefit the baby by helping his immunity.