Correctly Clearing Baby's Runny Nose and Effective Treatments

A baby with a runny nose can have a diminished appetite, disrupted sleep, and general discomfort, leading to fussiness. Using the right methods and understanding how to alleviate your baby's runny nose is crucial for parents. So, how can you relieve your baby's runny nose?

First, how to wipe your baby's nose:

Since babies are too young to blow their noses, parents can start by elevating the baby's head with a small pillow and then gently wiping the baby's nose with a soft, warm, damp towel. You can also use a cotton swab dipped in water to clean the baby's nostrils. Infants and toddlers have underdeveloped nasal passages and rich nasal mucosal blood vessels, making them prone to inflammation. Thus, cleaning the nose promptly is essential.

Second, provide a good indoor environment:

A baby's delicate nasal passages are extremely sensitive to indoor conditions. Exposure to cold or dry air can increase blood circulation in the nasal mucosa, leading to congestion, swelling, and the production of secretions. Therefore, controlling indoor humidity, temperature, and ventilation is crucial for alleviating your baby's runny nose.

Third, pay attention to your baby's diet:

While your baby has a runny nose, parents should focus on their diet. Introduce mild and balanced foods like pork, chicken, mild fruits, and vegetables. Avoid seafood and foods with extreme cold or heat, such as shrimp, crab, cold beverages, fried foods, and the like. Overconsumption of cold foods can result in a chilling effect and weaken the body, while hot foods may lead to both cold and heat imbalances within the body, exacerbating the symptoms of a runny nose. Therefore, parents should make appropriate changes to their baby's diet during this time.

Fourth, watch your baby's activity:

During the day, babies are prone to sweating, and sweating can lead to overheating and, later, the risk of cooling down too quickly, which can worsen runny nose symptoms. To address this, ensure that your baby's clothing is adjusted promptly. Babies can also kick off their blankets at night, so it's important to keep them well-covered. Encourage your baby to engage in mild physical activities to boost their immunity. Spending time outdoors, breathing fresh air, can help alleviate runny nose symptoms.

Several factors contribute to relieving your baby's runny nose, and many medications offer excellent treatment. So, what medications are suitable for a baby with a runny nose?

Clear, runny nose, mild irritability, and crying due to lung qi invasion: Just encourage your baby to drink more water.

Prolonged runny nose leading to body heat: Increase your baby's intake of hot water.

Runny nose and sneezing due to exposure to cold wind: Immediately drink hot water or use hot water to wash the face to enhance the body's ability to resist cold. If too much time has passed or cold has already obstructed the pores and sweat can't escape, leading to only a runny nose, you can use hot foods like ginger, scallion whites, or cinnamon to generate heat and induce sweating, removing the cold.

Yellow runny nose: Based on severity, you can gradually adjust with plain water, chrysanthemum tea, honeysuckle tea, and encourage your child to consume moistening foods.

Runny nose isn't an illness, so avoid using medication without good reason, especially Western medicine. If other symptoms can't be controlled, consult a doctor. Medications that suppress the immune system should be avoided. Regularly washing the face with cold water can enhance resistance to cold.

Mild cold (sneezing, runny nose): Protect Baby Dan (wind-cold cold), taurine granules (wind-heat cold), pearl monkey date powder, children's Baotaikang (wind-heat), children's cold granules, Fu Ganlin oral solution, children's Jin Dan;

Cold and cough: Monkey Date Niuhuang Powder, Protecting Baby Dan, Children's Cold Granules, Children's Clear Lung Oral Liquid, Children's Cough Syrup (Dew), Clearing Cough Syrup;

Cough and excessive phlegm: Children's Cough Syrup (Dew), Clear Lung Phlegm Granules, Mu Shutan, Children's Discharge Cough Oral Solution, Protecting Baby Dan, Monkey Date Niuhuang Powder, Healthy Children's Clearing Solution;

Common antiviral drugs: Banlangen (Chinese herbal medicine), Xin Bolin (Western medicine);

Common anti-inflammatory drugs (antibiotics): Cefaclor, Azithromycin, Amoxicillin, and so on.

However, regardless of the medication, you should:

(1) Strictly follow the prescribed dosage and administration times.

(2) Encourage drinking plenty of water to facilitate drug absorption and excretion.

(3) For children under 3 years of age, whose liver and kidneys are not yet fully developed, avoid using paracetamol.

(4) If your child or their family has a history of antipyretic drug allergies, do not use fever-reducing drugs.

(5) Aminoglycosides and alkaline drugs, such as sodium bicarbonate, should not be taken simultaneously as they can reduce drug effectiveness.

(6) Ensure that your child gets adequate rest.