When the baby is not breathing due to nasal congestion, the sinuses should be immediately cleared and breathing easier. This can be done with saline.
What is saline solution?
Saline is an analogue of numerous drugs for cleansing the nasal sinuses of babies, but only in a more affordable version. This is the same salty water solution. Sometimes its use even allows not to use vasoconstrictor drugs. It is enough to clean the nose with saline solution 3 times a day, and the baby breathes freely!
Saline is 0.9% sodium chloride solution. Do not try to make it yourself at home. You will not be able to maintain the correct proportion and sterility.
Self-use of saline is not advisable without a doctor's recommendation. Check with your pediatrician and only then go to the pharmacy.
How to rinse a baby's nose
Infants cannot breathe through their mouths, so when their nose is stuffed up, they not only begin to choke, but also cannot eat normally: suck on a breast or a bottle. And for very young children, hunger causes physical discomfort and even pain. Therefore, it is so important to help your child start breathing freely as soon as possible.
So, to clear your nose with saline, you need a regular small rubber bulb, a syringe without a needle, saline, and cotton swabs.
But don't forget to check with your pediatrician! Because only he will be able to tell for sure whether the baby really needs to be washed, or it is enough just to remove the crusts and drip the nose with saline so as not to torment the baby.
Washing process
Lay the baby on the side and make sure that the baby is calm enough. Then carefully, without injuring the inner walls of the spout, remove the crusts with cotton swabs and suck the snot with a pear. Then draw saline into the syringe, no more than 5 ml and inject it into one nostril. Then turn the baby over on the other side and inject the solution into the other nostril.
Make sure that the baby does not choke and the procedure does not cause him too much discomfort. If your baby starts coughing, immediately turn him over onto his stomach and pat lightly on the back.
After injecting saline with a syringe, suck out the softened contents again with a pear. After the nose is completely cleared, you can moisten it from the inside with some drops or oil.
The main thing that needs to be observed in the process of rinsing the nose with saline is calmness and confidence in your actions. Do not panic if you suddenly do something wrong, calm your baby down and try again. This is your child, you are responsible for him, and no one can help him better than you.
