What is a cold - the same as a runny nose after hypothermia, or is it ARVI? Where does it come from, and can you get it?

To the question "Is it possible to catch a cold?" answers Ekaterina Vladimirovna Uspenskaya - candidate of medical sciences, doctor of the highest category, pediatrician.

Many interpret the concept of "cold" in different ways: some call it short-term hypothermia - the child "caught a cold", having wet his feet or having spent some time in the cold or draft. But it is enough for him to warm up (rub his legs, hands), as the state of health returns to normal, and he is still healthy. And others call colds ARI - a respiratory disease lasting 5-7 days, which has an infectious nature (viral or bacterial) and requires medical supervision.

The second concept is perhaps the closest thing to the truth. After all, hypothermia in itself is not a disease, and it is impossible to "catch" such a "cold". It can only become the cause of the development or exacerbation of various infectious diseases, if they are present in a child, therefore, it is also not worth leaving such conditions unattended.

But ARVI and ARI can be infected. They are caused by viruses, the most common of which are rhinovirus, parainfluenza and influenza virus, adenovirus. Each of them has its own distinctive features, although the most famous and dangerous, of course, is the influenza virus. Many people who have had this virus say that "it cannot be confused with anything" due to a sharp rise in temperature (above 38 ° C), severe headache and muscle aches. Staying “on your feet” with the flu is simply impossible.
As for all the other pathogens of ARVI, only an experienced clinician is able to reliably recognize them without resorting to laboratory analysis.

It is believed that 6 episodes of ARVI per year for a child under 3 years old, and a little less - 4 for children under 6 years old, is the norm for an organism, the immune system of which is just being formed and accumulates experience in the fight against various foreign agents (viruses and bacteria including). Therefore, many pediatricians oppose the fanatical treatment of every symptom of ARVI, including a low temperature, when the body is able to cope with it on its own.

However, everyone agrees that even a mild degree of ARVI requires very careful attention - in kindergarten or in no case should the child be sent to school, but it is important to monitor the change in the child's condition throughout the day so as not to miss a possible deterioration and, if there is any, to take action in time. If this or that condition of the child worries you, and you do not know how to cope with it, then it is better to call a doctor or at least call a specialist with whom you are constantly monitored (a health visitor, family doctor, etc.).

In the case of ARVI, very often mothers begin treatment themselves, since a day can pass before the arrival of a specialist, and measures to combat a viral infection must be taken as soon as possible.

If necessary, you can put him to bed (according to some pediatricians, this is not necessary: \u200b\u200bif the child does not have a fever and does not feel lethargic, then he can be allowed some not very mobile and non-tiring activities).
The child needs to drink as much warm drinks as possible - with cranberries, lingonberries, decoctions of rose hips, raspberries or black currants. This will help his body fight intoxication.
You can start antiviral treatment yourself using the maximum safe drugs, approved for use in children - Influcid, Otsillococcinum.
It is possible to give the child herbal remedies to strengthen the immune system as an auxiliary measure - based on Echinacea, ginseng, Eleutherococcus.
It is unacceptable to give “adult” drugs or prescription drugs on your own.
If the body temperature rises above 38 ° C, you can use drugs based on paracetamol or ibuprofen, but in no case aspirin!

If during the day there is no visible improvement, then going to the doctor is inevitable, even in the case of a banal "cold".

It is customary to call a group of infections that affect the upper respiratory tract. This disease leads to inflammation of the throat and mucous membranes in the sinuses.

This disease is contagious, it is transmitted by airborne droplets. Its signs, as a rule, begin to develop after a day or two, after a person has been exposed to the virus.

Usually, the sick person can infect others within the first two or three days after the first symptoms appear. There is no specific cure for the disease, but anyone with a cold can ease the symptoms until they recover (this will take about a week).

There are more than 200 types of such a viral infection in the world, but the most common of them are rhinoviruses (those that infect the nasal mucosa). It is because of them that about 30% of all colds appear.

Babies receive special antibodies from their mothers - they help to survive the disease with minimal loss to health.

But despite this, anyone small child can easily catch a cold. In some cases, the disease can affect children 6 to 7 times a year. It all depends on the baby's immunity.

How not to infect a baby with a cold: methods and recommendations

How not to infect a baby with a cold if parents are sick? To do this, you must follow a number of simple rules:

1. The ideal option for a sick child is to isolate him or her in a separate room. If this rule is impracticable, then the baby should at least sleep in his crib, but not with his parents.
2. It is best if the baby is isolated from a sick mom or dad. This should be done until they get better. But in some cases it is not possible to do this. This means that in a room with a child with a cold, a sick adult should only be in a mask.
3. All dishes from which the baby eats (bottle, nipples, etc.) must be well sterilized. This should always be done, and especially if the child has not yet reached three months of age. In no case should you pour liquid from an adult's cup into the dishes for feeding the baby.
4. The room in which the baby sleeps should always be thoroughly ventilated. This must be done at least twice a day and certainly at the moment when the child is in another room. As for the duration of this procedure, it should be at least 10-15 minutes. Also, do not forget about walking with a baby on the street. The fresh air is very important factor for the child's recovery.
5. The room in which the baby is constantly located must be carefully cleaned. It is necessary to thoroughly wipe off all dust with a damp cloth and rinse the floors with a hypoallergenic detergent or water with a small amount of chlorine diluted in it.
6. It is necessary to create an unfavorable atmosphere for viruses. To do this, in the room where the child spends all his main time, you need to put a cup with finely chopped onions and garlic. The phytoncides present in these vegetables have a detrimental effect on the causative agents of such an infectious disease.
7. It should be remembered that overheating for a baby is just as dangerous and undesirable as hypothermia. The room temperature in the room should be from 20 to 22 degrees for children under one month old, and from 18 to 22 degrees for those who are already one month old. If the baby is in good health, hardening procedures will be very useful for him. You can start them already from the moment the child turns two months old. They will be an excellent preventive measure against.
8. When massive epidemics of such diseases begin, the baby's family should stop receiving guests. This rule should be followed due to the fact that the baby can easily pick up an infection. If guests are unavoidable, then each of them must be provided with a special gauze mask.

How to quickly cure a cold for parents

Parents can be quickly cured with the help of special decongestants. They help dry and open each nasal passage. But it should be remembered that with the abuse of such drugs, you can achieve the opposite effect - to increase the swelling of his sinuses.

They have a beneficial effect on the course of a cold, and therefore on recovery. The pharmaceutical market produces them in two forms: expectorant and suppressive (suppressive). The former help to separate well the mucus that accumulates in the throat. And the latter have a beneficial effect on the unproductive. They help to sleep peacefully throughout the night. You do not need to apply them during the day.

Over-the-counter pharmaceuticals (Ibuprofen, Aspirin, and Paracetamol) can help relieve muscle pain from colds and significantly reduce an elevated body mass.

Pregnant women should take such funds with caution, especially in the last three months. It is best to consult your doctor before using them.

For colds, it is very useful to make baths with mustard:

• Soar feet should be in hot water... Its temperature should not be lower than +40 degrees.
• To do this, dissolve one or two tablespoons of dry mustard in water and keep your feet in it for at least 15 minutes. At the end of this procedure, you should thoroughly wipe them dry and put on warm socks (preferably woolen).
• The sick person must wrap himself up in a warm blanket. Soaring your feet is recommended before bed.

Another way to cure a cold with mustard is to put the powder in a small layer in cotton socks, put them on and go to bed. You can also rub each foot with vodka or diluted alcohol.

Breast milk works especially well for babies in the first months after birth. A baby who is bottle-fed can be given a drop of interferon in each nostril.

If the runny nose lasts for several days, it is necessary to show the baby to the doctor to prescribe an appropriate treatment.

In addition to the listed funds, various ointments can be purchased for babies with colds. These include oxalic acid or Vitaon. A small amount of any of these pharmacy products you need to lubricate the area near the nasal passages of the sick child. Adults should remember to consult a pediatrician before taking any medication.

Useful video - Prevention of colds in children.

The health of the baby raises concerns among parents. The most difficult thing is to protect a child from a cold: it is easy to infect him, he recovers hard, complications often appear. It is important to know about the signs, the course of the disease, how to treat a cold in a baby, in order to provide him with timely assistance.

Features of occurrence in children

In medicine, a cold is called ARVI or ARI (acute respiratory viral infection or acute respiratory disease). The first spreads during viral epidemics: a baby can become infected from relatives if his immune system is weakened.

ARI often occurs due to hypothermia of the baby, which causes a weakening of local immunity on the mucous membranes and active reproduction of bacteria, viruses that are constantly present in humans in small quantities.

They try not to take babies up to a year into public places to prevent infection. If you get sick close relative, communication is limited so as not to infect the child.

The baby is less likely to get sick due to the immunity received from the mother at birth. It acts in a newborn baby up to 3-4 months, then the body independently forms a defense system and additionally receives antibodies from breast milk if the baby is on. Children on IV are more likely to become infected.

Infection from mom

Great difficulties are caused by the disease of a nursing mother, which can infect a baby. An infected person does not immediately know about the disease: the first signs of a cold appear a few days after infection.

The virus from the mother can enter the baby's body through the nasopharyngeal mucosa, breast milk, but you cannot stop feeding: the baby will lose the main medicine.

Limiting exposure to pathogens will help frequent washing hands with soap and a gauze mask that needs to be changed several times a day.

Symptoms

The child is not yet able to explain that he has begun to fall ill, so parents often pay attention to obvious signs of a cold in a baby:

1. Discharge of mucus from the nose;
2. The eyes become cloudy;
3. Difficulty breathing, the baby often opens his mouth or pacifier during feeding, cries and refuses to eat, although he is clearly hungry;
4. , may be accompanied by a febrile condition, chills - the baby is trembling at normal room temperature;
5. The voice becomes hoarse;
6. Frequent sneezing and coughing appear.

Before these symptoms should be alerted by changes in the child's behavior. He becomes lethargic or too agitated. Baby does not sleep well, on the contrary, he often sleeps for a long time, is capricious. Signs of a cold in a newborn are a reason to immediately consult a doctor.

If a baby has a cold, Komarovsky recommends an immediate visit to the doctor. Only he will correctly decide how to treat a cold. It is advisable to use fewer different medicines; self-treatment of a cold in a baby is strictly prohibited. Medicines that help adults with similar symptoms can be dangerous for him.

In case of a viral occurrence of a cold, it is useless to use antibiotics, which are used for complications of an inflammatory nature.

When a pediatrician can prescribe nasal drops, vasoconstrictor or therapeutic based on saline, for inflammation - containing antibiotics. Two or three drops can be instilled into each nostril. It loosens mucus and has an antiseptic effect. To facilitate breathing, you need to clean the nose with a pear, a nasal aspirator, or, in extreme cases, with your mouth.

Toddlers cannot swallow pills. For the treatment of a viral disease, suppositories for a cold are prescribed with a content, which are inserted into the anus. The medicine is absorbed in the intestines, acts faster and does not harm the child's digestion. You can replace candles with drops or syrup, but they can cause vomiting.

There are positive reviews about the use of Anaferon for colds in babies. But it belongs to homeopathic medicines, for the treatment of a viral disease, funds with a higher concentration of the active substance are needed.

Contraindicated for the treatment of colds in infants:

• Decoctions, tea with honey, raspberries, cough syrups - can cause allergies;
• ... It was not originally intended for the treatment of a common cold, promotes the growth of bacteria, accelerates inflammatory processes;
• Rubbing with essential oils - can cause rashes and itching;
• Steam inhalations lead to burns of the nasopharyngeal mucosa;
• The use of mustard plasters is unacceptable for baby's skin;
• Enema without consulting a doctor.

Folk remedies are effective for colds, but it is not recommended to use them to treat a newborn. Medical procedures are prescribed by a doctor, self-medication can lead to complications that are dangerous for the child's life.

If the child has a fever

The baby's temperature up to 38 ° contributes to the production of antiviral substances by the body, it should not be knocked down. If you lower it already at 37 °, the baby will recover longer. At temperatures above 38 ° in children under 3 months, or 38.5 ° at an older age - urgently call an ambulance, it is better to give medicines under the supervision of a physician, since an allergic reaction is possible.

The ambulance does not always arrive quickly, and the rise in temperature threatens the child's life. In such a situation, you can independently give him an antipyretic agent intended for infancy.

In the absence of medications for children, paracetamol can be used in an emergency, which will quickly lower the temperature. Previously, it was often prescribed for the treatment of children under one year old, but today its toxic effects on the kidneys and liver have been proven.

It is contraindicated if the baby is 1 month old or less. For a child of 2 months and more, a single use dose is 15 mg per 1 kg of body weight, not more than 60 mg per kg of body weight per day. The action begins after 30 minutes. and lasts 4 hours. The tablets must be dissolved in water and given to the baby to drink. You can not use more than 3 days, it is better to replace paracetamol with antipyretic drugs adapted for infants.

It is forbidden to give aspirin, wipe the baby with a solution of water with vinegar, alcohol, vodka. Chemicals enter the child's body through the skin, causing poisoning. A month-old baby can get a burn of the mucous membrane when inhaling the vapor.

Thermoregulation in the body has not yet been established, sudden changes are dangerous and can cause convulsions in the child. To ease the condition, wiping with a napkin dipped in warm water is allowed.

The condition of white fever is dangerous, which is manifested by high fever and pallor of the skin, while the limbs are cold. You need to bring down the temperature slowly, only under the supervision of a doctor.

Care rules

Komarovsky notes that the body is able to cope with a cold on its own, if favorable conditions are created. Fundamental rules:

1. Regular airing. The inflow of fresh air allows you to get rid of viruses and bacteria in the room, oxygen makes it easier for the baby to breathe;
2. The humidity level is within 70%. Dry air irritates the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. You can use a humidifier, put a container of water near the battery, hang a damp cloth;
3. The temperature in the room should not be higher than 22 °. There is no need to additionally turn on heating devices, wrap up the child, cover it warmer than usual. A weakened body will have to spend energy fighting overheating, to get sick longer;
4. Carry out wet cleaning in the room 1 - 2 times a day, because microbes settle on the surfaces, and the dusty air irritates the baby's mucous membrane, makes breathing difficult;
5. Clothing should be lightweight and comfortable, made of breathable materials (cotton). Change your child's clothes immediately after sweating, wiping them dry. Wet bedding should also be changed. For the duration of the illness, it is better to refuse diapers - they contribute to overheating at high temperatures;
6. The child's head should be above the body, you can put a small one under the head pillow and monitor the baby's posture when he is in the arms of his parents;
7. A calm atmosphere in the house is important. You cannot be angry with a child that he is sick and capricious. The baby feels tension, begins to worry. Double stress exacerbates the symptoms of the disease in infants.

Daily routine and feeding for colds

The painful condition leads to exhaustion, fatigue. It is necessary to move away from the usual sleep pattern and give the child more sleep to recuperate. It is necessary to avoid noise, bright light, active games - a sick baby quickly gets tired and needs rest.

With a small cold, you should not give up daily walks if the child can breathe through the nose. They should be short-lived. Contraindication is heat, severe runny nose, cough, sore throat, weakness.

The baby needs food for recovery, contains useful substances and vitamins. If nasal breathing is impossible, the newborn often refuses to eat; with an exacerbation of the disease and high fever, there may be vomiting. You can not force the child to eat, it is better to feed more often, but reduce the portion.

If the baby's diet has already begun to be introduced, you need to abandon new products for the duration of the illness. When appetite appears, you need to give those cereals or mashed potatoes that his body digests well.

The kid needs to be drunk with boiled water, even if he is on breastfeeding... Excessive sweating causes dehydration, it is necessary to restore the water-salt balance.

Bathing and massage

It is believed that you can not wash children with a cold. Contraindication is intense fever and feeling unwell. You should refrain from the procedure if the temperature subsided less than 2 days ago. In other cases water treatments mandatory: they allow you to cleanse the skin of toxins that leave the body along with sweat, allow the skin to breathe. The temperature should be a couple of degrees higher than usual - 37-38 °. You can return to the usual temperature after the child has fully recovered.

Is it possible to bathe a baby with a cold, the attending physician decides. Pediatricians prohibit the procedure because of the risk of hypothermia. You can wipe it off daily soft clothdipped in warm water. It is necessary to alternately wipe and dry all parts of the body with a towel. If you wet your baby completely, it can freeze.

The doctor may prescribe baths with. It can be antibacterial. prescribed to ease the baby's breathing. You should not swim with a decoction without a doctor's prescription, or use new plants, the reaction to which in the baby is unknown.

Can I massage for colds? At the beginning and active phase of the disease, you must abandon the procedure.It leads to vasodilation, a slight increase in body temperature, which is dangerous if the baby has a fever. A viral illness causes headaches, which increase pressure during massage. Impact on chest leads to increased production of phlegm. It interferes with the baby's breathing, but he still does not know how to clear his throat. It is better to cure a cold in a baby, then resume the massage.

Colds infant lasts from 4 days to a week. At the first signs of the disease, you need to consult a doctor, follow his instructions for treatment. This will allow him to recover faster and avoid complications.

Since the flu is a rather contagious disease, parents are often worried about how not to infect a child with the flu if they get sick themselves. Soon after a person becomes infected, he becomes a distributor of the virus. However, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of infection by taking certain preventive measures.

Any mother who gets the flu risks infecting her child

The main mode of transmission of acute respiratory viral infections - airborne. The initial signs of influenza are usually noticeable as early as the next day after infection. Sometimes a couple of days pass.

Treatment for the flu is usually associated with gradually improving the symptoms until you recover. This can take at least a week.

Alas, the flu virus is not the only one. In total, there are more than two hundred of its varieties. The most common rhinoviruses that affect the nasal mucous membranes. They cause nearly 30 percent of colds.

Nursing mothers transmit antibodies to their babies, which strengthens the baby's immune system and manages to more or less quickly cope with the disease. However, the risk of infection is real for all children. Hence the understandable concern of parents: how not to infect the child with the flu.

Sometimes children have to suffer from ARVI up to seven times in one year. But this amount can be reduced or at least guaranteed that there are no complications during and after the disease.

Rules for parents to follow

First of all, it is advisable to isolate the child, that is, it is necessary to reduce to a minimum his contact with a sick household. Sometimes even a mother needs less contact with the baby, no matter how much she wants to continue to share her love. Influenza is temporary, not permanent... Be patient a little and get the right treatment in order to quickly recover and restore full communication with your beloved child.

Here are a few more rules to keep in mind:

• In no case, in particular, should a sick parent sleep in the same bed with a baby. In cases where isolation is not possible, a gauze bandage or special mask should be worn to prevent airborne infection.
• The dishes that are intended for the baby to eat (the same bottle, as well as the nipple) must be sterilized. This is done in all children - even in infants.
• Do not pour liquids into children's dishes from adult cups.
• Ventilate the room where the child sleeps on a regular basis. At least twice a day. For the duration of the airing, it is better to transfer the baby to another room. A suitable time for such a procedure is about a quarter of an hour.
• More often you need to walk with your child (even with a baby) so that he can breathe fresh air.
• Do not forget about frequent wet cleaning in the children's room. In particular, damp cloths can be used to get rid of dust, and the floors can be washed with a solution of water and a small amount of chlorine or hypoallergenic agents.
• Creating an unfavorable atmosphere for a viral infection, for which, for example, you can finely chop garlic or onions, put it in a cup or vase and put it in the baby's room. The phytoncides that are present in these vegetables destroy infectious pathogens.
• It is necessary to monitor the temperature in the children's room so that it is not too cold and too hot. Do not overheat the baby - this is just as dangerous as hypothermia.

Temperature indicators in the room where the child is:

• who has not reached the month - should be approximately 20-22 degrees;
• older than a month - 18-22 degrees.

For those children who have normal immunity and have no other health problems, hardening procedures will not interfere. They are allowed to start from about two months of age. This is an excellent prevention against colds.

If the baby is still ill, treatment should be started immediately.

When an epidemic begins, it is advisable to reduce the number of guests in the house where the child lives. Babies are prone to infection and therefore care for their health must be especially attentive and unswerving. In cases where the reception of guests is inevitable, they should be equipped with gauze masks.

How to quickly cure the disease?

In order not to rack their brains over how not to infect a child with ARVI, the parents themselves need to recover as soon as possible if they get sick.

But do not forget that by abusing such drugs, you can achieve the opposite effects - the congestion will increase, and the sinuses will swell.

Syrups intended for the treatment of cough have a very beneficial effect on health during a cold. They are offered on the pharmaceutical market in the following forms:

• suppressive, that is, suppressive;
• expectorant.

With the help of expectorants, it is possible to get rid of the mucus that has accumulated in the throat. Thanks to suppressive drugs, it is possible to suppress a dry cough (which often prevents the patient from falling asleep normally).

Using drugs like Paracetamol or Ibuprofen (in any pharmacy you can get them without a prescription and inexpensively), you will be able to cope with high fever and muscle pain caused by ARVI. However, pregnant women - especially in the third semester - should drink such drugs with caution (it is better to consult a doctor before this).

To recover sooner, doctors advise mustard baths. It is suitable for soaring feet in it (with a temperature of at least 40 degrees). It is very simple to make a bath:

• A couple of tablespoons of mustard dissolves in water.
• Keep your feet in the resulting solution for at least a quarter of an hour.
• When the procedure is completed, the feet are wiped dry, warm socks (made of wool) are put on and you need to wrap yourself in a blanket.

Finally, mustard powder can be poured into socks made from cotton fabric. It is allowed to sleep in these socks. Or simply rub your feet with diluted alcohol.

Symptoms of the flu in a child

Here are the signs of ARVI in infants you need to pay attention to first of all:

• runny nose, which is accompanied by discharge (their color is green, yellow or transparent);
• sneezing and coughing;
• feeling of weakness and malaise;
• sore throat and hoarseness;
• inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose and throat;
• temperature increase.

As soon as the baby has signs of SARS, it is necessary to start treatment. The longer this process is delayed, the longer and more difficult it will then be to fight the disease.

You can determine the onset of the disease in infants by a number of symptoms.

It will be nice for a baby to drip one drop into each nostril of mother's milk, which is not only valuable food for the baby, but also acts effective remedy against colds. It is especially effective in the early months of a child's life.

If the child is artificially fed, he can be given interferon (one drop is also enough). Various ointments also help - for example, Vitaon, as well as oxolinic ointment. Take just a little ointment and treat the area near the nasal passages.

Before allowing children to take certain drugs, it is advisable to consult a pediatrician.

Anaferon - help!

How not to infect a baby with the flu if you get sick yourself? It is necessary to make sure that the baby's body can resist itself, that is, strengthen its immunity.

For this, there are drugs such as immunomodulators. For example, Anaferon (for children). It has already been proven (by numerous studies) that it works effectively in the treatment of childhood colds:

• reduces morbidity;
• reduces the incidence of complications.

There are no side effects after using Anaferon. But, even if one of the parents coughs, the child's protective abilities are significantly improved.

You can give this remedy to children from the age of one month.

Why is Anaferon so effective? It's all about him unique composition, thanks to which interferon is produced in the child's body and, accordingly, it is protected from the negative effects of infection.

Rules for young mothers

Many young mothers start to panic: "I got the flu - how not to infect a child?" Here are a few more rules that sick mothers should follow in order to save babies from the same fate (especially since babies are much more difficult to tolerate the disease):

• It is important to feed your baby with your milk. Only in breast milk there are substances that protect children from many diseases (including infections) and help strengthen their immunity.
• It should not be too early, and even more so during an epidemic, to summon all relatives and other acquaintances to the bride. Even if outwardly it seems that a person is completely healthy, in fact, he can be a carrier of a viral infection and spread it everywhere, thereby threatening the young parents and the child. At a time when the epidemic is raging, it is undesirable to even go with the child to the hospital and other crowded places. If this cannot be avoided, put on a protective mask on the baby.
• If someone in the family is sick with ARVI, isolate him from contact with the child until he recovers completely. At least as far as living conditions allow. Do not forget about airing the premises and carrying out wet cleaning.
• Why not use the “old-fashioned” way to protect your child? We are talking about cut cloves of garlic, which need to be peeled, put on a string (like beads), hung next to the bed where the baby sleeps (as an option, decorate his neck with this necklace).
• For prevention purposes, rinse the baby's nose with special solutions or slightly salted water.
• Baby dishes must be sterilized. In no case should the child be given the dishes from which the sick household consumes food. No compotes and other liquids into the baby container from the "adult" bowl!
• Remember how important it is for your child to get as many vitamins as possible. There are, for example, special vitamin complexes for children. But before buying and using them, be sure to check with your pediatrician.

Breast milk contains antibodies that can help your baby fight the flu

• You shouldn't stop breastfeeding and you shouldn't worry about germs getting into your breast milk. This cannot be. On the contrary, in breast milk contains important antibodies that help children cope with ailments. Accordingly, it will be good if the baby receives them.
• Mom should drink plenty of fluids, which will help relieve the milk from burning out (in any case, it will reduce such risks). It is known that an increase in temperature leads to a loss of fluid in the human body, and without this, breast milk is not produced.
• Before taking certain therapeutic measures, using certain drugs (medicines), you need to consult a pediatrician (pediatrician). What if the child will have some contraindications and the situation will only become more complicated? What if the medicine is simply not suitable individually for the baby? Even taking folk remedies should be treated with caution and consulted with medical specialists.

So if it suddenly happened that you or someone from the household got sick, and there is a small child in the house, you should not panic and drive the sick person out of the house. There are great ways to protect child's body from infection - if you adhere to the above rules, this probability is significantly reduced.

If a young mother is sick, she needs to drink as much water as possible so that the milk does not burn out

But even if the child gets sick, do not delay in any case with the beginning of the treatment process. The sooner you start it, the faster and easier you will cope with the disease, and avoid complications.

Children who have already reached the age of six months can be safely vaccinated against influenza - such immunization further improves their chances of staying healthy even during an epidemic.

In the apartment where the small child lives, one of the family members has all the signs of a cold - a runny nose, cough, body aches. What can be done to avoid infecting a child? Of course, no one will give a 100% guarantee, but you can reduce the likelihood of infection.

Isolate the child from the sick

First of all, the child must be isolated from the sick person, unless, of course, the mother of the breastfed baby is sick. If it is impossible to isolate due to housing conditions, the patient should wear a disposable or gauze mask and change it every half hour. Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing paper napkinwhich should be thrown into the trash can immediately after use.

If mom gets sick

If a nursing mother of an infant becomes ill, she must also wear a mask and continue to breastfeed her baby, even if she has a high fever. Breast milk contains antibodies that build immunity and help your baby fight infection. Just do not bend close to the child and especially kiss him.

1. It is advisable for the child to sleep in a separate room or at least in a separate bed. It is advised to put a plate with finely chopped onions or garlic near the child's bed. They contain phytoncides - volatile substances that purify the air from microorganisms.
2. If your child is not allergic, you can soak the napkin with tea tree or lemon oil from time to time.
3. In the absence of a child, the room must be ventilated for at least 10 minutes, preferably several times a day. Also, twice a day, it is necessary to do wet cleaning with a disinfectant.
4. The air temperature in the room should be about 20 degrees. If possible, the child should spend more time outdoors.
5. A child who is not breastfed should have his own utensils, which no one else should use.
6. All family members should not enter the room in outerwear and forget to wash your hands with soap and water when you return home. During an epidemic, it is better to refuse to receive guests.

Medicinal preparations for prevention

Medicines can also be used as a prophylaxis. For example, drip 3-5 drops into the child's nose Interferon (antiviral drug). The rest of the family should do the same. Many moms find it more effective Grippferon in the form of drops or spray. It is an immunomodulatory, antiviral drug that is used to prevent and treat acute respiratory diseases and influenza. It can also be used for children under one year old.

For prevention, you can also lubricate the nasal mucosa. Oxolinic ointmentwith antiviral activity. The same can be done for a child with a cotton swab. Upon contact with a patient, the nasal mucosa is lubricated 2 times a day for three weeks. True, this ointment causes a slight burning sensation, which quickly passes, but this may not please the child. Therefore, it is better to use antiviral and immunomodulatory ointment. Viferon.

There are also rectal suppositories under the same name. However, more than six months should not pass from the date of their manufacture, since the activity of the active substance after six months is much reduced.

Children's candles are also popular with mothers. Viburcol... It's German homeopathic medicine, stimulating the work of the body's defenses, providing an anti-inflammatory effect. It contains plant substances: chamomile, belladonna belladonna, nightshade, plantain, etc. It can be used by children from birth.

For the prevention of acute respiratory diseases, you can instill drops in your nose and yourself and your child Derinat... It is also an immunomodulatory drug. As the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections and influenza, a homeopathic drug is used in the form of drops for internal use Aflubin... It is also shown to children under one year old.

However, before using drugs it is necessary to consult a pediatrician. Increases the body's defenses, moisturizes and cleanses the air from dust and is used to prevent bacterial and viral infections gel spray for biological air purification TAGETON (Russian company REBION). It contains a phytocomplex ( essential oils marigolds, pines) and is intended for people who often have colds, with weak immunity. It is safe to spray indoors in the presence of people.