Often, parents wonder if it is possible to bathe a child with bronchitis. To answer it, you need to know what kind of disease it is, how it proceeds and what are its signs. Only with this information, you can understand whether it is worth bathing a child with bronchitis.
What is bronchitis
Bronchitis is an inflammation of the bronchi, which affects both the mucous membrane and the entire thickness of the walls of the organ. Pathology appears on its own, but sometimes it is one of the complications of colds. There are two forms of the disease: acute and chronic.
The development of an acute form of the disease is characteristic of sudden changes in temperature or hypothermia. This type of bronchitis is quite common and occurs more often than chronic. The course of the disease can take from one to three weeks. With incorrect or untimely treatment, it develops into pneumonia, often developing respiratory failure, bronchial asthma, as well as the spread of the inflammatory process to other organs. In children, it often causes such a complication as otitis media.
The causes of chronic bronchitis are:
- Ingestion of bacteria and viruses.
- Frequent colds, repeated relapses of acute bronchitis, which is not completely cured.
- Hereditary predisposition to the disease.
- Inhalation of polluted air.
Chronic bronchitis is much more difficult to cure than acute. Untimely access to a doctor and improper therapy can lead to organ deformity.
How the disease progresses
The main symptoms of bronchitis are: severe dry cough and difficulty breathing. As the disease progresses, the cough becomes moist, but small children cannot expectorate mucus. In this regard, the course of pathology in children is much more complicated and dangerous than in adults.
Age of child
Age in the treatment of a child must be taken into account, the answer to the question will depend on this: is it possible to bathe him with bronchitis.
- From 1 month to a year. Many young mothers are very concerned about the question of whether it is possible to bathe a baby with bronchitis. Doctors do not recommend doing this, it is better to wait until complete recovery. During illness, you can wipe the baby with a damp towel, and then change into clean clothes. The room in which the rubdown will be performed should be warm and free from drafts.
- From a year to 3 years. At this age, children with bronchitis can start bathing from 12 days from the startdiseases, but not more than 5 minutes a day. After bathing, you need to quickly dry the child with a towel and put on warm clothes.
- From 3 to 10 years old. The occurrence of bronchitis in a child during this period is the most dangerous. When the first signs of pathology appear, you should immediately consult a doctor and immediately begin treatment. The question - is it possible to bathe a child with bronchitis, is very relevant. This can not be done, only wipe and then not earlier than 7 days from the onset of the disease. About when you can bathe a child after bronchitis, only the attending physician can answer, based on the general symptoms and condition of the patient.
- From 10 to 15 years old. An older child can swim with bronchitis, but only if there is no temperature and any complications of the disease. It is not recommended to spend a long time in the bathroom when you are sick, just a few minutes in the shower is enough.
If bronchitis occurs in a chronic form (regardless of the age of the child), water procedures can even be useful. But this is only if bathing is carried out in accordance with all the rules and all the necessary precautions are observed.
Dangers when bathing a baby during bronchitis
When asked whether it is possible to bathe a child with bronchitis, in most cases, doctors give a negative answer. This happens not because of the process itself, since bathing cannot harm in any way. Dangers are possible temperature fluctuations or hypothermia - do notwarm enough water or room, too long exposure of the child to the water.
Is it possible to bathe a child when the temperature returns to normal
An equally frequently asked question by mothers: can I bathe a child with bronchitis without fever? Water procedures after the temperature has completely subsided and returned to normal are not only possible, but also necessary. It is worth noting the fact that if the child has become as active as before the illness, then you can safely go to the bathroom.
How to bathe a baby during bronchitis
If you do everything right while bathing a child with bronchitis, you can not only wash off all the accumulated dirt from him, but also prevent the development of complications:
- In order for the body to get used to water again after a long break, the first time bathing a child should take no more than 4-5 minutes.
- If water procedures are carried out in the bathroom, then after bathing the child, you should immediately wipe it dry with a towel, put on warm clothes, and only after that you can take it to another room. The baby should be immediately put under the covers.
- The water temperature when bathing a child should not exceed 40 degrees, but not less than 37 degrees. The temperature in the room must be at least 25 °C.
- Doctors recommend bathing your baby in the shower to avoid temperature fluctuations.
- Children older than five years old, in the absence of temperature, can take a short steam in the bath. At the same time, steam vapors penetrate into the lungs and warm them up, fordue to which metabolic processes are switched on. In the bath, under the influence of heat, the pores expand, blood rushes to the capillaries, thereby causing profuse sweating. Sweat, in turn, removes all toxins from the body. Increased blood circulation contributes to an increase in metabolism at the cellular level, while bacteria die. In the bath, under the influence of hot steam and high humidity, sputum liquefies and is more easily excreted from the body.
What not to do
There are several dangerous circumstances that should never be allowed when a child is ill with bronchitis:
- Sudden changes in temperature can adversely affect the entire course of the disease and cause complications.
- If a complication such as otitis media occurs during bronchitis, then you should not bathe the child in any case.
- It is not recommended to wash the baby's hair if all the signs of the disease have not yet completely disappeared.
- You can not bathe a child during the acute period of the disease, that is, in the first few days after the onset of the development of pathology.
Bath Recipes
In order for the bathing procedure to be most effective, it is recommended to prepare it with additives:
- Rye bath. In a bucket of water you need to put two glasses of rye and cook for 5 or 10 minutes. Then it needs to be cooled and filtered, and then poured into water. If you bathe the baby in a baby bath, then just 2-3 glasses of broth are enough. With bronchitis in a childyou can bathe in such a bath every day, as rye expands the pores, thereby removing toxins from the body.
- Bath with tangerine skins. For cooking, you need to boil about one kilogram of tangerine skins, after which the cooled and strained broth should be poured into the bath and the child should be lowered into it. This procedure strengthens the baby's immune system, thereby increasing the body's resistance to pathogens.
- Herbal bath. To prepare a herbal bath, you need to make a collection of the following herbs: mint, chamomile, thyme, licorice, fennel, plantain, coltsfoot. The ingredients must be crushed and mixed, and then pour them with a liter of boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes. After the appointed time, the broth must be removed from the fire, cooled, strained and poured into the water intended for bathing. In such a bath, you can bathe a child no more than twice a week. This not only strengthens the immune system, but also has a beneficial effect on the entire body.
Thus, if the question arises: is it possible to bathe a child with bronchitis, the answer is yes in some cases. However, in any case, the permission of the attending physician is required and in compliance with all the rules and recommendations.
