Babies frequently have stuffy noses, but how frequently is a baby's nose cleaned? How should a baby's nose be cleaned properly? When should you go to the doctor, exactly? Everything you may be interested in knowing can be found in the following article.
A stuffy nose is annoying for everyone, but infants are not able to get rid of it on their own, so it is necessary to clean the infant's nose so that they can breathe easily, but how often is the infant's nose cleaned? Let's investigate the response in the lines that follow:
How often is the infant's nose cleaned?
The infant's nose can be cleaned three to four times in a 24-hour period, but no more than four times should be used to avoid endangering the nasal passages, which could lead to inflammation and nosebleeds.
To help the child breathe during feeding, it is recommended to schedule a time to clean the infant's nose. Since the obstruction of the infant's nose is one of the causes of the infant's poor feeding, the infant needs to have a clean nose in order to get good nutrition.
It is worth noting that the instrument used to clean the infant’s nose must be cleaned from time to time, in order to avoid exposing the infant to the causes of nasal congestion, such as bacteria or germs, every time the instrument is used to clean the infant’s nose.
Correct ways to clean the baby's nose
Once you are aware of the response to the query "How frequently is an infant's nose cleaned?" Please inform us that there are various techniques and options available for cleaning the infant's nose, with the most popular ones being nasal sprays, aspirators, and syringes. Let’s learn how to clean the infant’s nose using each individual tool as follows:
- Nasal spray
Saline solution is contained in nasal drops. A nasal spray may be sold ready at the pharmacy or it can be prepared at home by combining a cup of warm water with a quarter teaspoon of salt.
Nasal spray can be used when having difficulty cleaning the infant’s nose because the mucus is thick and difficult to remove. By doing the following, you can use nasal spray to clean the baby's nose:
- Lay the infant on his back.
- Tilt the head back slightly.
- Spray two to three drops of saline nasal solution into each nostril.
- Wait for 30 - 40 seconds.
- Get the saline solution and mucus out with a nasal syringe, or put the child on his side or on his stomach and let the saline solution and mucus come out.
- rubber-bulb nasal syringe
The steps below are among the simplest ways to clean a baby's nose:
- Place the infant in a sitting position.
- Empty the air from the rubber bulb by pressing the back of the bulb.
- Gently insert the tip of the syringe into the infant's nostril, being careful not to go too deep.
- Do not press on the back of the syringe to allow the mucus to flow out.
- Clean the syringe bulb from mucus.
- Repeat the previous steps for the other nostril.
In the event of difficulty in removing mucus, drops of saline solution can be placed before suctioning. The nasal syringe for the child needs to be cleaned both before and after each use.
- Nasal aspirator
The nasal aspirator contains a slanted tube with a mouthpiece to gently suction mucus from the infant's nose. A filter and other filters are built into the mouthpiece to keep mucus out.
The steps below can be used to use a nasal aspirator to clean the baby's nose:
- Lay the infant on his back.
- Use 2-3 drops of saline solution to decongest.
- Place the tip of the aspirator nozzle into the child's nostril and the mouthpiece into the parent's mouth.
- Gently suck on the nozzle to release mucus from the baby's nose into the nozzle.
- Avoid aggressive as it may cause inflammation or bleeding of the nasal tissues.
- Remove the nozzle in a downward direction.
When should you visit the doctor?
If the child exhibits severe symptoms of trying to breathe, such as those listed below, a doctor should be consulted right away.
- Wheezing
- Raising the ribs when breathing.
- Breathing very hard.
- Lactation speed.