The first months of a baby's life are full of discoveries. Every day the child changes - yesterday he only looked around with exaggerated seriousness, and today he is already smiling and clearly recognizes mom and dad. Some changes in the behavior and condition of the baby can be alarming for parents if they do not know their reasons. One of them can be severe drooling, which usually begins in babies in the second or third month of life.
Why is the baby drooling?
The first reason for salivation in infants is a natural increase in the secretory activity of the salivary glands. In newborns, they do not work at full strength, the saliva in very young children is viscous, and a little of it is released.
From about one and a half months, the glands in the mouth begin to function more intensively. The child does not have time to swallow the abundant fluid, so saliva flows out. Soon the mechanism of regulation of salivation becomes more mature, and the problem is solved by itself.
A little later, the child's teeth begin to cut. The eruption of the first teeth is also accompanied by increased salivation. Due to itching in the gums, the child constantly pulls pens and various objects into his mouth, which further irritates the oral mucosa and stimulates the activity of the salivary glands.
Usually, with the appearance of the first tooth, saliva becomes noticeably less.
One cannot ignore the bactericidal properties of saliva - since a lot of bacteria from the skin of the hands, teethers, rattles, and other objects enter the child's mouth, the body seeks to protect itself from pathogens, literally washing them off the mucous membrane.
Much less often, active salivation is a consequence of any disease - most often it is an allergy, viral infection or damage to the central nervous system. In such cases, other symptoms are usually present - nasal discharge with allergies and infections, impaired reflexes in diseases of the nervous system.
What to do with increased salivation?
Since the baby is not yet able to take care of himself, parents will have to carefully monitor the condition of the child and regularly wipe his mouth and chin dry so that the saliva does not irritate the skin.
If, nevertheless, redness and peeling appear around the lips, ointments and creams with panthenol will help to get rid of them, relieving irritation and stimulating skin regeneration.
Saliva can drip onto clothing, impregnating the fabric. To avoid irritation under the clothes because of this, it is best to temporarily put on "bibs" on the child - collars with a waterproof lining.
The kid can choke on saliva in a dream and cough because of this - such a cough is not a sign of a disease and is not dangerous to health. If the cough continues during the day, accompanied by an increase in temperature, the child should be shown to the pediatrician to rule out infection.
If a child's teeth are teething, massage his gums with a finger wrapped with a piece of sterile bandage, or apply a special gel on them - this will relieve itching and pain, and reduce saliva production.
