Reverent attitude to the he alth of the child is the primary duty of conscious parents. Modern pediatricians are not surprised by the instant reaction of adults to the slightest sneeze crumbs. However, is such a response to changes in the child's body always justified? For example, is it worth worrying if a child grunts with his nose, but there is no snot? Komarovsky E. O. enlightens concerned parents on this issue. Let's see what the doctor thinks about this.
Baby grunting
Literally immediately after being discharged from the maternity hospital, a young mother may find that her baby sniffs loudly through her nose and makes specific sounds. The newborn does not cough, no mucus is released from the child's nose, there is no purulent discharge, the body temperature is not elevated. To put it simply, the child grunts his nose, but there is no snot.
Komarovsky does not consider this phenomenon a reason for parental hysteria andexcessive excitement. According to the specialist, the grunting breath of the crumbs disappears by the 2-3rd month of life. Up to a maximum of a year, your child will sniffle through his nose, after which his breathing will return to normal. What is the reason for the unpleasant phenomenon?
Physiology is to blame
Why does a baby grunt his nose? Dr. Komarovsky classifies such a manifestation as an attempt by the child's body to adapt to new conditions for him.
Snot can disturb a newborn baby even during teething. Abundant regurgitation after feeding is another physiological factor that provokes grunting breathing. Babies, having eaten mother's milk (mixture), return to their usual position - horizontal. Part of the food is in the back of the nasal passages. When air passes through the baby's nasopharynx, a specific sound is produced, reminiscent of grunting.
Your baby has a grunting nose but no snot. "Is it a runny nose?" - you ask. We are talking about the physiological cold. The mucous membrane of the newborn is irritated in response to dry indoor air, dust, animal hair, plant pollen. This is a kind of allergic reaction caused by the factors of the new environment.
If only after a night's sleep your child grunts his nose, but there is no snot, Komarovsky associates this with the accumulation of snot in the posterior nasal region. The reason for this is the narrow nasal passages of the child, which swell in response to changes in environmental conditions. This may occur after turning on the heating in winter.
Is this a pathology?
A newborn baby "grunts", but there is no snot. The reasons for this may be pathological.
Among the most common:
- Congenital abnormal structure of the nasal septum. Pathology arises in the process of intrauterine development of the fetus. The correction is made after a preliminary consultation with a specialist.
- Swelling of the mucous membrane, which was preceded by trauma to the nasal cavity. Parents who inaccurately cleaned the children's nose with cotton swabs and thereby damaged the nasal mucosa may encounter this. The result is swelling and grunting breathing.
- Mechanical damage caused by a bruise, blow or foreign body in the nose.
Incomprehensible diagnosis - stridor
Stridor is a disease that can be diagnosed by ENT when examining a newborn baby. Literally, the diagnosis sounds like "breathing noise." Some babies have softened laryngeal cartilage or narrow nasal passages from birth. In such situations, the child in the process of breathing sniffles and makes specific sounds resembling grunting. As the baby grows, breathing normalizes.
If stridor is diagnosed, there is a need for additional examinations that will help to exclude serious ailments associated with heart disease, problems with the thymus gland, bronchi. This fact explains the need for additional examination of the child.doctor at the age of 2-3 years.
How to help a baby?
The baby grunts with his nose, but there is no snot. What to do? In the case of physiological reasons, in order to solve the problem, parents need to eliminate allergens and provide comfortable living conditions for the child, namely, air temperature within 20 degrees and humidity 50-70%.
Remove all dust accumulators from the nursery: furniture, carpets, books, etc. Try to keep pets as far away from the child as possible. The same goes for aquarium fish food, flowers and other potential allergens.
In order to alleviate the condition of the crumbs, Komarovsky advises using saline to moisturize the nasal passages. You need to drip the product every 60 minutes, 3-4 drops. Washing with sea s alt water will also help.
Don't forget about regular walks in the fresh air, which help the nasal mucosa stay hydrated and the nasal passages clean. Contraindications to long walks can only be an exacerbated form of the disease, provoking a high body temperature.
Give your baby plenty of water. This will help to establish water-s alt metabolism and correct the imbalance of fluid in the child's body. Children older than six months can drink fruit drinks containing vitamin C (cranberry, raspberry, etc.).
Is your baby literally choking on snot? You can get rid of white transparent mucus with a special suction, syringe or regular syringe. During the procedure,use the composition to cleanse the nasal passages. They can be found at the pharmacy.
Prolonged secretion of mucus, its abundant accumulation in the nasopharynx, a change in the color of snot to yellow or green are clear reasons for seeking medical help. The opinion of a specialist is also necessary for any of the mentioned pathological causes of the phenomenon.
Rinse the baby's nose correctly
Why the child grunts with his nose, but there is no snot, we found out. We also learned about ways to alleviate the condition of the crumbs, among which regular washing of the nasal passages is paramount. What about event technique?
First, put the child on its side and irrigate the upper nostril with the solution. In the case of newborns, it is better to use isotonic drops, rather than sprays. Washing the nasal passages with saline is also not worth it. The s alt concentration in it exceeds the s alt percentage in the child's blood by hundredths. This is quite enough to dry out the mucous membrane of a child's nose.
Then we perform the same actions from the second nostril. At the end of the procedure, the aspirator (syringe) must be cleaned. Komarovsky advises to resort to washing the nasal passages every time you have a stuffy nose.
Prevention measures
Does your baby grunt but no snot? Komarovsky reassures parents, focusing on the physiology of the child. However, this does not mean that preventive measures should be neglected.
More on them below.
- We maintain the humidity in the room at 50-70%. We regularly carry out wet cleaning, use a humidifier (we cover the batteries with wet towels) during the heating season.
- We maintain the air temperature at 18-20 degrees. Ventilate regularly.
- Getting rid of dust accumulators.
- Often take a walk with the child in the fresh air.
- Help the baby roll over on his tummy, keep his head - this helps to normalize breathing.
- Perform regular care of the newborn's nose.
- We regularly bathe the baby.
- Regularly drip saline into the child's nostrils: 2 drops 2-3 times a day.
How to properly care for a baby's nose?
In the first month of a baby's life, his nose should be cleaned twice a day - in the morning and evening. The procedure is carried out using cotton swabs. Before the instrument touches the mucosa, it must be dipped in oil or vaseline to avoid damage. White mucus must be regularly removed with a douche (syringe). If your child's nose has scabs, soak them with oil.
Nose stuffed up, no snot - what to do?
What to do in a situation where there is no snot, but the child is not breathing? A Ukrainian pediatrician comes to the aid of worried parents here as well.
Often the reason for this phenomenon is an enlarged pharyngeal tonsil - an adenoid. It stands in the way of the nasopharynx, thereby making it difficult for air to pass through. The child gets used to breathing through the mouth, he talks through the nose.
Similar can be encountered with polyps - benign formations located on the mucous membrane of the nasal cavity and preventing normal breathing. The clinical picture is complemented by headache, high fatigue. Polyps are removed surgically.
Deviated septum is also one of the possible causes of congestion. Injuries accompanied by edema and hematoma can provoke this.
In each of the above cases, the need to address the problem to an otolaryngologist is obvious.
Compliance with preventive measures and the vigilant attitude of parents to the he alth of the child guarantee the avoidance of the described problems with the nose of the crumbs. Does your child grunt in the nose for a long time, but there is no snot? Komarovsky advises to immediately contact the observing doctor. This is especially true in cases of fever, lethargy, coughing.
