How to treat green snot in a child

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

A runny nose is accompanied by various diseases of the child, but if the mucus from the nose becomes green, the discharge itself becomes thick, viscous, this indicates the bacterial etiology of the common cold. In the question of how to treat green snot in a child, Evgeny Komarovsky recommends determining individually.

Why does the child have green snot

The appearance of green mucus indicates the onset of a bacterial rhinitis, it is often complicated by the penetration of viruses, becomes viral-bacterial. The change in the color of the discharge is due to the accumulation of dying bacteria, neutrophils in the mucus, which fought against the infection by the forces of the child's immunity. The more pronounced the green color of the snot, the more signs of mixed rhinitis.

The green color of the thick mucus secreted from children's noses indicates the onset of various diseases:

1. ARVI … Always accompanied by a runny nose, if you do not treat it in a timely manner, the discharge quickly thickens, turns green.
2. Physiological rhinitis … It often happens in newborns, it is considered a natural process, it only requires rinsing the nose with saline, which quickly relieves the baby from a runny nose.
3. Purulent rhinitis … This is a complication of the respiratory cold of viral etiology. The disease weakens the defenses of poorly formed children's immunity, therefore, a secondary infection by bacteria joins, the mucus thickens and turns green.
4. Sinusitis … A dangerous pathology that appears if a runny nose of a primary nature is started. With sinusitis, green thick discharge quickly clogs the maxillary sinuses, children complain of pain in the bridge of the nose, in the upper jaw. Dark circles appear under the eyes.
5. Allergy … An untreated form leads to thickening of the mucus, a change in its color. Then an acute infection quickly joins, provoking the formation of green mucus.

Knowing the reasons for the formation of thick green snot in a child can help in the question of how to treat rhinitis. According to Komarovsky, only a doctor should find the reasons and choose the right direction of treatment.

Mucus from the nose is taken for bacterial inoculation, laboratory assistants determine the true disease by the number and quality of protective cells.

Folk remedies

Komarovsky suggests treating green snot in a child with folk recipes. The doctor believes that if the discharge has taken on a green tint, it means that dead neutrophils accumulate in them - and this is a sign that the baby's own defenses are working well.

Recipes for folk remedies for green rhinitis:

1. Carrot and beet juice are natural antiseptics. Application: instill into the nose the juice, diluted 1: 1 with boiled water, 2-3 drops several times a day. At 2 years old, green snot in a child is treated with an additional drink of pure juice, 1 tbsp. l. 3 times a day.
2. Drops of chamomile and calendula. Production: take 50 g of dried chamomile flowers, calendula, pour a glass of boiling water, simmer in a water bath for 20 minutes. Add 10 drops of tea tree essential oil, rosemary, 20 drops of olive oil to the cooled broth. Application: instill into the nose 2-3 times a day.
3. Pure aloe and Kalanchoe juice. They are treated with green snot in a child when he is already 3 years old. Application: instill in a nose 2-3 times a day.

Green snot in a child is treated with folk remedies, for example, washing the nose:

1. A solution of sea salt with iodine. Preparation: take a glass of warm water, dissolve 1 tbsp in it. l. sea salt, add 1 drop of iodine. Application: rinse the nose 1-2 hours after instillation with any drops. Any rinsing that follows a couple of hours after instilling the drops quickly relieves the baby of thickened mucus.
2. Infusion of chamomile, calendula, St. John's wort. Preparation: take 1 tbsp. l.each herb, stir them up. Take 50 g from the mixture, pour 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 2 hours. Then drain. Usage: as a solution for rinsing the nose.
3. A solution of fresh aloe juice in warm water. Preparation: take 1 tbsp for a glass of water. l. juice, stir. Usage: as a solution for washing.

How exactly to treat green snot in a child with folk remedies is recommended by healers and herbalists. They advise using the means in alternation, so it will be clear which one is most effective and quickly helps the baby.

How to treat green snot in a baby

A runny nose with green secretions should be treated with the help of a doctor who establishes the cause of the disease, in accordance with this, chooses the direction of therapy. The task of treatment is to exclude the appearance of serious complications in the form of lingering otitis media, sinusitis, which are difficult to treat if the child is not yet 5 years old.

If a green runny nose appears in a child under 1 year old, then it is necessary to consult a doctor on the same day, and in no case self-medicate.

How else to treat green snot in a child

The doctor chooses which medicines to apply in each case. How exactly to treat green snot in a child depends on the reasons for their appearance, the onset of the disease. Usually these are nasal drops, inhalation, rinsing, drinking plenty of fluids.

Antibiotic treatment

Often parents ask if antibiotics are needed for a bacterial rhinitis. Sometimes doctors prescribe drops with antibiotics - Framycetin, Isofra. They are effective, but there is no need to apply them. Common purulent rhinitis, even with a severe course, is well treated with antibacterial drops. They are combined with rinsing the nose, breathing exercises.

Antibacterial drops are selected after laboratory analysis, which shows which bacteria have infected the child's nasal cavity. Without tests, drops with antibiotics are not prescribed to the child; Dr. E. Komarovsky admits such treatment inappropriate.

Do I need to treat with vasoconstrictor drops

Drops that constrict blood vessels, such as Naphtizin, Sanorin, Nazivin, Phenylephrine, Nazol, are always addictive when they are used in treatment for more than 3-5 days. Their pediatricians are prescribed when a child has severe nasal congestion, with a course of no more than 5 days.

Doctors are wary of prescribing them, given that each of these drops has a whole list of side effects.

Medicines of this group are forbidden to be used in the treatment of children under 2 years of age. All of them only temporarily eliminate the symptoms, do not have a therapeutic effect on the causes of rhinitis, says Dr. E. Komarovsky.

Local antiseptics

Medicines containing essential oil - Pinosol, Cameton are considered local antiseptics. The result of their use is the congestion of the nasal passages goes away, bacterial rhinitis is cured. A good local antiseptic is a solution of water with fresh celandine juice: in a glass of water you need to take only 2 drops of juice freshly squeezed from a green plant.

This remedy is used in children over 5 years old, with caution, because the plant is poisonous. But in a situation with a green runny nose, it helps to easily cope with thickening mucus, cleansing the child's nose. Usually, the use of this plant in older children is recommended by Dr. E. Komarovsky.

Antihistamines

The use of antihistamine drugs is considered mandatory in the practice of treating children with lingering green rhinitis. They help relieve puffiness, watery eyes, sore throat.

The purpose of taking these funds is to minimize complications after exposure to viruses, infections, allergens.

All antihistamines work:

• against itching;
• local anesthesia;
• against edema;
• against spasms.

Taking anti-allergic drugs is the prevention of spasms in the bronchi, which cause thick mucus to flow down the back of the larynx. From the age of 1 month, babies are allowed to give Fenistil, the pediatrician prescribes Suprastin injections for older children.

Their analogues are Pipolfen tablets, Diprazin, Clemastine, Tavegil. Medicines are selected according to their children's tolerance, taking into account the existing contraindications.

Warming ointments, patches against green snot

Many babies do not like mustard plasters, instillation, breathing in a nebulizer. They are saved by safe plasters that are effective for rhinitis. Their action is the evaporation of essential oils, facilitating the breathing of the child.

Types of plasters:

• "Breathe"; based on essential oils of eucalyptus, mint, fir, lavender, turpentine oil, levomenthol of plant origin;
• "Nozzle"; based on camphor and eucalyptus oils;
• Magikoplast, and its variants - "With a cold", "To facilitate breathing with a cold." Developed with essential oils of patchouli, eucalyptus, cedar and vegetable levomenthol.

Patches are transdermal products for external use. Some of them are glued to the skin, others to clothing or bedding. The action of any patch is 8 hours.

There are many topical ointments, which rub the bridge of the nose, the wings of the nose with a cold, protecting it from getting into the eyes. You can also rub the chest, while being careful in movements on the nipples of the breast.

Types of ointments that treat green snot in children:

• "Doctor Mom";
• "Badger";
• "Little Bear";
• "Golden Star".

Ointments for a thick runny nose and green snot in a child are treated with folk remedies. They have a warming effect and are used as an adjunct to drug therapy. For children, the pediatrician prescribes ointments by age, type of drug, special instructions for its use.

Doctor Komarovsky about green snot in a child

Evgeny Komarovsky insists on treating thick green rhinitis with bacterial preparations, excludes the use of antibiotics.

The doctor recommends not taking sick children to kindergarten, school until the green rhinitis is cured. At home, the composition of mucus in the child's nose should be normalized, sometimes medications are not required for this, but favorable conditions will be created - humidified air, the air temperature is not less than 18 degrees, not more than 20 degrees.

Long walks in the air, according to E. Komarovsky, are equivalent to drops with an antibiotic. The child needs to drink a lot, flush mucus from the larynx, thin it so that it is naturally excreted from the nose.