COMMON COLD IN BABIES
Baby down with cold and fever is the common thing most mothers need to get over. But how? This is the question that kept haunting since years. To help your baby deal with it, read this article.
Viruses or bacteria cause most respiratory disorders in children. As they do not have strong immunity,young children are more prone to infections.
The common cold is a viral infection of the nose and throat. It is a minor but contagious illness that occurs frequently in children. Young children might have at least 6 colds a year. But some school going children even have 10 colds a year because of constant exposure.
Symptoms:
- A tickly or scratchy feeling in the throat.
- Runny nose
- Sneezing
- A blocked nose which may make eating difficult
- Cough and sore throat
- Watering nose
- Muscular aches
- Sometimes fever
Cause: Many different viruses cause common cold. Immunity gained as a result of infection with one strain does not provide protection from another. As a result infections occur repeatedly. Children attending nursery school are particularly susceptible to colds because they are exposed to different kinds of viruses to which they have not yet become immune.
Cold viruses spread by inhaling droplets that come out when another person sneezes or coughs out. The viruses may also spread through direct contact with an infected person or object.
Relief:
Most colds clear up within a week. Meanwhile the following measures should help in relieving the symptoms:
- Keep your child’s room at a comfortable temperature.
- Make sure that your child drinks plenty of fluids.
- A baby with a cold should be given small feeds at frequent intervals.
- You may give paracetamol liquid to relieve a sore throat and any aches. However, give medicines only when you feel cold is not subsiding after a couple of days.
Should the baby be taken to the doctor?
Your baby should be seen by a doctor within 24 hours if he or she has fever of102 degrees Fahrenheit or if he or she is refusing to eat. A baby under 2 months should be taken to a doctor within a few hours. If cough has not improved after 5 days, see the doctor.
A blocked nose due to a cold, flu, or more rarely form an allergy, but is quite common in childhood. It is not serious. Excess mucus in the nose, which results in sniffling or a runny nose, is usually caused by a cold virus. The mucus membranes lining, the nasal passages become inflamed, swollen and congested and hence block the nose.
The secretions produced by cold virus usually start off being clear and runny, but may become thick and yellow as the body’s defences attack the infection.
Treatment:
Encourage your child to blow her nose frequently. Show her how to clean one nostril first, then the other. Inhaled menthol in the form of chest rub or drops on your child’s pillow or clothes may help.
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