How to quickly cure a cold in a child

The common cold (or SARS) is a common and frequent occurrence in children under 5 years old. As a rule, a child rarely gets sick before the age of two. Firstly, because it is protected by antibodies that it received with breast milk. Secondly, because he has not yet been in contact with a large number of people. But when the baby begins socialization and goes to kindergarten - everything changes. Even a strong child can get sick almost every month. Do not worry, in most cases this is normal, many children go through adaptation. The body is forming, it is learning to withstand the huge number of viruses and microbes in the world. The task of parents in this situation is to alleviate the course of the disease in various ways, as well as strengthen immunity so that the defenses of the child's body can resist the virus in the future. In this article, you will learn how to distinguish a cold from other diseases, how to suppress a disease at the very beginning, and we will tell you about many ways to quickly and safely treat SARS.

How to understand that a child has caught a cold

The typical symptoms of a cold are a flow from the nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, redness of the eyes. With a cold, the temperature may also rise - although this is not a prerequisite. In general, the health of the crumbs deteriorates - he becomes moody, tearful, asks for his hands, loses his appetite. If the child is more than two years old, and he can already express himself, the children show what exactly hurts. Often with a cold sore throat - the child indicates this. You can examine the mucous membrane of the throat with a clean spoon - if it is red, there should be no doubt - the baby picked up SARS.

Often confused with a cold and food poisoning. Indeed, often a baby at high temperature can suffer from vomiting and diarrhea. If diarrhea and vomiting are repeated, you need to see a doctor as soon as possible, dehydration is extremely dangerous for young children. In this case, a correct diagnosis will also help the throat. If it is not red - most likely, the baby was poisoned. If red - with a high degree of probability we can say that the baby picked up SARS, which, incidentally, can often be manifested by gastrointestinal disorders.

Symptoms of the common cold appear in children who become infected with infectious mononucleosis. The disease causes the Epstein-Barr virus. With this disease, a high temperature appears, which is difficult to bring down, purulent or red throat, lymph nodes increase. To identify the disease, you need to take tests for atypical mononuclear cells.In any case, if you are definitely not sure that this is a cold, you should definitely consult a doctor to make the correct diagnosis.

What to do at the first sign of a cold

If you notice the primary signs of the disease in a child, it is very important to start treatment as soon as possible. After all, early response will suppress the disease in the bud. So what to do if the child is cold or comes from the garden with snot?

1. First of all, you need to warm the baby. If the child does not mind, you can take a hot bath. In any case, the water must first be comfortable and warm, and then the temperature can be gradually raised. Then warmly dress the child.
2. After this, the baby can do a nose wash. Firstly, this will allow the virus to be washed away from the mucosa, which, perhaps, has not yet been fully absorbed into the body. Secondly, washing will help remove excess mucus and relieve swelling, which will allow you to breathe through your nose again. For washing, you can use decoctions of herbs, a solution of furatsilina or miramistin, salt water. Washing can be done simply by placing the spout of the teapot on the baby’s nose. The baby should turn his head to the side until the stream spills out of the other nostril. Show by your own example how the baby should act. Breasts need to rinse their nose with saline. Just drip a drop of saline into each nostril with a pipette. After that, use a nasal aspirator that will draw out all the unnecessary mucus. With serious discharge (purulent in nature), the baby can be taken for washing to the ENT. The Cuckoo device will pull out all that is not needed from the sinuses, and the antibacterial composition resists the further development of inflammation.
3. In addition to washing, the baby can be inhaled. A wonderful device, a nebulizer, sprays mineral water or special preparations into tiny particles that fall directly onto the lungs. The nebulizer perfectly treats cough, snot and red throat, suppresses inflammation in the root. If such a device is not at home, you can just breathe over a basin of hot water, covered with a towel. For inhalation, you can use a decoction of potatoes or chamomile, eucalyptus essential oils or calendula tincture.
4. After this, the baby needs to make a mustard foot bath. The procedure is allowed for children older than three years. In order not to scare and not force the baby, just lower your feet in a basin with hot water along with it. Add a little dry mustard to the liquid. From time to time pour hot water into the basin. After the bath you need to dry your legs well, put on woolen socks on bare skin. This creates an additional effect on the active points of the foot. This massage strengthens the immune system and activates enhanced blood circulation.
5. Mustard bath should be done before bedtime. But before you wish the baby good night, you need to smear his chest and back with badger or goose fat. Fat keeps heat for a long time and warms well. If there is a runny nose, warm your sinuses with boiled eggs or warm salt in a pouch.
6. After that, give your baby tea with raspberries. Raspberry has a powerful diaphoretic property. Such a drink will allow the body to sweat well - most importantly, do not crawl out from under the covers.

Having fulfilled all these conditions, in the morning you don’t remember that the child was sick yesterday. However, remember - this set of measures is effective only at the beginning of the disease.

Plentiful drink and humid air

In all sources for the treatment of colds, you can find recommendations for heavy drinking. However, few people know that the virus is not treated with drugs. All antiviral drugs have only the ability to relieve symptoms. Only liquid can help the virus out of the body. The more the child writes, the faster his recovery will come. You really need to drink a lot. A child of three years should drink at least a liter of fluid per day (during illness). This is the only way to speed recovery.Offer your favorite juices, fruit drinks, sweet tea - anything, just to drink it.

Wet air is another condition for a quick recovery. The virus lives and multiplies in dry and hot air. But in a humid and cool climate, he dies. Ventilate the room more often, install a humidifier, moderate the operation of radiators in the winter, and do daily wet cleaning. In addition to the fact that dry and hot air contributes to the development of the virus, it also overdries the mucous membrane in the nose. This leads to secondary infection. The air quality in the room with a cold is one of the main conditions for recovery.

Medication for the common cold

If it is really a cold, you do not need to treat it with medicines. Providing plenty of drinking and moist air in the room is already the key to a quick recovery. However, often children need help to get rid of the disease as soon as possible. Antipyretic drugs have an excellent anti-inflammatory effect. If given three times a day, regardless of temperature, they help to reduce symptoms and alleviate the condition of the patient. Among them are Nurofen, Ibuklin, Ibufen, etc.

If the baby has a stuffy nose, vasoconstrictive sprays and drops should be used. However, observe the age limit - use only those drugs that are allowed for a child of your age. They can not be used for more than five days. If the runny nose is bacterial in nature, you need to add more powerful drugs - Isofra, Protorgol, Pinosol.

It is mandatory to take antihistamines, even if the baby is not allergic. Zodak, Suprastin, Zirtek will help relieve swelling and relieve nasal congestion.

You can’t take cough drugs uncontrollably, they are permissible only if a doctor has prescribed them for you. Antitussive medicines, such as Sinecode, fight dry cough, suppressing the cough reflex. If cough with sputum, you need to remove it from the lungs. This will help Mukoltin, Lazolvan, Atsts, etc. When sputum goes away, in no case do not drink antitussive drugs - they drown out the cough, sputum is not excreted, this can lead to stagnation.

How else to treat a cold in a child

We have collected for you the most effective and useful ways to treat colds.

1. If there is a tickle in the throat, rinsing will help get rid of them. Kids over three years old can already be taught to gargle. For rinsing, decoctions of herbs, antibacterial solutions or sea water (soda, salt and iodine) are suitable.
2. Parents make a big mistake when they force a sick child to eat, saying that they will not be able to fight the disease. In fact, a lot of energy goes into digesting food. Do not force the child to eat if he does not want to.
3. It is better to refuse for some time from sweet and fresh milk - they increase the inflammation in the throat.
4. If you have a strong cough, you can make a honey mustard cake. Combine honey, a pinch of dry mustard, vegetable oil and flour to make a dough. Roll a cake out of it and attach it to your chest. Leave it overnight. Mustard slightly irritates the skin and enhances blood circulation in the chest area. This promotes the activation of immune cells and accelerates recovery. Honey gently warms, and oil protects tender baby skin from burns.
5. Chopped onions need to be laid out around the house - this disinfects the air. So you not only treat the child, but also protect other household members from infection.
6. For the child to breathe in garlic vapors, place the sliced ​​slices of it in a yellow egg from the kinder and hang it on the neck. In the "egg" make a few holes. So the baby will constantly inhale the smell of garlic, which is very useful for colds.
7. If the child has a stuffy nose, you can use folk recipes and drops. The juice of beets, carrots, aloe and Kalanchoe perfectly treat a runny nose.However, remember that they must be diluted with water at least half, since in pure form the juices are very burning. Before a child drops drops of his own preparation in his nose, you need to try them on yourself. In no case do not drip breast milk into the baby’s nose. It has long been proven that milk is the best food for bacteria, such treatment will only aggravate the disease.
8. Eat more vitamin C. These are citrus fruits, rosehip broth, kiwi. You can eat ascorbic acid - it is sour and many children eat it instead of sweets. If the baby is small, you can add vitamin C to your meal. The pharmacy has a lot of vitamin C in liquid form (usually in drops).

These are simple but time-tested ways to help you quickly raise your child to his feet.

When to see a doctor

You can not be treated without consulting a doctor if there is purulent plaque on the throat - tonsillitis is treated with antibiotics. If there are thick, yellow or green snot - it means that a bacterial infection has joined and you also need a doctor. Any unnatural behavior of the child, uncharacteristic complaints or doubts about the diagnosis should always be discussed with the doctor. You can only be treated at home if the symptoms are understandable and characteristic of the common cold.

To protect the child from the common cold, it is necessary to strengthen immunity - eat right, temper, drink vitamins, spend more time outdoors, actively move. And then there will be fewer colds. And if they do, it will be much easier to proceed. Remember, the health and immunity of the child is in your hands.

Video: how to treat SARS in children