When should the baby’s secretion be aspirated?
If the baby’s breathing is so severely restricted that it can no longer breathe through the nose, it will try to balance its oxygen requirements by crying. This is because babies up to 6 months of age can only breathe through their nose. If decongestant nasal drops do not help and the nose still remains blocked, or produces so much mucus that breathing is no longer possible, the nose can be freed from annoying mucus with the help of a nasal aspirator. Both manual and electric aspirators can be used. It is important that they are sterile (it is better to rinse them once more with water) and that they do not have any sharp edges that could damage the sensitive mucous membrane.
Prognosis
In most cases, a cold is a harmless symptom in the context of a simple cold and subsides after a few days without any consequential damage. However, it can also occur in connection with various other diseases, which in turn can cause more severe disease progressions and require further treatment.
Prophylaxis
The most effective way to prevent a cold caused by a viral or bacterial infection is to avoid contact with the pathogens (through hygienic measures) and especially with those who are already ill. Children should be taught how to protect themselves from infection (e.g. not sharing drinking bottles with other children). However, since a certain amount of colds is also very important for the healthy development of the immune system, children should not be shielded to an excessive degree from possible pathogen contact. It is more important to keep away from more serious infectious diseases, such as influenza or various childhood diseases, for which again vaccines are largely available.
While vaccinations against influenza are generally not given to healthy children, vaccinations are recommended against some typical childhood diseases such as measles, rubella or whooping cough.In addition, a short-term, so-called passive immunization against the Respiratory Synzytial Virus is possible, but this is only used for particularly endangered babies (e.g. those with a congenital heart defect). A vaccination against the numerous classical rhinitis viruses or against rhinitis in general is not possible. Apart from this, general measures are of course useful to strengthen the immune system or keep it healthy, including a balanced diet, sufficient sleep, little stress and also exercise outdoors.
For the prevention of allergic rhinitis, small children should avoid harmful environmental stimuli (e.g. heavy dust exposure). In addition, prolonged breastfeeding and the early introduction of a varied supplementary diet can reduce the risk of developing an allergy.
