Is it normal for a newborn to sleep with his mouth open?

It is normal for newborns to sleep with their mouths open. At this time, parents must find ways to let their children gradually change to nasal breathing. We know that sleeping with the mouth open will cause some dust or some germs to enter the body, which will have a greater impact on the child's health. Especially at this time, we must pay attention to if the child has nasal congestion, we must understand the specific cause.

Is it normal for a newborn to sleep with his mouth open?

When the baby sleeps with his mouth open, the mother can get close to the baby and listen to whether he exhales through the nose or the mouth. The mother can also try with her hand. If the baby breathes through the mouth, that is not good. Sleeping with the mouth open will force children to breathe through their mouths because their nasal cavity is blocked. There are cilia in the nasal cavity, which can expel microorganisms and dust inhaled with the air when they move. There are also paranasal sinuses in the nasal cavity, which can warm the inhaled air. Breathing through the mouth deprives children of this protective mechanism, making them prone to illness.

If the baby has blocked nostrils, you can let the baby drink more water. You can also use a cotton swab dipped in water to gently touch the nostrils. When the nasal crust softens, gently take it out and clean the baby's nostrils.

It is a pathological condition for children to breathe with their mouths open while sleeping. It is harmful to their development and health. The cause should be found and corrected actively. Children usually breathe through their mouths due to some disease, such as rhinitis, sinusitis, hypertrophy of tonsils and tonsils, etc. It is because of the existence of the disease that the nasal cavity is blocked, forcing breathing to find another channel.

The dangers of mouth breathing include:

It affects the normal development of the child's face and causes an ugly appearance, such as a sunken nasal root, atrophied nasal wings, crowded teeth, protruding upper front teeth, high arched palate, etc. At the same time, the child looks dull and lacks expression, which is medically called proliferative facies. Over time, it will also affect intellectual development, manifesting as decreased memory, slow reaction, and lower IQ.

In addition, when breathing through the mouth instead of the nose, the air inhaled into the lungs cannot become as gentle and moist as it would be through the nasal cavity. On the one hand, it will damage tissues such as the trachea and alveoli, and on the other hand, it will make the oral mucosa dry and easy to crack, change the normal pressure in the mouth, weaken the resistance to pathogens, and induce a variety of oral diseases.

For children who have developed the habit of breathing through their mouths, parents should not only take their children to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment in time, but also use the following methods to correct it: let the child wear a mask when sleeping. The mask is made of 4 layers of gauze with a layer of plastic film in the middle of the gauze. When wearing a mask, the child's nose must be exposed. After a period of training, most children can change the bad habit of breathing through their mouths.