SARS in infants: treatment, symptoms, consequences. An effective antiviral drug

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

Why do doctors often diagnose SARS in babies? Treatment and symptoms, prevention are the main issues that parents are interested in.

Carrying a baby inside herself for 9 months, the mother protects him from various infectious and viral diseases thanks to her immune system. As soon as the baby is born, his body must defend itself, adapt to the viruses and infections that affect it.

Since the baby's immune system is not yet fully formed, parents are faced with a problem: the baby has a cold. What to do? How to help the baby? What effective antiviral drug to choose? Consider these questions.

What diseases are included in the SARS group?

Diagnosing ARVI in a baby, the doctor selects an individual treatment in each case. This situation is easily explained. SARS is the name of a group of diseases caused by viruses in the respiratory tract.

As shown by medical reference books, the SARS group includes the following diseases:

• Adenoviral infection. It affects the eyes, upper respiratory tract and intestines of a child.
• Influenza and parainfluenza. There is a general intoxication of the body, inflammation in the larynx.
• Inflammatory processes in the upper and lower respiratory tract.
• A respiratory syncytial infection that causes inflammation in the lower airways.

As medical statistics show, babies get SARS from 1 to 7 times in infancy. And here it is very important to get qualified help, proper treatment, since the consequences of SARS in infants can be serious. It has also been proven that excessive use of drugs can block the production of one's own antibodies to the virus.

Features of the course of SARS in children under six months

In the first six months of life, it is important to think about how a mother does not infect her baby with a cold. Basically, contact with viruses occurs precisely through mother or guests who come to the house.

SARS in infants, symptoms and treatment have their own characteristics. First, the disease manifests itself gradually. The child becomes lethargic, may be capricious, the body temperature rises slightly. Symptoms of SARS are mild, and many parents associate such manifestations with teething, weather changes, and mild hypothermia.

If you do not consult a doctor in a timely manner and do not start treatment, then the clinical picture appears brighter. The baby refuses to eat, stops breastfeeding, rapidly loses weight. May startweak cough, nasal congestion, which is manifested by sniffing in a dream. Vomiting will also be a common symptom.

Features of treatment

Having established the development of SARS in infants, treatment should be started as soon as possible, as serious inflammatory processes in the ear or lungs, bronchi can begin. Inflammatory processes in the larynx are also not uncommon. This is caused by the anatomical features of children under one year old, when the cough is strong and paroxysmal, preventing the child from breathing fully.

The presence of SARS in infants in the first 6 months of life Komarovsky regards as a positive, natural stress that helps the immune system to fight viruses and bacteria in the future.

What young mothers need to pay attention to in the first 6 months of a baby's life with SARS

When treating SARS in infants, Komarovsky draws the attention of parents to the following:

1. Babies are strictly forbidden to be vaccinated. Those vaccinations that are scheduled should be postponed for at least 1 month. After the illness, the baby's immune system is weakened, so the vaccine will be an additional blow, the consequences of which are difficult to predict.
2. Do not come into contact with people who have symptoms of the virus and infectious disease within 1-2 months. This will help prevent reinfection.
3. The room in which the baby is located should be regularly ventilated. The air temperature should not exceed 22 degrees. Airing should be carried out at least 5 times a day, despite the weather outside the window.
4. Not worth itincrease the intensity of feeding the child. After recovery, the body is weakened, so the crumbs may not have an appetite. For a full recovery, mother's milk is enough according to the established diet.
5. Don't go overboard with baby clothes. It must allow the skin to breathe. It is strictly forbidden to dress a child in warm clothes or wrap up. Sweat is moisture that will cause weight loss after recovery.



6. The use of throat sprays in the first 6 months of life is strictly prohibited. There are many cases when a child develops a spasm of the larynx and suffocation occurs.

What medications can my baby take in the first 6 months of life?

An effective antiviral drug for a baby in the first 6 months has not yet been found. Doctors advise not to use drugs at all, especially antibiotics, as they can cause allergic reactions and intestinal disorders.

Medications are used only when the baby's condition is critical and it cannot be cured in any other way.

Doctors say that drugs for ARVI for children of the first year are not needed, it is enough to create optimal conditions and seek qualified help in time.

Among the useful recommendations are the following:

1. Optimum air temperature and humidity in the room. This helps to protect the baby from overheating, sore throat and drycough.
2. Don't force feed your baby.
3. Use as much liquid as possible. If the baby refuses water, then it is better to use drugs for oral rehydration.
4. Regularly clean your nose. S alt solution can be used for this. By removing regularly accumulated mucus, you can not only reduce the concentration of viruses, but also improve the breathing, sleep and nutrition of the baby.
5. Don't use nasal vasoconstrictors, they can be addictive.
6. Always accompanies the temperature in the baby with ARVI, but it is necessary to fight it with the help of drugs only with indicators from 38.5 degrees. All fever reducers should be paracetamol or ibuprofen based.

Features of the treatment of children from 6 months to a year

In the period from 6 months to a year, the chances of SARS in infants increase. Treatment in this case will already include certain drugs prescribed by the doctor. But each of these drugs is highly effective if used in the first 2 days after infection.

The incubation period for acute respiratory viral infections in infants can vary from 1 to 3 days, while the symptoms will gradually appear.

High temperature is always an indication for hospitalization of a child whose age does not exceed 1 year. Delay is dangerous to his life.

What parents need to know

At this age, it is already necessary to bring down the temperature from 38 degrees, sohow many children have a high seizure threshold. In the case when a child has a history of severe diseases of the nervous, cardiovascular or respiratory systems, then a temperature increase above 37.5 is very dangerous.

To reduce the temperature, it is better to use paracetamol-based suppositories. Drugs containing acetylsalicylic acid and analgin are strictly prohibited. These components can cause serious and severe side effects. The most dangerous is Reye's syndrome or agranulocytosis.

Doctors for children of this age group can prescribe nasal drops, but not more than 2-3 days. They will only be effective if the baby is given nasal lavage with soda or saline.

With a strong cough, drugs may already be prescribed to thin the sputum and expectorate it. To speed up recovery, juices and fruit drinks from such plants are recommended for kids: viburnum, black radish (with honey), lemon (with honey), raspberry.

The stage of natural stimulation of the immune system will be important. Doctors recommend the use of multivitamin complexes, ascorbic acid, echinacea tinctures, ginseng.

Any treatment should be prescribed only by a doctor! It is strictly forbidden to use drugs at your own discretion, you cannot treat ARVI with drugs that were used in previous times of the disease. Their effectiveness will be low, because the body is always addictive and adapting the virus to certain drugs.

In what cases it is necessary to immediately call an ambulancehelp

A baby under the age of one cannot talk about his feelings during SARS. Parents can only see the symptoms, whims, apathy of the baby. But there are cases when it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, otherwise the child may develop serious complications. We list the most common cases:

1. Severe chills, high temperature, which has not been knocked down by drugs for more than 45 minutes. This condition can cause seizures.
2. Sudden loss of consciousness.
3. Short breathing accompanied by wheezing, inability to inhale to the full chest.
4. Diarrhea and vomiting that won't stop. Many parents associate such symptoms with poisoning, but they can also be a sign of intoxication during SARS.
5. Severe inflammation of the throat, accompanied by swelling of the larynx.
6. Purulent discharge that appeared with sputum.
7. Increased cough, its paroxysmal character.

What serious complications can SARS lead to?

Unfortunately, not all parents understand how serious the consequences of ignoring medical care for ARVI can be. Self-treatment, the use of medications at one's own discretion or on the advice of a pharmacist, traditional medicine can cause the development of such complications:

• False croup. At the age of up to a year, such a complication can pose a threat to the life of the baby. Due to the fact that the lumen in the larynx narrows, the normal passage of air is blocked. Atthe baby may develop asphyxia.
• The most dangerous has always been allergic stenosis. It develops rapidly after the use of a certain medication. The most important task of parents is to cope with their own panic. The child should be taken out to fresh air and an ambulance should be called immediately.
• Bronchiolitis. Such a reaction is a common occurrence in infants with SARS. Children in the first 5 days of illness may experience severe respiratory failure. A viscous discharge comes from the nose, which does not go well. The cough is dry and paroxysmal. The child cannot inhale fully, and the exhalation is long and intermittent. In its course, bronchiolitis resembles an attack of bronchial asthma in an adult. Treatment of such children is carried out only in the hospital, as the baby may urgently need oxygen therapy.
• Inflammation of the lungs. If the baby has an infection, then the condition worsens sharply, and the inflammatory process descends into the lungs. Treatment is carried out only in a hospital.
• Otitis and sinusitis. This complication mainly occurs after the treatment of ARVI. A he althy child has anxiety, a cry, he shakes his head, the temperature rises again. Treatment will also be carried out only in a hospital under the supervision of a doctor.
• Sinusitis. It manifests itself on the 6-7th day after SARS. The child begins to cry, turn his head, his sleep is disturbed. Discharge with an unpleasant odor and impurities of pus begins to come out of the nose. The face clearly shows signs of puffiness. With light pressure onsinuses and cheeks the baby starts to cry. Sinusitis always requires emergency treatment, since the anatomical structure of the newborn is the minimum distance from the nasal, ear sinuses to the brain membrane. With a strong inflammatory process, there is always a high probability of inflammation of the meninges.

Prevention of SARS in infants, how to protect a child from infection

You don't have to wait until your child gets sick. Prevention of SARS in infants always helps to solve several problems. Firstly, the risk of infection is minimized, and secondly, the body becomes resistant to re-infection. By choosing a comprehensive approach, you can protect the baby not only in infancy, but also in subsequent years of being in kindergarten and school.

Following these simple recommendations, you can always get a lasting effect and a strong immune system.

1. Minimize the amount of contact the baby has with sick people. You need to understand that infection of the baby is possible not only at home, but also when traveling in public transport, in the queues of a hospital or a store. It is also worth protecting the child in the event that one of the relatives is ill. In this case, the sick person should wear a bandage that will reduce the amount of viruses spread by coughing and sneezing.
2. Regular airing of the room. At any age, fresh air from the street is useful for a person. It will help to humidify the air in the room, reduce the temperature to optimal levels, and avoid stagnation.
3. Viruses have the ability to persistfor a long time indoors, not only in the air, but also in things, interior items. The key to he alth will be daily wet cleaning. Frequently used items should be wiped down every day: door handles, switches.
4. Wash hands with soap and water before touching a baby.
5. If the family has a baby, it is recommended that all other family members undergo preventive vaccination. Many doctors recommend that parents get vaccinated even before pregnancy is planned. This will help develop a child's powerful immunity against SARS viruses.

SARS in infants, symptoms and treatment, preventive measures - these are the basic concepts that all parents should know. Awareness, the ability to identify the symptoms of the disease in time and qualified medical care are the basis for a quick recovery and good he alth later.