What should I do if my one-year-old child has a runny nose?

Runny nose is a common phenomenon in adults.

What should I do if my baby has a cold and a runny nose?

1. Hot compress: When the nasal mucosa is exposed to heat, it will shrink and the nasal cavity will be more unobstructed.

2. Breast milk drops: The warmth of breast milk can temporarily clear the baby's nasal cavity.

3. Elevate your head: slightly relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion.

4. Help your baby squeeze his nose: the most effective way to help your baby breathe smoothly.

If the baby has a blocked nose, parents can put one or two towels under the child's mattress and slightly raise the head to relieve the nasal congestion. However, never let babies under 2 years old sleep directly on the pillow or place the pillow under the mattress, as this can easily cause suffocation or damage the spine.

Before going to bed at night, you can soak your baby's feet in warm water until his forehead sweats slightly, then drink more warm water and go to bed as early as possible. After going to bed, you can rub your baby's back up and down through the clothes. Rubbing the back to warm it up can help prevent colds. If your baby has a mild nasal congestion, you can rub his little ears until they turn red, which is also very effective in treating nasal congestion. In addition, for babies over 1 year old, add a thin slice of ginger to the soup, and give the baby something light for the next meal, such as porridge, soft noodles, etc.

It should be noted that runny nose caused by colds is caused by viruses. Do not use antibiotics casually for babies with colds. Instead, choose some antiviral drugs. If your baby has a fever, cough, pus in the ears, pain when touching the ears, pain when eating, continuous sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes or tears, you need to take your baby to the hospital for diagnosis without delay.

How to take care of a child with a runny nose?

1. Heat

Use a hot, damp washcloth to apply a warm compress to your baby's nose. As the nasal mucosa shrinks when exposed to heat, the nasal cavity becomes more unobstructed and the sticky mucus becomes easier to hydrate and flow out. Be gentle when applying hot compress. If you find mucus in your baby's nostrils, you can first clean it with a cotton swab dipped in water; you can also slowly massage the baby's nose or both sides of the nose.

2 Facial Steamer

Hold the facial steamer against your baby's face to expose him to moisture and heat. Steam can moisten your baby's nasal cavity and drain a lot of mucus quickly and naturally. When using the facial steamer, do not place it too close to the baby to avoid hurting his delicate skin; and the time of use at one time should not be too long, about 3 minutes is enough.

3. Increase the indoor temperature

Because infants and young children are particularly sensitive to external environment and air stimulation, they are prone to runny nose in seasons or rooms with a sudden drop in temperature. When parents find that the room temperature is low, they can raise the room temperature to relieve the baby's nasal congestion and runny nose symptoms.

4 Nasal Aspirator

When the baby's nose has a lot of secretions and a heavy nasal sound, the mother can use a nasal aspirator. When using it, be careful to press the other nostril at the same time when aspirating one nostril, and the effect will be better. In addition, the nasal aspirator can absorb a large amount of nasal mucus and secretions at one time. Before use, it is recommended that parents check whether there is any nasal mucus in the baby's nasal cavity. Keep the action gentle to avoid going too deep into the baby's nasal cavity to cause pain or injury. Clean it thoroughly after use.

5. Raise your head

Place several small pillows evenly under the mattress under your baby's head to make the mattress look like a smooth, 30-degree slide. Although it is only a temporary auxiliary method and does not address the root cause, when a runny nose interferes with your baby's sleep, this method can slightly relieve your baby's symptoms and improve his sleep.