Many parents do not suspect that their knowledge of medicine and treating children is worthless.
Not all moms and dads are able to treat even a runny nose correctly.
Allergist-immunologist, pediatrician Ekaterina Portnyaga spoke to Gazeta.Ru about the most common mistakes parents make when treating their children.
Treatment of a runny nose
1. Not all parents attach importance to what drops to give to their child.
At the same time, vasoconstrictor drugs can cause complications.
Yes, these drops make breathing easier, but if used for a long period of time, they can become addictive and make your runny nose worse after you stop taking them.
The doctor does not recommend using these drops for more than 3-5 days in a row.
2. Dry air is also dangerous when treating a runny nose.
Therefore, parents need to ventilate the room more often or use humidifiers.
The recommended humidity level should be between 50-60%.
3. Don't forget to rinse your nose with saline solutions.
This is a safe and effective method, but parents ignore it, although rinsing removes excess mucus and reduces the risk of bacterial infections.
4. The next insidious mistake is the use of antibiotics. They should definitely not be given to a child as soon as a runny nose begins.
Antibiotics only work to treat bacterial infections, while runny noses are mostly caused by viruses.
5. In addition, the doctor noted that the child’s runny nose could be caused by an allergy.
In this case, a completely different treatment is prescribed, so it is necessary to “follow the recommendations of specialists” and not self-medicate.
