CHALLENGE IN BABIES
WHAT IS FRESH?
Influenza is a nose and throat disease that occurs with more than 200 viruses. It is also known as the common cold. After 1 or 2 days of cold formation, it may last for 1 week in adults, 1 or 1.5 weeks in infants and children. Although a cold is confused with the flu a lot, it is a disease that you can easily overcome with a cold. In addition, when you have a cold, you have a runny nose, but flu does not.
How is the cold transmitted?
The common cold is a respiratory illness. The most rapidly affected segment of this disease is individuals over 65 years of age, infants and children.
Cold in Babies
Although a cold may seem like a mild inconvenience, it can cause serious problems in babies. They become quite restless because they cannot fully indicate the cleanliness of their noses. They try to breathe through their mouths, but this tires their little bodies a lot. The first symptom of a cold (cold) in babies is a stuffy nose and then a runny nose. The color of the runny nose becomes darker and this means that the disease is progressing. Other symptoms include increased body temperature, loss of appetite, trouble falling asleep or waking up immediately, sneezing, coughing and restlessness.
In case of nasal obstruction, babies can be easily cleaned with a nasal aspirator, as they will not show an attitude towards you in the first 6 months. However, as the baby grows, he begins to resist such tools. At this time, under the supervision of your doctor, saline nasal drops will provide you with a lot of convenience.
How Should Babies Be Treated for Colds?
When a cold is seen in babies, first of all, it should be checked whether they have a fever. If there is a fever in the body, it is necessary to reduce the fever. However, there are natural ways to reduce fever that do not only require drug treatment. Taking a shower with your baby for 15 minutes with warm water will help you to reduce the fever, and it also relaxes your baby as it relaxes your baby's muscles. After the bath, you should dress your baby in light and thin clothes.
Since fever is a big problem in babies younger than 2 months, you should immediately go to a specialist doctor.
When Do Babies Have a Cold?
Babies are always ready to get sick because their metabolism is just starting. But this rate increases even more between September and February. In this regard, it is a good measure to protect your baby thoroughly when going out. It is more important to take precautions such as not putting the baby in crowded environments, keeping it away from smoking environments, keeping it away from places where sick people are present and from public transportation, which should always be done during these months.
Importance of Breast Milk in Colds
It has been researched and revealed that babies who consume breast milk have a more robust metabolism compared to babies who do not. Breast milk consumed in the first 6 months keeps the baby more defensive against microbes. Because breast milk is rich in antibodies. In cases such as colds, the mother should breastfeed her baby more often. If the baby consumes additional food in addition to breast milk, it will be more beneficial to dilute the foods consumed.
In addition, infants younger than 6 months are not vaccinated against influenza. Although cold is a milder illness than the flu, this makes the baby's defense mechanism very low. In this case, the importance of breast milk increases even more. As a matter of fact, the importance of breast milk for 6 months comes from this. The baby's body is provided by antibodies from breast milk. Babies who consume breast milk more easily overcome diseases related to the upper respiratory tract.