Snot is made up of proteins, salts and water. They stand out from the nose, have the consistency of mucus, their tone and intensity can be different. These secretions may include trace amounts of blood, pus. The appearance of a small number of snot is natural for a perfectly healthy person. They prevent the loss of water, dehydration of the respiratory tract, and also guarantee protection against dust, microorganisms.
With the influence on the mucosa of any kind of stimuli, the formation of snot is activated, however, they do not change color. Colorless snot is characteristic of both allergic rhinitis and viral without bacterial infection. But the greenish, yellowish, dark brown color of these mucous secretions is considered a sign of the inflammatory process, the presence of infection in the body. The color can help with the diagnosis, the doctor will immediately establish that the greenish snot is characteristic of a bacterial infection.
Therefore, it is important to know how to cure green snot in an adult quickly and effectively. The same applies to the child.
Why do green snot occur in adults?
The secretion of a green shade from the nose indicates one thing - the formation of a bacterial infection.
Most often this happens against a background of low immunity due to an experienced viral disease. In such cases, the so-called water from the nose is replaced by yellowish or greenish snot.
This is because in the fight against viral particles, immunity uses interferons, which destroy the activity of pathogens and lead to their death.
When a bacterial infection is attached, completely different mechanisms and elements, namely leukocytes, are used to protect the body and resume its normal activity.
These cells are in the blood and are functional only with respect to microorganisms, when interacting with which they are destroyed.
It is fragments of leukocytes and bacterial cells that give nasal secretions a greenish color of different saturation. For this reason, the only thing that the snot is greenish is the intense war of the body with pathogenic microorganisms.
Often the following factors affect the appearance of the disease:
- hypothermia;
- stress transfer;
- exhausting physiological loads;
- the occurrence of serious pathologies of other organs that have a great impact on the functioning of the immune system, etc.
What diseases can be triggered?
The mechanism of why yellow, pale green, or dark green snot occurs, remains the same. Diseases accompanied by a similar phenomenon, a certain number. It:
- acute and protracted sinusitis, in particular sinusitis;
- bacterial rhinitis;
- adenoiditis.
But if adenoiditis is extremely rare in adults, then rhinitis and sinusitis are very common. However, this is no reason to relate to the situation through the sleeves, since in the absence of a quick and effective treatment, the infection can simply switch to other organs, including the brain, and be a factor in the formation of life-threatening complications, for example:
- meningitis;
- encephalitis;
- sepsis;
- phlegmon;
- abscess of different tissues and structures and others.
Sinusitis
This unpleasant pathology, if untreated, eventually develops into a chronic form and begins to bother patients several times a year.
Therefore, you need to be able to determine the ailment in the initial stages, then undergo a whole course of treatment. Pathology is characterized by:
- severe nasal congestion;
- first yellowish, and then intensely greenish or even greenish-brown discharge from one nostril or two;
- headache;
- sometimes the temperature is constantly elevated;
- a feeling of fullness, discomfort on one or two sides of the nose near the eyes, increasing with the head tilted forward;
- severe weakness and a feeling of weakness.
The main indicator of sinusitis is considered to be snot discharge only in the morning, as the outflow of mucus from the sick sinuses is restored during the night. Throughout the day, only a strong nasal congestion is observed, which provokes the appearance of a headache.
Sinusitis is able to pass both with temperature and without it. It reaches greater values in severe cases, if in the maxillary sinuses accumulate not simple, but acute-purulent discharge. In such cases, they will have a rich yellow color and a strong unpleasant odor.
Noticing such signs in yourself, you do not need to think about what this means. It should as soon as possible go to the ENT and begin therapy, so that sinusitis subsequently does not become a permanent travel companion of life.
Bacterial rhinitis
Bacterial rhinitis does not bring patients as many problems as sinusitis, but they should not be neglected. Often it provokes the development of bronchitis and other diseases.
With it, it is extremely rare that the general condition is greatly violated. As a rule, a person is able to carry out his own daily direct duties, and the presence of an ailment is indicated only by the release of greenish mucus from the nose of a different consistency.
Moreover, in some cases, there may even be greenish snot with blood. If there are few reddish veins in the secretions, most likely, this is the result of a slight mechanical damage to the mucous membrane by blowing or pulling out the crusts.
But if there is a rather large amount of blood, this can be an indicator of the presence of a surgical pathology, for example, the formation of polyps or even a tumor of one nature or another.
Adenoiditis
The growth of the pharyngeal tonsil or adenoiditis is a pathology that rarely appears in adults. As a rule, children suffer from it, and she is diagnosed during the first five years of her existence. Nevertheless, exceptions do occur.
With adenoids, patients are annoyed by:
- heat, while it can rise to 39 ° C or more;
- sore throat and snot running down the nasopharynx;
- paroxysmal cough, for which the discharge is unusual, although a small amount of nasal mucus is able to expectorate;
- deterioration in general condition;
- fatigue.
Patients may complain that they often have a headache and aching ears. This does not indicate the spread of the inflammatory process and the formation of otitis media, but is considered only the result of transmission of nerve impulses.
Drug treatment
How to cure thick green snot depends on the cause that caused them. Otherwise, if you apply nasal drops without affecting the root cause, the disease can become chronic, which is much more difficult to cure.
The children's body is characterized by immaturity of the immune system, for this reason the purulent contents from the nasal cavity are rapidly transmitted to the bronchopulmonary system. In the future, pneumonia and other complications often develop.
Initially, the doctor prescribes an antibiotic, which can help stop the development of pathogenic microflora in the body. Nasal drops and flushing solutions can help remove thick snot from the nose.
Therapy is considered optimal if the complex of pharmaceuticals is selected based on the history of a particular baby. How to cure green snot in childhood and adulthood, read below.
Rinsing
The younger the child, the more natural the formulations are for rinsing. A large number of drugs are available on the pharmacy market that are acceptable for treating thickened nasal mucus in children, starting from infancy.
How to cure green snot in a child with washes? Such tools are suitable:
- "Furacilin". The drug is considered an antimicrobial drug, suitable for topical treatment of acute diseases. Available in yellow pills. For use, it is necessary to dilute 1 in 100 g of hot, preferably boiled water. Mix thoroughly, if there are particles - filter. Wash the baby's nose with a special pear or syringe. Used by prescription.
- Miramistin. Antiseptic medication, available in packaging with a dispenser. Effective against bacteria and fungi. Suitable for the complex treatment of sinusitis or complicated rhinitis. It does not have a taste and aroma, does not cause discomfort. It is allowed to use from 3 years of age as prescribed by a doctor.
- "Aqua Maris". It is a natural medicine based on sea water. It does not have color and aroma. Invented specifically for the treatment and prevention of rhinitis in a child from the first day of existence in the form of drops, and 1 year - in the form of a spray. Rinse the nasal cavity at least 4 times a day if the doctor has not prescribed another treatment.
- "Aqualor". The drug is a natural isotonic sea water without other components. You can treat the common cold in children from six months of age.
- Quicks. This spray is also considered a type of medicine on sea water for washing the nose. In accordance with the instructions, it is acceptable for use from the age of three months.
- Saline solution. If there is a shortage of any medications at hand or you do not want to use them, you can use normal saline. It is similar to human biological fluids, completely safe when used correctly. It is possible to rinse the nose with saline solution, replacing them with nasal drops. A medication is not suitable as a separate element of therapy, a therapeutic result is possible only in combination with medication.
Those who are wondering how to cure green snot in a pregnant woman can be advised to use the same drugs as for children.
Is an antibiotic needed?
Since green and thick discharge from the nose is considered inflammation, which is adjacent to a bacterial infection, antibiotics are usually prescribed in this case. But it is important to understand that curing green snot without antibiotics is sometimes also possible.
The use of this type of therapy is justified when the patient has intoxication and fever, lasting a long time. Antibiotic nasal preparations may be prescribed, for example, Isofra, Polydex.
It is important to understand that when using an antibiotic, probiotics should be used to avoid dysbiosis.
If the disease is serious, then internal antibiotics are needed. How to cure a runny nose and green snot in this case? Depending on the pathogen, doctors prescribe substances of various types:
- macrolides (Sumamed, Azithromycin);
- penicillins (Amoxicillin, Amoxiclav, Oxacillin);
- cephalosporin series ("Ceftriaxone", "Cephalexin").
Prevention
Diseases are much easier to avoid than to cure. In addition to knowing how to cure green snot in a child (thick and viscous), it is important to stock up on prevention information.
To prevent the occurrence of green secretions, it is necessary to follow appropriate preventive measures.
Therefore, the implementation of simple rules will reduce the threat of complications - such as thick and green snot with colds:
- For colds and for the purpose of its prevention, it is preferable to rinse your nose with a liquid with the addition of sea salt.
- Go in for sports - moderate physical activity is needed.
- To temper the body with the help of a cold and hot shower, walks in the fresh air and other generally accepted methods.
- Provide competent and natural nutrition.
- Avoid hypothermia.
- Get enough sleep.
- Proper sleep is at least 8 hours.
- Try not to visit public areas with a significant epidemiological threat.
- Observe basic hygiene principles.
In addition, you should undergo medical examinations every year.
Traditional medicine recipes
If a runny nose is complicated by a bacterial infection, it is risky to self-medicate and rely only on folk remedies, however, they can well complement drug treatment. How to cure green snot folk remedies:
- Flushing the nose with homemade formulations, such as saline. Take half a teaspoon of sea or table salt per 300 g of hot boiled water. The liquid is cooled before use. A soda solution helps (half a teaspoon per glass).
- Infusion of marigolds and yarrow (for a tablespoon in a glass of boiling water, stand for thirty minutes), as well as decoctions and infusions of chamomile, eucalyptus, oak bark, sage, and a string.
- Diluted 1: 3 juice of onions, scarlet, cranberries or black currants, beets or carrots, as well as a mixture of any of these ingredients with potato. For a child, it is recommended that they be partially diluted with water, and even more correctly, with saline.
- Salt water with the addition of tincture of propolis (a small spoon of salt and 15 drops of tincture per quarter liter);
- Water with celandine juice - 2 drops of fresh juice per glass of water, use with caution, in a significant concentration and when the dose is exceeded, the grass is dangerous.
These methods will alleviate the condition, but do not eliminate the cause of the disease.