It is very easy to catch the virus in school or kindergarten. As a result, a sick child infects his younger brother or sister. What actions can you take to protect and keep your baby safe from infection? Or is it better to do nothing, because doctors often say: "Immunity needs to be trained"? What to do if a newborn is at home and an older child is sick?
Senior child with thermometer
Features of the baby's immunity
The likelihood of developing a respiratory illness for a baby after birth is quite low. The first ARVI may appear closer to the year, this is provided that the baby is breastfed. The child receives immunity from the mother along with milk. The diet of artificial people does not contain the necessary antibodies, so the risk of contracting respiratory infections for them increases many times.
Satisfied baby with thermometer
Immunity is divided into congenital and acquired. The first is capable of only rudely destroying all pathogens that enter the body that it can infect. Naturally, the crumbs have not yet been acquired. It is formed in the process of the organism's struggle with antigens. Its own innate defense is weak: the mucous membranes and skin are thin and do not perform a barrier function.
In short, the baby survives exclusively on the mother's immunity. By the age of six months, the amount of such antibodies in the child's body is steadily decreasing, which leads to an increased likelihood of catching an infection. Next, the child needs to fight himself and develop his own elements of the immune system. Almost always, the baby successfully copes with this task.
If the oldest child is sick
A reasonable compromise must be adhered to. On the one hand, you should not hide the baby from any source of infection (otherwise, immunity will not be developed). However, you should not expose your baby to direct danger. What measures can be taken to prevent the newborn from getting infected?
Isolate him in another room
The greater the distance between the sick and the healthy, the better. Ideally, the newborn should be put to sleep in another room. Be sure to monitor the air parameters. The temperature should be in the range of 18-20 degrees, humidity - from 50 to 70%. Under such conditions, the local innate immunity is maximally activated.
Mom measures the temperature of the baby
Put a mask on an older child
A gauze bandage will help trap small droplets of saliva and phlegm that contain viruses or bacteria. It needs to be changed every two hours. Otherwise, she herself can already become a source of infection.
Airing and wet cleaning
In a room with poor ventilation, the concentration of the virus is always higher. Therefore, the simplest thing that can be done to prevent ARVI in family members is to dress warmly and organize end-to-end ventilation, even in winter. One of the main reasons why the incidence of respiratory infections is lower in summer is good ventilation of the room. It's just that all people open the vents through which pathogens come out.
Quartz room
Quartzization is an inexpensive but effective procedure. It is widely used for disinfecting rooms in hospitals, but it can also be used at home.
Mom took her daughter's temperature
The method is based on the ability of ultraviolet rays to kill harmful organisms in the air and on surfaces. This is its main advantage over wet cleaning, which can only clean furniture, floors and walls. The latter is also less effective, since it requires a lot of human effort.
Quartzing is carried out for 30-40 minutes. In this case, there should be no people or animals in the room. Even plants are recommended to be hidden somewhere else. When the lamp is on, it is forbidden to look at it.
Rinsing the nose and throat
Rinsing is one of the most effective ways to flush the pathogen from the nasal mucosa before it enters the body. For babies, this procedure is not very pleasant, but it is an effective way to reduce the risks of infection. Washing is especially useful when it is not possible to achieve the required room temperature and humidity.
Council. Before rinsing a baby's nose, you need to consult with an otolaryngologist, since this procedure is prohibited for a number of diseases that can only be diagnosed by an ENT.
The baby does not know how to gargle, so he does not need to do this. Parents of a sick child - this procedure is required. They come into contact with him and can pick up pathogenic microorganisms, which can easily infect a baby in the future. Rinsing may not completely prevent ARVI, but it can somewhat reduce the risk.
How to prevent SARS
Prevention of respiratory viral infections is one of the most challenging tasks facing modern medicine. There are a number of recommendations, following which you can minimize the likelihood of illness in infants.
Walks in the open air
It has been proven that this will help reduce the risk of ARVI, especially because the child is less indoors and, accordingly, breathes viruses. Therefore, it is quite possible to temporarily isolate a newborn from a sick baby by walking with him in the fresh air.
Vitamins
A newborn baby does not need additional vitamin intake. He receives all the necessary substances from breast milk. If the baby is artificially fed, then the amount of trace elements is selected by a specialist.
Diet
The same goes for food. At the same time, it is much better to breastfeed the baby, since the maternal immunity protects the baby from viruses. If this is not possible, the pediatrician makes recommendations based on the individual characteristics of the newborn.
If the baby is sick
Unfortunately, there is no one hundred percent prevention method. If a young child has symptoms of a cold or flu, it is important to see a pediatrician. He will select the treatment depending on the severity of the condition. SARS in infancy should be treated very responsibly, because children are at risk of dangerous complications.
Important! You should never self-medicate. Many common drugs used by adults for the treatment of respiratory infections are contraindicated in children. For example, aspirin, which increases the likelihood of fatal complications.
Thus, there is no one hundred percent method of how to protect a newborn from a cold if an older child is sick. The positive thing in this situation is that the risks that the baby will be exposed to respiratory infections are quite low.
