The coldest months of the year usually bring the baby’s first cold; it is normal that in your first year of life, your baby suffers it
Sometimes the symptoms are accompanied by a slight increase in temperature, which will worry you. However, and unless complications occur, a cold is not considered a serious illness. Your child will overcome it without problems.
SYMPTOMS
Most of these viral infections are usually mild and affect the upper airways – nose and pharynx. Cold symptoms are a stuffy nose, runny nose, slight loss of appetite, sneezing or coughing, and sometimes increased body temperature.
If your baby worsens and has the following symptoms, run to the doctor, especially if it is less than six months:
– Persistent cough
– He is uneasy
– Completely lose appetite
– Skips several meals
– Makes a lot of noise when breathing
– You have 38 oC fever
ANTIBIOTICS, YES OR NO?
There is no pharmacological treatment against the cold. Antibiotics are used to cure bacterial infections and viruses are the cause of colds. This condition usually resolves on its own in a week. As a general rule, patients begin to improve from the fourth day.
THIS IS HOW IT SPREADS
In the environment we breathe there are thousands of germs and viruses; little ones are not free to catch one. In the first 12 months of life, your baby’s immune system is not mature enough yet and that makes him vulnerable.
– By contact with the hands of sick people (including siblings) and, especially, if they kiss the child, sneeze or cough near him.
– In the nursery, he has much more contact with viruses, since no matter how good the hygiene of the school, a sick child always attends who can infect yours.
HELP!
Stuffy nose, sneezing, cough, fever … how can you help him?
– If you have a stuffy nose you can relieve it with a saline solution in each pit (they dissolve the mucus and make cleaning easier).
– Then remove the secretions with a rubber knob or a tube nasal aspirator.
– Prevent your child from sweating: covering it too much is a mistake.
– Do not expose your baby to sudden changes in temperature.
– If the temperature in your house does not exceed 20 or 22 oC, ventilate your room daily.
– Do not smoke in front of the baby: tobacco smoke irritates your airways.
– Avoid closed places with a lot of people.
– In your home, wash your hands well before touching the child.
– Do not allow anyone to caress or kiss it, much less those who are sick.
– Babies who drink breast milk enjoy greater immunity compared to those who are fed formula, since the former provides infants with many defenses.
– If the environment of your house is very dry, place a humidifier. This device maintains an optimal degree of humidity and helps to relieve a stuffy nose.