Common cold in babies

Description

A common cold in a baby is a viral infection of the nose and throat. Nasal congestion and runny nose are the main symptoms of a cold.

All babies are prone to catching the common cold. That's in part because they are often around older children. Also, the babies bodies are not yet ready to fight against many common infections. When your body build up protection is called immunity.

Infants and young children typically have 6 to 8 colds a year. You could have more if they go to daycare.

Treatment for the common cold in babies involves easing their symptoms. That may include liquids, keep the air moist and help to maintain the interior of their noses, of course.

Very young infants should see a healthcare professional at the first sign of a common cold. This is to make sure that you do not have laryngitis, pneumonia, or other more serious diseases.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of the common cold in a baby are often:

  • A stuffy or runny nose.
  • The mucus that comes out of your nose. It is possible that band clear at the beginning, but then it may thicken and turn yellow or green.

Other symptoms of a common cold in a baby may include:

  • Fever.
  • Sneezing.
  • Cough.
  • Not wanting to eat.
  • Irritability.
  • Sleep problems.
  • Problems for breastfeeding or taking a bottle due to the congestion of the nose.

When to see a doctor

Babies ' immune systems take time to mature. Most colds do not cause problems. A cold without complications should disappear within 10 to 14 days.

But it is important to carry babies in serious symptoms. If the symptoms do not improve or if they get worse, is the time to talk with a health care professional.

For babies younger than 3 months of age, call a health care professional at the beginning of the disease. In newborns, it is important to ensure that they do not have a more serious illness.

For babies from 3 months of age or more, please call a health care professional if your baby:

  • Do not get wet as many diapers as usual.
  • Has a fever of more than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
  • It seems that you have ear pain or unusually irritable.
  • Your eyes red or yellow or green liquid that comes out of the eyes.
  • Difficulty breathing or wheezing.
  • You have a continuous cough.
  • It has thick, green mucus coming from the nose for several days.
  • You have other symptoms that concern you, as a cry of fear, or not wake up to eat.

Get medical help right awaand if the baby:

  • Refuses to eat or drink fluids.
  • Coughs hard enough to cause vomiting or changes in the color of the skin.
  • Coughing up phlegm with blood.
  • Difficulty breathing or whose skin around the lips is blue if the baby has white skin and gray or white of the skin around the lips if the baby has Black or brown skin.
  • Difficulty breathing or whose skin around the lips is pale, grey or blue, depending on the color of the skin.
  • You have low energy or it is a extra of sleep.

Causes

The common cold is an infection of the nose and throat, called an infection of the upper respiratory tract. More than 200 viruses that can cause the common cold. Rhinoviruses are the most common.

A cold virus enters the bodies of the babies through the mouth, eyes, or nose.

Once infected by a virus, the body of a baby can usually fight the same virus in the future. This is called immunity. But because many viruses that cause colds, babies can have several colds a year, and many throughout their lives. In addition, some viruses do not provide lasting immunity.

Babies may be infected with a virus by:

  • Ago. A sick person can spread the virus to a baby by speaking, sneezing or coughing.
  • The direct contact. Someone with a cold that touches the baby's hand can spread the cold virus to the baby. The baby then you can catch the virus by touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
  • Surfaces. Some of the virus living on surfaces for two or more hours. Babies can catch a virus by touching a surface that has the virus, such as a toy, then touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.

Risk factors

A couple of factors that put infants at increased risk of a common cold.

  • Immature immune system. Babies are at risk of common colds because it has not yet come in contact with most of the viruses that cause them.
  • Being with other children. Children do not always wash their hands or cover their coughs and sneezes. Therefore, being with children can increase a baby's risk of catching a cold. Be with someone who has a cold, can increase the risk of catching a cold.
  • The time of year. Colds are more common from autumn until late spring. But babies can get cold at any time.

Complications

A commin cold weather can cause:

  • Acute ear infection called otitis media. This is the most common complication of the common cold. Ear infections occur when bacteria or viruses enter the space behind the eardrum.
  • Wheezing. A cold can trigger wheezing, even in children who do not have asthma. For children with asthma, the cold can make it worse.
  • Acute sinusitis. A cold that does not improve may lead to an infection within the spaces inside the nose called the paranasal sinuses. This is the sinusitis.
  • Other infections. A common cold can lead to other infections, including pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and croup. A health professional needs to treat these infections.

Prevention

There is a vaccine for the common cold. The best defense against the common cold is the use of common sense and wash your hands often.

  • Keep children away from people who are sick. Don't let any sick visit to a newborn. If possible, do not use public transportation, such as buses, and do not go to places where there are a lot of people.
  • Wash your handspalestra feed or touch the baby.Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Teach older children how important it is to wash your hands. Remind them, dont touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Clean baby toys and pacifiers often. Wipe down surfaces that you touch. This is especially important if you are someone who spends a lot of time with the baby has a cold.
  • Teach everyone in the house coughing or sneezing into a tissue. Throw away used tissues immediately. If you don't have tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow. Then, thoroughly wash your hands.
  • You know that your child care center. Look for a child care environment that makes children sick of staying at home. And look for one that has other ways of keeping the children well, such as washing hands regularly and cleaning of the surface.

Wash your hands before eating or touching your baby. Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Teach older children how important it is to wash your hands. Remind them not to touch eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.

Common cold in babies

Diagnosis

A professional of the health in general, you can diagnose a common cold for a baby's symptoms. For a possible bacterial infection or other condition, a chest X-ray or other tests can rule out other causes of the baby's symptoms.

Treatment

The majority of common colds get better without treatment in 7 to 10 days. But the cough can hang in a week or more. Antibiotics do not help the cold virus.

Medications to reduce fever and pain

Do not give a medicine to a baby without talking with your baby's healthcare professional.

If the fever is making your baby too uncomfortable, you can treat a fever reducer andou can get without a prescription. However, fever is a natural response to the virus. What can help you stop that your child has a low grade fever.

For the treatment of fever and pain in children, consider the possibility of babies or children medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others).

For children under 3 months of age, do not give acetaminophen until your baby has seen a health care professional. Do not give ibuprofen to children under 6 months of age or children who are vomiting or are dehydrated. The use of these medications for the shortest possible time.

If you give your child a pain reliever, follow the dosage guidelines carefully. Call your health care professional if you have questions about the appropriate dose for your baby.

Children and adolescentsrs recovery from chicken pox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. This is because aspirin has been linked with Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal in these children.

Coughs and colds

Cough and cold medicines are not safe for babies and small children. They do not treat the cause of a cold and don't make it go away before. And can cause serious, sometimes fatal, side effects.

Do not use medications that are available without a prescription, except for the fever reducers and pain relievers, to treat coughs and colds in children under 6 years of age.

Self-care

Usually you can treat an older baby from the cold in the house. To make your baby as comfortable as possible, try some of these suggestions:

  • Offer plenty of fluids. Fluids are important to prevent the loss of too much body fluid, called dehydration. The formula or breast milk is the best option. Encourage your baby to take in the usual amount of liquid. The extra fluids that are not needed. If you are breastfeeding your baby, keep it up. Breast milk provides extra protection against the cold of the germs that cause.
  • Suction your baby's nose.Keep your baby's nose clear with a rubber-bulb syringe. Squeeze the rubber bulb to let out air. Then, place the tip of the bulb of around 1/4 to 1/2 inch (about 6 to 12 millimeters) in one of the sides of the baby's nose. Point it toward the back and the sides of the nose. Stop squeezing the bulb of the syringe and hold it in place as he sucks the mucus from the baby's nose. Remove the syringe from the nostril. Empty into a tissue band tighten the bulb fast, while holding the tip down. Repeat on the other side of the nose. Repeat as many times as necessary on each side of the nose. Clean the bulb syringe with water and soap.
  • Try salt water, drops for the nose, called saline nasal drops.These drops can moisten the inside of the nose and to loosen thick mucus. You can get these drops without a prescription. Put the drops on each side of the nose. Wait for a short period of time. Then, use a syringe to remove mucus out of each side of the nose.
  • Moisten the air. Execution of a cool water of the humidifier in your baby's room can relieve a stuffy nose. Change the water daily, and follow the instructions for cleaning the unit.

Suction your baby's nose. Keep your baby's nose clear with a rubber-bulb syringe. Squeeze the rubber bulb to let out air. Then, place the tip of the bulb of around 1/4 to 1/2 inch (about 6 to 12 millimeters) in one of the sides of the baby's nose. Point it toward the back and side of the nose.

Stop squeezing the bulb of the syringe and hold it in place as he sucks the mucus from the baby's nose. Remove the syringe from the nostril. Empty into a tissue by squeezing the bulb fast, while holding the tip down. Repeat on the other side of the usand.

Repeat as many times as necessary on each side of the nose. Clean the bulb syringe with water and soap.

Try salt water, drops for the nose, called saline nasal drops. These droplets can moisten the inside of the nose and to loosen thick mucus. You can get these drops wwithout a prescription.

Put the drops on each side of the nose. Wait for a short period of time. Then, use a syringe to remove mucus out of each side of the nose.

Preparing for your appointment

If you need to see your baby's health care professional, here's a little bit of information to help you prepare for the appointment.

What you can do

Make a list of:

  • The symptoms you have observed in your baby, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment, and when they began.
  • Key personal informa- tion, as if the child goes to daycare or have been near someone with a common cold. Include the number of colds your baby has had and how long they lasted. Note if your baby is close to someone who smokes.
  • All medications, vitamins or supplements that your baby is taking, including dosage.
  • Questions to ask your health care professional.

For those of a common cold, some questions are:

  • What is likely causing my baby's symptoms?
  • There are other possible causes?
  • What tests are needed?
  • What is the best course of action?
  • My baby has other health conditions. How can I best manage them together?
  • There are restrictions that must be followed?
  • There are medications that are not safe for my son at this age?

Be sure to ask all the questions you have about your baby condition.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare provider is likely to ask questions such as:

  • Have your baby symptoms of the state in the course, or come and go?
  • How bad are they?
  • What, in any case, it seems best?".
  • What, if anything, appears to worsen them?
  • Has a runny nose caused your baby to eat or to drink less?
  • Does your baby have as many wet diapers as usual?
  • There has been a fever? If so, how high?
  • Are your child's vaccines up to date?
  • Your child has taken antibiotics recentlyand?
Symptoms and treatment of the Common cold in babies