Is it possible to bathe a child with bronchitis: expert advice

Often parents wonder if it is possible to bathe a child with bronchitis. To answer it, you need to know what kind of disease it is, how it proceeds and what its symptoms are. Only with this information, you can understand whether it is worth bathing a child with bronchitis.

What is bronchitis?

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi that affects both the mucous membrane and the entire thickness of the walls of the organ. Pathology appears on its own, but sometimes it is one of the complications of colds. There are two forms of the disease: acute and chronic.

The development of the acute form of the disease is characteristic during sudden changes in temperature or during hypothermia. This type of bronchitis is quite common and is more common than chronic. The disease can last from one to three weeks. With improper or untimely treatment, it develops into pneumonia, respiratory failure, bronchial asthma, and the spread of the inflammatory process to other organs often develop. In children, it often causes a complication such as otitis media.

The causes of chronic bronchitis are:

• Ingestion of bacteria and viruses.
• Frequent colds, repeated relapses of acute bronchitis, which is not completely cured.
• Hereditary predisposition to the disease.
• Ingestion of contaminated air.

Curing chronic bronchitis is much more difficult than acute. Untimely access to a doctor and improper therapy can lead to organ deformation.

How is the disease?

The main signs of bronchitis are: severe dry cough and difficulty breathing. As the disease progresses, the cough becomes wet, but young children cannot expectorate sputum. In this regard, the course of pathology in babies is much more complicated and dangerous than in adults.

Child age

Age in the treatment of a child should be taken into account, and the answer to the question will be dependent on this: can it be bathed with bronchitis.

1. From 1 month to a year. Many young mothers are very worried about the question of whether to bathe a baby with bronchitis. Doctors do not recommend this, it is better to wait until complete recovery. During the illness, you can wipe the baby with a damp towel, and then change into clean clothes. The room in which the wiping will be carried out should be warm without drafts.
2. From a year to 3 years. At this age, children with bronchitis can begin to bathe from 12 days from the onset of the disease, but not more than 5 minutes a day. After bathing, you need to quickly wipe the baby with a towel and put on warm clothes.
3. From 3 to 10 years. The occurrence of bronchitis in a child during this period is the most dangerous. When the first signs of pathology appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and immediately begin treatment. The question is whether it is possible to bathe a child with bronchitis, is very relevant. This can not be done, only wipe and then no earlier than 7 days from the onset of the disease. About when you can bathe a child after bronchitis can only be answered by the attending physician, based on the general symptoms and condition of the patient.
4. From 10 to 15 years. A child of an older age can bathe with bronchitis, but only if there is no temperature and any complications of the disease. It is not recommended to spend a long time in the bathroom during an illness, just a few minutes in the shower is enough.

If bronchitis occurs in a chronic form (regardless of the age of the child), water procedures can even be useful. But this is only if bathing is carried out in accordance with all the rules and all the necessary precautions are followed.

The dangers of bathing a child during bronchitis

When asked whether it is possible to bathe a child with bronchitis, in most cases, doctors give a negative answer. This does not happen due to the process itself, since bathing cannot do any harm. The danger is represented by possible temperature changes or hypothermia - not enough warm water or a room, too long a child is in the water.

Is it possible to bathe a child when the temperature returned to normal?

No less frequently asked question by mothers: is it possible to bathe a child with bronchitis without fever? Water procedures after the temperature has completely subsided and normalized are not only possible, but also necessary. It is worth noting the fact that if the child became as active as before the illness, then you can safely go to the bathroom.

How to bathe a child during bronchitis

If during bathing a child with bronchitis do everything right, then you can not only wash away all the accumulated dirt from it, but also prevent the development of complications:

1. In order for the body to get used to water again after a long break, the first time for bathing a child should be spent no more than 4-5 minutes.
2. If water procedures are carried out in the bathroom, then after bathing the child you need to immediately wipe dry with a towel, put on warm clothes, and only after that can be taken out to another room. The baby should be immediately put under the covers.
3. The water temperature when bathing a child should not exceed 40 degrees, but should not be less than 37 degrees. The temperature in the room should be at least 25 ° C.
4. Doctors recommend bathing a baby in the shower to avoid a temperature difference.
5. Children older than five years in the absence of temperature can be briefly steamed in the bath. In this case, vapor vapor penetrates into the lungs and warms them, due to which metabolic processes are activated. In a bathhouse, under the influence of heat, the pores expand, blood rushes to the capillaries, thereby causing profuse sweating. Sweat, in turn, removes all toxins from the body. Increased blood circulation helps increase metabolism at the cellular level, while bacteria die. In the bath under the influence of hot steam and high humidity, sputum liquefies and is more easily excreted from the body.

What can not be done

There are several dangerous circumstances that in no case should be allowed in case of illness of the child with bronchitis:

1. Sudden changes in temperature can adversely affect the entire course of the disease and cause complications.
2. If a complication such as otitis media has occurred with bronchitis, then you can not bathe a child in any case.
3. It is not recommended to wash the baby's head if all the signs of the disease have not yet completely passed.
4. You can not bathe a child during the acute period of the disease, that is, in the first few days after the onset of the development of pathology.

Bath Recipes

In order for the bathing procedure to be most effective, it is recommended to prepare it with additives:

1. Rye bath. In a bucket of water you need to put two glasses of rye and cook for 5 or 10 minutes. Then it needs to be cooled and filtered, and then poured into water. If you bathe your baby in a baby bath, then just 2-3 glasses of broth is enough. With bronchitis, a child can bathe in such a bath every day, as rye expands the pores, thereby removing toxins from the body.
2. Bath with tangerine skins. For cooking, you need to boil about one kilogram of tangerine skins, after which the cooled and strained broth should be poured into the bath and the child should be lowered into it. This procedure strengthens the baby's immune system, thereby increasing the body's resistance to disease pathogens.
3. Herbal bath. To prepare a herbal bath, you need to make a collection of the following herbs: mint, chamomile, thyme, licorice, fennel, plantain, coltsfoot. The ingredients need to be crushed and mixed, and then pour them with a liter of boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes. After the appointed time, the broth should be removed from the heat, cool, strain and pour into the water intended for bathing. In such a bath, you can bathe your child no more than twice a week. This not only strengthens the immune system, but also has a beneficial effect on the whole body.

Thus, when the question arises: is it possible to bathe a child with bronchitis, the answer in some cases is yes. However, in any case, the permission of the attending physician is required and in compliance with all rules and recommendations.