Salivary glands of children begin to secrete saliva while the baby is in the womb of the expectant mother. By the age of three months, a baby is born, salivation often increases. This process is inherent in the body of children by nature itself.
The biological properties of saliva
It is children's saliva that is the fierce protector of a small organism from various kinds of infections, this is especially true when a child begins to pull everything that gets into his mouth, lick everything, despite the non-sterility of household items. In such situations, saliva has a bactericidal property.
The salivary glands create a comfortable environment for balancing moisture levels in the oral cavity of babies and adults, which facilitates effective chewing. The biological composition of salivary secretions contains special enzymes that promote the breakdown of starch into sugar, which has a good effect on the rapid digestion of food in the gastrointestinal tract.
Abundant drooling in children appears during the period of teething, they make the painful process less noticeable.
The child often chokes on saliva: what are the reasons?
Do not worry if the abundant saliva does not create any discomfort for the child. But it is worth paying attention to this process with colds, with internal inflammation of the oral cavity. Recently, there are cases when a child is simply choking on saliva. The reasons for this behavior of the body frighten young parents, since the very nature of the occurrence of such a state of the child is often incomprehensible and requires careful medical supervision of the baby.
Excessive salivation in many cases is associated with certain deviations from the norm in the child's body. Saliva crush can occur when a baby is breastfeeding, with a wet cough, with a profuse runny nose, and also with deviations in the swallowing reflex.
Many mothers are faced with the problem of stopping breathing when the child cramps with saliva in the supine position, while in the upright position all the symptoms of crush disappear instantly.
With colds in the lungs of a child, saliva accumulates along with mucus, which he cannot cough up on his own due to his small age. At the same time, a large amount of saliva goes down the throat, and the accumulated phlegm tries to escape from the inside, which creates a blockage of the airways, as a result of which the child simply cannot physically breathe, and it is necessary to carefully monitor the patency of the airways so that the child does not suddenly suffocate.
In many children, the swallowing reflex may be impaired from birth; during feeding, the child is not able to swallow large amounts of breast milk, which leads to crushing food and saliva secreted during feeding. Such children need to be fed progressively, in small portions. This defect often outgrows the child by the age of 2-3.
If the saliva crush appears constantly, and at the same time the child turns blue, an urgent thorough medical examination is necessary.
