Recurrent bronchitis (ICD 10 J20) is considered inflammation of the bronchi, repeated in a child three times a year or more. Moreover, the duration of each period of exacerbation, as a rule, is at least two weeks. In this case, the attention of parents should be given to the prevention of bronchitis in children. Of great importance is the early rehabilitation of focal nasopharyngeal infection along with emergency treatment of acute respiratory infections and pneumonia. Parents should protect their children from contact with sick people, and also not to forget about maintaining normal humidity in the room and airing it.
Elimination of secondhand smoke and exposure to tobacco smoke
The detrimental effect of cigarette smoke on the development of inflammation in the bronchi in babies is not in doubt. The pathogenic active ingredients of cigarettes produce the following effect:
- Irritation and toxic effects on the mucous membrane of the respiratory system.
- Destruction of the protective abilities of the ciliary apparatus of the bronchial surface.
- Damage to specific and non-specific protective factors.
- Decreased synthesis of pulmonary surfactant.
- Contributing to stagnation of mucus.
- Decrease in the amount of oxygen in the blood of babies.
- Cigarette smoke is a factor that triggers the onset of asthma. Scary statistics indicate the presence of an allergy to smoke in every fourth baby smoking parents.
Basic methods and rules of prevention
Thus, the rule on protecting the child’s body from tobacco smoke should be put the very first among the methods for the prevention of bronchitis in children. Also no less important events will be:
- Full rest of the child.
- Providing the baby with the opportunity to drink enough fluid.
- Air conditioning in the room. You need to know that warm and humid air favors expectoration.
- Wellness massage sessions.
Hardening
Outpatient clinics should provide advice on hardening for parents. It is worth paying attention to gymnastics in the morning, organizing a long stay in the fresh air, the habit of living in an apartment with open windows, wiping procedures, washing with cool water and so on.
You can start hardening by wiping with a towel dipped in cool water. You can use a contrast shower with alternating warm and cool water, and the duration of a warm and cool shower should be chosen according to feelings.
All the actions described above lead to increased blood circulation, body cells receive oxygen and nutrients in sufficient quantities, which means that the body, in general, is healed and strengthened.
Polyps and runny nose
If the child has polyps, then they must be removed. It is also necessary to eliminate the curvature of the nasal septum in order to improve overall nasal breathing. As part of the prevention of acute bronchitis in children, sanitary and hygienic measures are required. Such measures include the fight against alcoholism and smoking in the child's family.
In children, prolonged runny nose should not be allowed: any inflammatory processes in the respiratory system should be methodically treated. It is necessary to additionally systematically strengthen the children's body. The child should take vitamins and travel to the sea so that bronchitis (ICD 10 J20) does not bother him.
Basic principles of clothing selection
Many parents do not know how to dress a child according to the weather.
For children, freezing is unacceptable, as well as overheating. This is one of the most important points, since many factors need to be taken into account: for example, what is the temperature outside, humidity, is there wind, is the sun shining, is the age of the baby, how mobile is he during a walk, and so on.
How to dress a child for the weather, it is important to find out in advance. In order to understand how comfortable the baby feels, while walking mothers often have to check the temperature of his hands and nose. For example, from the wind of children it is necessary to wrap a blanket or, conversely, remove one blouse with a gentle sun. This is necessary, as young children cannot say whether it is cold or hot. You can not rely on personal feelings when choosing clothes. The children's body is significantly different from the adult. For example, adults in windy weather can be quite comfortable in a thin turtleneck, and kids can easily freeze quickly. Therefore, when leaving the house, parents must cover their heads with a hat and dress them warmly.
The basic principle of dressing kids for a walk is layering. This means that all things must be tried to put on in several layers. Thus, it will always be possible to adjust the amount of clothing. For example, in the heat you can remove an extra jacket, and in cool weather, this principle will help to warm the baby better. But this does not mean at all that it is necessary to put on crumbs absolutely everything that turns up to the parents’ arm. So that the child does not feel restrictions in movements, it is better to wear two thin suits on him, instead of one warm.
In order not to get confused, you must adhere to the following rule: the baby should have the same number of layers of clothing as the adult, plus one additional. For example, if in summer mom is wearing a light dress, and dad has a shirt with shorts, then this is considered as one layer. In this case, the child should have as many as two layers of clothing. When in winter one of the parents wears a T-shirt, jacket and a jacket over his feet, and trousers or tights are on his feet, this is already three layers. Therefore, in a similar situation, the child should have four.
With age, activity in babies usually increases. Monthly babies sleep peacefully on walks, and six-month-old children spin in different directions in a stroller. When the child begins to walk on his own, his activity increases every time. Usually, older children no longer need an extra layer. Thanks to mobility, they do not freeze, compared with newborns. This must be understood when conducting bronchitis prophylaxis in children.
When dressing a child, parents should be guided not only by his age and weather conditions, but also by the temperament of the crumbs. It is necessary to monitor the condition of the baby. Pale skin in combination with a cold nose or handles, along with anxiety, are signs of a baby freezing. The presence of severe sweating and drowsiness is a signal that the baby is very hot.
Risk of catching a cold
Now we find out why the draft is dangerous. It acts as a very harmful phenomenon for babies, who for the first time fall under its action: the fact is that their body has not yet learned to control the processes of heat transfer.
Of course, the short-term effect of low temperatures on the body is very useful. This method is called hardening. But drafts affect, sometimes, imperceptibly, exerting an insidious effect on the children's body. They are formed through a weak in strength air stream, which is practically not felt in the heat, therefore the body usually does not include its protective forces.
What a draft is dangerous, everyone should know. Acting on a certain part of the body for a long time and rapidly taking away all the heat, they can cause hypothermia. As a result, muscle inflammation, otitis media and other dangerous diseases occur.
Draft acts equally on young children and adults. It can affect the baby, who is diligently collecting cubes on the floor, and the employee who fills paper for a long time next to the open window.
Vitamins
So that the child always has good health along with strong immunity, his body urgently needs vitamins for children to increase immunity. One of the sources of these useful components is food, which must be present in the diet of children.
There are a number of vitamins, and, in addition, trace elements and other nutrients that are simply irreplaceable:
- The use of vitamin A protects the baby's body from infectious diseases. It can be found in the liver, and, in addition, in dairy products, carrots, eggs and so on.
- Vitamin B2 is involved in the metabolic process, nourishing the cells with oxygen and reducing the risks of toxic effects on the body. It is found in fish, egg white, meat and cereals.
- Vitamin B5 is involved in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, which are required for the synthesis of important amino acids. It is found in peas, yeast, cauliflower, offal and so on.
- Thanks to vitamin B12, red blood cells form. It is found in poultry, fish, eggs and milk.
- Vitamin C significantly increases protective functions, increasing immunity. It is found in citrus fruits, berries, green vegetables.
- Vitamin E is an antioxidant that prevents the destruction of immune cells, it is found in nuts, grains, seeds and the like.
What other substances besides vitamins are needed for children to increase immunity? There are a lot of them:
- Zinc can have a positive effect on the immune system, improving skin regeneration. It is found in meat of dark grades.
- Thanks to iron, hemoglobin levels increase. This trace element is found in beets, blueberries, legumes, meat, sea buckthorn and apples.
- Magnesium actively participates in biochemical reactions, it is found in green leafy vegetables, nuts and legumes.
- Calcium can activate enzymes, improving bone formation. It is found in milk, yogurt and cheese.
- Omega-3 acid perfectly improves brain function.
Now we will find out what the child’s nutrition should be like so that his body receives all the necessary microelements and vitamins to enhance health and protective functions. There are some fairly simple rules.
Good nutrition for children
By such nutrition is understood the consumption of food, which provides the growing body with all the nutrients necessary for the harmonious development and growth, in sufficient quantity and in the right ratio. Every day, it is imperative to include meat in the child’s diet along with milk, butter and vegetable oil, rye and wheat bread. Fish with eggs, cheese, cottage cheese and dairy products should be introduced into the diet once every three days.
Breakfast at the child should consist of a snack, one hot meal and a drink. Pediatricians also recommend including fruits and vegetables. Lunch should consist of appetizer, first, second and sweet dishes. As a snack, you need to prepare a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh cabbage, carrots, beets and the like. It will not be superfluous to add fresh greens. As a snack, you can use portioned vegetables (that is, an additional side dish). In order to improve the taste, fresh fruits are added to the salad, for example, apples with prunes, raisins or nuts are suitable.
In the afternoon snack, it is recommended to include a drink in the children's diet (for example, milk is suitable, along with dairy products, jelly, juices). You should also give a bun or confectionery without cream. Dinner in a child must necessarily consist of some vegetable dish or cereal. Also, dinner is required to include a main course (meat, fish) and a drink. In addition, they recommend giving sour-milk products, fruits and rolls, or some other confectionery, but without cream, as a second dinner.
ARI treatment
In the first few years of life, babies can tolerate, on average, eight colds a year. Children who attend kindergarten may be sick more often than domestic children. But kindergarten students catch colds less often, but those who did not attend kindergarten suffer from SARS in elementary grades.
The reason for this is the vulnerability of the baby's immune system. In order to learn how to resist colds, immunity must first get to know her. Such an acquaintance occurs only due to illness, so frequent colds in children are always inevitable, but with age their number will become less and less.
It is important to carry out timely treatment of acute respiratory infections.
Kids aged three to four are normally sick no more than six times a year. From four to five years, no more than five times. And after five years no more than four times a year. In the event that acute respiratory infections in a baby are observed more often, it is necessary to consult an immunologist.
Immune Medicines
Despite a healthy diet and consumption of vitamin products, unfortunately, it is far from always possible to eliminate hypovitaminosis. Therefore, in order to improve health, we need drugs to increase immunity in children. Vitamins are required not only when the kids are sick. They must be given for prevention. In addition to vitamin complexes, in the pharmaceutical market there are a number of drugs designed to enhance immunity.
In particular, pediatricians recommend the use of herbal products that contain natural in their composition plant substances with adaptogenic and immunostimulating properties. These drugs include Immunal, Doctor Tays and others. These drugs can be used not only during periods of colds, but also as part of prevention. The medicine "Immunal" is considered the most effective and, therefore, the preferred drug designed to enhance children's immunity, this has been proven by a number of clinical studies.
We examined what the prevention of bronchitis in children consists of. It is necessary to strictly abide by all the rules to preserve the health of the child.