A runny nose can not be called a full-fledged disease, it is rather a symptom. Most people tolerate it easily without bed rest. But there are more serious cases where treatment is simply necessary. Runny nose in children is very common, and therefore parents should always be ready to deal with the disease. Sometimes situations arise when a child has clear mucus from his nose flowing out for a month, until the adults come to their senses and finally take measures. Inaction in this case can lead to unpleasant consequences, up to the development of chronic diseases.
What it is?
Runny nose or, in other words, rhinitis, is a condition in which there is an excessive secretion of mucus from the nose. This happens in connection with inflammation of the nasal concha and passages. Runny nose in children can be expressed in varying degrees. For example, under the influence of the virus, the mucous membrane becomes inflamed, outwardly it looks swollen and tense. If the patient has rhinitis of an allergic type, the mucous membrane does not change color, but there is an abundant release of substances of a transparent kind.
As you know, the nasal membrane can only respond to irritations of a different nature in one way - by the release of mucus. Before starting treatment, you need to determine the cause, and for this you should carefully study the symptoms. For example, if in addition to the common cold a child has pain in the throat, then there is a likelihood of nasopharyngitis. This disease is quite serious, since the virus affects the nasal mucosa and pharyngeal walls.
What can not be done?
Many parents, as soon as they discover rhinitis, take the wrong actions. It is necessary to immediately determine what is forbidden to do with a cold (in a month-old baby in particular):
- Take antibiotics and other medicines without a doctor's prescription. First, the antibiotic counteracts bacteria, not viruses, and in most cases it is they that cause rhinitis. Secondly, the medicine passes through the nasal passage, which means swallowing is inevitable. In this case, dysbiosis may develop due to a violation of the normal intestinal microflora. Young children are especially susceptible to such diseases.
- Begin treatment with vasoconstrictor drugs. Quite popular among the people are such drugs as Naphthyzinum and Galazolinum. Do not give them to your child when rhinitis occurs without consulting a doctor. Medicines of this kind dry the mucous membrane, which can lead to spasm.
- Flush the nasal passage with a rubber syringe. When looking for an answer to the question of how to quickly cure a runny nose in a child, many parents stumble upon this method. This can not be done, especially if rhinitis is found in the baby. The force of pressure provokes an injury to the eardrum, and if fluid gets into the ear, otitis media may develop.
Causes of Rhinitis
The vast majority of ailments of this kind are associated with a common cold, but this is far from the only possible situation. How can a child cure a runny nose at home? It is necessary to find the cause and eliminate it. Consider the most common:
- Virus. Oddly enough, this is the most common cause of rhinitis. Viruses form in the mucous membranes, and begin their reproduction. Sometimes immunity can independently cope with the pathogen, you just have to wait. Often the infection comes as a result of hypothermia, for example, wet feet. Walking with a child with a cold is not recommended, especially in rainy damp weather.
- Bacteria. This is a consequence of the viral process if the baby has weak immunity. Rhinitis of this kind often appears in frequently ill children. So, the weakened mucous membrane is attacked by bacteria, resulting in inflammation, and purulent mucus is secreted from the nasal passages.
- Allergy. This type of rhinitis is easiest to determine: if it is regularly repeated as a result of contact with any substance or object. If this is the first time, pay attention to the distinguishing features - a large amount of secreted mucus of a clear appearance, the presence of edema, conjunctivitis, etc. Allergies can be accompanied by complications, the most serious of which is anaphylactic shock.
- Medication. This happens when parents use too much cold medication for their children. It is not necessary to give the baby vasoconstrictor drugs, because they strongly dry the mucous membrane. As a result, a chronic form of rhinitis can develop.
- Deformation of the facial organs. It is possible that the child was born with defects in the skull, for example, a curved septum of the nose. Difficulty breathing on an ongoing basis sooner or later develops into rhinitis. This moment must be controlled by parents so that the problem is resolved as quickly as possible.
Complications
It would seem what difficulties can be with a cold in children. However, some situations are fraught with very serious consequences and complications. Consider the main ones:
- as soon as the virus enters the body, the infection begins to spread, it can quite easily reach the lungs and bronchi;
- clogging of the auditory tube with thick mucus in addition to the development of otitis media;
- the appearance of sinusitis and other diseases of this kind involving the sinuses of the skull;
- infants are difficult to tolerate nasal congestion, because of this they cannot fully breathe, as a result they are malnourished, choked with milk, etc.
The above complications suggest that you should not underestimate the simplest disease. If ignored, it can develop into a chronic pathology of a serious nature.
Key features
A severe runny nose in a child manifests itself with various symptoms. It is inappropriate to consider the signs of the whole organism, we will focus only on local ones:
- nasal congestion;
- mucus secretion. Often it has a gray color (if not associated with an allergy), pure pus very rarely leaves the nose, only with sinusitis;
- sneezing. Of course, we are not talking about the standard process, because every person needs to clear the airways. If sneezing is often observed, and it is preceded by burning and scratching, then this can be regarded as a symptom;
- if the child has atrophic rhinitis, then instead of mucous secretions, dry crusts can be observed in the sinuses of the nose;
- hyposmia - lack of ability to distinguish smells.
Rarely, children may have rhinitis with blood. This indicates, first of all, the unreliability of blood vessels, because they are damaged when sneezing or wiping the nose. If the baby has started bleeding from the nose, do not panic. You just need to put the child on his back, throw his head back and apply something cold. Five minutes later, the bleeding will stop.
Stages of the common cold
Rhinitis is a cyclic process consisting of certain stages. They are defined in time and are expressed quite clearly. Let's consider them a little more in detail:
- Reflex. The shortest of all, lasts several hours at the very beginning of the disease. At this time, you can observe primary edema, dryness and tickling in the nose, difficulty breathing.
- Viral rhinorrhea. Here, viruses that have entered the body are already activated. This stage is fraught with the consequences of infection of others. Therefore, with a cold in children, it is advisable to wear a mask.
- The final one. It testifies more often about recovery, the symptoms are gradually decreasing. However, another option is possible, when the child’s immunity is weak and the mucous membrane cannot defend itself. In such a situation, microbes spread, prolonging rhinitis for an indefinite time.
Based on this, to the question - how long does a runny nose last, there are at least two possible answers. If the baby's immunity is in order, then in a week the body will cope with the infection. Otherwise, rhinitis can continue as long as you like, because over time it becomes chronic. The speed of recovery also depends on the frequency of occurrence of the disease.
How to quickly cure a runny nose in a child?
The most important thing is not to harm. Ideally, when rhinitis occurs, it is necessary to act according to a certain scheme, without the use of antibiotics and vasoconstrictor drugs. On the fourth or fifth day of the disease, it will be clear whether additional specialist assistance is needed, or whether the body coped with a viral infection on its own.
There are several principles according to which it is necessary to act. It is worth noting that the approach to therapy in infants is somewhat different from the approach in children aged five to six years.
- Rinsing of the nasal passages is best done immediately after the appearance of mucus and difficulty breathing. Breasts need to do this procedure before feeding.
- Young children are advised to drip one drop into each nostril of breast milk. As you know, this product contains many useful substances, among which there are immunoglobulins.
- In the absence of milk, you can use drugs that increase the level of immunity.
- Mucus should not remain in the nose, it is necessary to ensure its passage. Viruses also come out with it, which is why it is so important. The mucous membranes should not dry out; give your baby plenty of fluids.
- Also, when dealing with dryness, saline and sea water are an excellent solution. They are absolutely harmless, so they are suitable for treating children, you can drip them at any time. If the house does not have a humidifier, it is better to do this more often.
Drug therapy
In fact, there are a huge number of drugs that are used to treat rhinitis in a child. In our material, we will not dwell on each of them, but highlight some of the most effective medications in each group.
Cure a runny nose in a child at home is possible only with the help of medicines. The most effective drugs were the following:
- Antihistamines. In this group, such medicines as Zirtek, Fenistil and Allergodil significantly outperform their counterparts. The drugs do not have side effects, so you can safely use it.
- Vasoconstrictors. Good remedies for the common cold for children in this category are Nazol and Nazivin. The latter is characterized by a duration of exposure, up to twelve hours. "Nazol" is divided into two types: "Baby" (designed for babies from birth) and "Kids spray" (for children from the age of six).
Antibiotics and effective drops
As already noted, the use of antibiotics at the first stage of the disease is prohibited. However, it will be useful to find out which drugs from this type of medicine are the best:
- "Bioparox" is prescribed for children from two years of age, a means in the form of a spray is produced, which is quite convenient.
- "Isofra" is a good antibiotic prescribed for babies from the age of one and a half years.
As for nose drops for children from a runny nose, two strong drugs stand out here: Pinosol and Eteritsid. The first can be used for a child aged two to three years. The agent perfectly softens and moisturizes the nasal passages, and also causes an antibacterial effect. The content of fat-soluble vitamin E only benefits patients. "Etericide" literally translates as "killing dryness," with which he successfully copes. Made on an oily solution, a good antiseptic. Pediatricians and other pediatric doctors like to prescribe this remedy, since it does not pose any danger to babies.
New solution
Before starting therapy, each parent chooses a way to combat the disease. Most dwell on medicines, others focus on traditional medicine. As a result, inhalation during the common cold with a nebulizer for children is ignored. What it is? A treatment method based on inhaling dissolved substances in gas and steam. This is a modern method that has recently been increasingly used for respiratory diseases.
As for the advantages of such a technique, it is possible to highlight the possibility of conducting therapy both for elderly people and infants with similar diseases. It should be noted that substances in dissolved form quickly penetrate the mucosa, and exert their effect. The positive effect immediately spreads to all departments of the respiratory tract. Inhalation has minimal side effects, and does not affect other organs.
How to cope with the ongoing rhinitis?
Often there are situations when, against a background of weak immunity, the child does not have a runny nose, and the virus attacks with renewed vigor, not wanting to retreat. In such cases, the doctor should prescribe immune preparations, which include substances that protect against infections.
A good option would be Genferon Light. These are nasal drops based on interferon supplemented with taurine for more powerful immunity support. Preparations of this kind will help to cope with a long runny nose in children. How to quickly deal with the virus, we described above. It is not recommended to bring the disease to this stage, because the longer the virus is in the body, the harder it is to get it out of there.
Traditional medicine
As you know, traditional medicine is aimed at relieving symptoms, stopping the development of the disease. A full-fledged treatment using such means is almost impossible. However, if the initial stage is observed, effective methods will help to cope with the common cold in a child. There are a lot of folk ways, so we highlighted the most effective:
- Mustard in socks. The meaning of this method is to pour mustard powder into the socks of the child to improve the circulation of the feet. This causes an increase in immunity, which leads to the fact that the body successfully cope with viruses and infections.
- Beetroot juice. Contrary to popular belief, it does not need to be drunk. The point is to use the liquid as a nasal drop. The result is hydration of the nasal passages. However, it is not scientifically proven that beet juice in this case is better than salted water.
- Honey and radish. This is probably the best folk remedy for raising immunity. You will need black radish and, accordingly, honey. In the radish, you need to cut off the top, and make a hole in the center. There honey is put, and the top is put in place. Then all this is infused for several hours in a warm place, such a procedure is necessary in order for the radish to secrete juice. Then this mixture must be taken one tablespoon.
Runny nose in children is a common occurrence, and parents need to know how to deal with it. It is not necessary to immediately rush with medicines to the child, it is necessary to enable the immune system to cope with the virus itself. Only in the event of a negative result within four to five days, it is worth taking the advice of a doctor.