This winter, there are especially many children with cough and phlegm. These days, a large number of children around are recruited one after another, many children cough and phlegm for a long time is not good, or just a few days, a new wave of coming, this is really anxious for parents and mothers. A cough is quasi-phlegm, cough cough can not be coughed out, the little guy's small face cough is red, the throat has been making a "purring" sound; breathing is not smooth, especially at night when sleeping, often sleep until half of the time to wake up. When a child coughs, the first reaction of many parents is to take cough medicine, but in fact, this is not right. Today we will talk to mothers about what method is most effective when the baby coughs and has phlegm
Why does your child have phlegm
Before discussing how to deal with phlegm, let's first look at why phlegm is there:
1. Respiratory tract infection
There are many causes of sputum in the respiratory tract, and respiratory infections are one of the possibilities. When infection occurs in the respiratory tract (often viruses, rarely bacteria, etc.), because of local inflammatory reactions, the secretion of mucus from the respiratory epithelium increases, producing sputum.
2. Allergies
If your child develops respiratory allergies, more mucus will also be produced on the surface of the respiratory tract, which will form sputum.
3. Laryngeal cartilage dysplasia
There are also a small number of babies with mild to moderate laryngeal cartilage, and soon after birth, there will be a burst of phlegm in the mouth, which is more pronounced when feeding or sleeping. If the child does not usually cough, eats, sleeps, grows and develops normally, but often has a "sputum sound" (not caused by sputum), consider the possibility of laryngeal cartilage dysplasia. In general, this situation will gradually improve as the child grows up.
Children with phlegm: it is a protective mechanism of the body
Sputum may be a disease state in which the respiratory tract secretes components of special mucus. Even if we are not sick, the goblet cells of our respiratory epithelium constantly secrete mucus. This mucus is very important to us, it can maintain the surface of the respiratory mucosa moist, to a certain extent humidify the air entering the lungs, while sticking to the tiny particles and pathogens that are harmful to the human body that enter the respiratory tract with the air. The mucus also contains antibodies that recognize bacteria and viruses and can kill enzymes that invade pathogens. After this respiratory infection, the phenomenon of increased sputum is actually a protective mechanism of our body, which helps to clean up viruses or bacteria that invade the respiratory tract.
Does your baby have phlegm that must be dissolved?
Since we say that sputum is a secretion produced by the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, it can adhere to dust and pathogens. When the respiratory tract is stimulated, such as pathogen infection, smoke irritates the respiratory tract, sputum will be secreted more vigorously to better adhere to and remove these irritants. After sputum is produced, through the mechanisms of respiratory cilia swinging, coughing, etc., the sputum can be excreted from the body, which also discharges the dust, bacteria, viruses, and necrotic cells that are adhered to it, and the respiratory tract is protected.
Since sputum after infection is a protective mechanism, and the human body has a mechanism for self-excretion, in most cases, sputum will not cause harm to us, so it is not necessary to melt phlegm as soon as there is phlegm.
People take it for granted that eating "phlegm medicine" "dissolves" the phlegm of the respiratory tract, and when the phlegm is gone, the disease will be better. In fact, during infection and in the later stage of infection, the sputum of the respiratory tract is constantly secreted and cannot be "dissolved". Current clinical studies have shown that there is no evidence that children with respiratory infections can benefit from taking phlegm drugs, and eating or not taking "sputum drugs" has no effect on the recovery of the disease. Considering the potential adverse effects of sputum reducer, it is not recommended to easily use "sputum drug" for children with sputum.
After the baby has phlegm, how should it be solved
The child has phlegm, which does not necessarily cause harm to the child's body, but it may make the child very uncomfortable, so parents can do something to alleviate the baby's discomfort.
1. Drink more warm boiled water
In life, the three words "drink more water" mostly sound very chicken ribs, but for babies coughing and phlegm, "drinking more water" is really a simple and effective solution. The reason why sputum cannot be discharged is because it is very viscous, and the baby cannot master the technique of coughing up phlegm like adults. Give your baby more water to dilute sputum, moisten the respiratory mucous membranes, and help the sputum drain. But give the baby more water this thing can not be too much, if the baby does not want to drink, do not force the baby to drink, excessive water supplementation is not beneficial.
Ask a tip:
3 months to 1 year old: drink warm water in small quantities and times, about 4 times a day, 5-15mL each time; especially for small babies, do not feed too much at one time, so as not to increase the burden on the kidneys. You can also give your child more vegetables and fruits with a lot of water, which can also help replenish water.
Over 1 year old: You can add a little honey to the water in an appropriate amount, 2-5mL each time (drink some water after feeding, maintain oral hygiene), or give the child more warm liquid food, such as thin porridge, chicken soup, etc., which is also a kind of water supplement.
2. Increase air humidity, moisten the baby's respiratory tract, and help to expel phlegm
Increasing the humidity of the surrounding air is also helpful for sputum discharge, and the humidifier can be opened appropriately to adjust the indoor humidity. Or take the kids to the steam room for a while, like the bathroom that just took a shower, which also works.
3. Pat your back
The first two methods, which are thinning sputum and moistening the respiratory tract, can serve two purposes: helping your baby swallow phlegm into the stomach (yes, you read that right, it is swallowing into the stomach). Although it sounds a little disgusting, there is no substantial harm). When coughing, follow the wet airway and cough up part of the sputum. Whether it is swallowed in the stomach or coughed out, it is always up to the baby himself, but some "stubborn" phlegm still needs parental help, the most direct way is to pat the back.
4. When necessary, atomization can be considered
The atomizer will take the drug in the form of a mist, directly from the baby's nose and mouth to the entire respiratory tract, which is conducive to coughing, asthma, and also conducive to cleaning up and discharging sputum. Many people may be worried about the side effects of atomization, in fact, for small babies, this is a more effective way, directly acting on the respiratory tract, without the use of systemic medication, especially for small babies, very targeted, not only fast effect, but also small side effects. Therefore, there is no need to blindly reject, if the doctor feels that it is necessary to use, it is recommended to listen to the doctor's advice.
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