Causes
There are many reasons why snot flows from the nostrils like water. Before you begin treating congestion, you need to familiarize yourself with the most common causes.
Allergic reaction
Sometimes a child’s snot flows heavily in the spring after a large amount of pollen and grass appears. The body of adults and children immediately begins to react to this. Many people not only experience a runny nose, but also other symptoms. People complain of increased coughing, itching, skin rashes and swelling.
ARVI
Most often, snot appears in a stream in a child after contracting a viral infection. At first, the discharge is quite liquid, but over time it becomes thicker, and rhinitis begins to develop. If the mucus becomes thick, treatment for the disease should be started immediately. Untimely treatment leads to severe irritation of the mucous membrane and the appearance of swelling.
Sinusitis
Sometimes a child's snot flows like water due to severe inflammation of the facial sinuses, which is called sinusitis. This disease causes severe headaches, dizziness and runny nose. If sinusitis is left untreated, over time the mucus will begin to change color and turn brown. This indicates that pus has begun to accumulate in the nasal cavity.
Rhinitis
Rhinitis is the most common reason why a child has runny nose. This disease occurs in children and adults who have to stay in rooms with too dry air for a long time. Most often, snot flows like a stream due to rhinitis in the winter after the start of the heating season.
Symptoms
Liquid snot in a child may be accompanied by other symptoms. There are three main symptoms that can appear along with nasal congestion.
Irritation of the mucous membrane
Sometimes, with a runny nose, there is a strong burning sensation and excessive dryness in the area of the nasal passages. Some complain of worsening nasal breathing, nasal sounds and severe headaches. The presence of the above symptoms indicates that the pathogens penetrate the mucous membrane. Because of this, the newborn’s nasal passages may narrow significantly and hyperemia may appear.
Serous discharge
If you do not treat a runny nose at home, so-called serous discharge may appear. They have an irritating effect and because of this damage the surface of the mucous membrane. Over time, serous secretions form small cracks and swelling in the nasal cavity.
See also
Causes, symptoms and treatment of snot and hoarse voice in a child
Read
Purulent discharge
It is quite easy to notice that pus is leaking from the baby’s nostrils, as it has a yellowish tint. Purulent discharge indicates serious complications of congestion.
Therefore, if snot with pus flows, you should immediately consult your doctor.
Snot flows like a stream: folk remedies
When treating, do not forget about effective folk recipes. However, they cannot act as independent treatment, only as additional measures. Many of us remember such methods from our own childhood and successfully apply them in practice for our own children. Here are some of them.
Onions and garlic have long been famous for their antibacterial properties. But the juice of these products itself is very caustic and can easily damage the mucous membrane of an adult, not to mention children. Therefore, freshly squeezed juice needs to be diluted with a little warm boiled water in a ratio of 1:5. Before putting drops in your child’s nose, try this remedy on yourself. If after the procedure there is no acute burning sensation, then drops can also be used for children.
Read: Why is a compulsory medical insurance policy for a newborn necessary?
Vegetable juices are also actively used, for example, carrot or beet juice, diluted in half with water. This remedy should be used several times a day, 1-2 drops in each nostril.
Inhalations over medicinal solutions were also very popular in the past. This method is not suitable for small children, because during treatment it is very easy to get a burn on the face. Now there is an excellent alternative - steam inhalers, which are sold in every pharmacy. The required healing solution is poured into the device and the child inhales it through a special mask.
Previous generations often used an ointment that cured even the smallest of children from runny noses. To prepare it, you need to mix two parts of honey, rose hips and lard, add four parts of aloe leaf juice and one part of eucalyptus oil. Mix all ingredients thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is obtained and spread on the wings of the nose at least six times a day.
Traditional medicine offers quite interesting and varied alternative treatment methods.
If you decide to use any of these for your child, be sure to consult your pediatrician first.
How to stop snot flowing
For children, a severe runny nose is a serious illness, since they tolerate it much worse than adults. The fact is that at this age people’s immunity is much weaker and fights infectious diseases worse.
Before treating your baby, you need to familiarize yourself with medications that will help cure a runny nose quickly.
Means for constricting blood vessels
Many people don’t know how to dry a child’s snot during a severe runny nose. This can be done with the help of vasoconstrictor medications. To figure out which drops are best to use when your nose is running, you need to familiarize yourself with some of them in more detail.
Rinazolin
If a child has snot, it is necessary to use Rinazolin during treatment. These vasoconstrictor drops will help quickly stop the flow of snot and restore nasal breathing. The drug is made on the basis of oxymetazoline hydrochloride, which stimulates alpha-adrenergic receptors. Daily use of Rinazolin relieves swelling within a week.
Before you start treating liquid snot in a child, you need to familiarize yourself with the contraindications of this drug. Rinazolin should not be used by people suffering from glaucoma, atrophic rhinitis or high sensitivity to this drug. It is also better to avoid using drops for patients with chronic rhinitis and diabetes.
To stop the snot pouring from the nostrils, you need to familiarize yourself with the dosages of taking Rinazolin. A child under six years of age should use the drug twice a day, one drop per dose. For older children, the dosage is doubled.
Nazivin
You can stop a runny nose at home using the drug Nazivin. It comes in the form of a spray or nasal drops that should be placed in each nostril. This medicine is made on the basis of the stimulating component oxymetazoline. With its help, you can not only treat liquid snot, but also eliminate swelling in the paranasal sinuses.
Before using Nazivin, you need to familiarize yourself with the dosage. In some cases, serious side effects occur due to overdose. Many people complain of severe sneezing, congestion, dry nasal passages and burning in the nostrils. Less commonly, patients complain of nausea, high blood pressure and tachycardia.
A child under five years old should drip the drug three times a day, one drop into each nasal passage. A child over five years of age can use Nazivin four times a day. In this case, two drops of medicine should be instilled into the nostrils per use.
See also
Causes of itchy eyes, stuffy nose and runny nose
Read
Antibiotics
Sometimes, when your nostrils are blocked and water comes out of your nose, you have to use antibiotics. Most often they are used if congestion is accompanied by a cold. Before treating a runny nose, you need to familiarize yourself with the most effective antibiotics.
Sumamed
If your nose is stuffy and snot flows like water in a child, the medicinal drug Sumamed will help stop it. It is not instilled into the nasal passages, but is drunk along with liquid. Sumamed differs from other drugs in its wide spectrum of action. It has a bactericidal effect, thanks to which you can quickly get rid of colds and stop snot.
Before using Sumamed, be sure to familiarize yourself with its contraindications. The drug should not be used by children who have kidney or liver problems. Also, patients who are allergic to the components of Sumamed should avoid using the medicine.
Children aged 3 years and older should use the remedy for 5 days. In this case, the child should take no more than 10 mg of the drug per day.
Isofra
Many people do not know what to do when a child has a stream of snot. In this case, you can use Isofra medicinal drops. This drug differs from most other medications in its strong antimicrobial effect.
The medicine is created on the basis of a substance called framycetin. It is thanks to this substance that you can restore breathing through your nose and get rid of fluid in your sinuses in just 5–7 days.
Before instilling Isofra into the nasal cavity, you need to find out whether it has any contraindications. The drug should not be instilled into children with an allergy to framycetin. Therefore, it is recommended to ensure in advance that the patient does not have hypersensitivity to this substance. Isofra is also not used to treat infants under one year of age.
In order for the snot to stop running, you need to find out how to dry your nostrils with Isofra. Drops are poured into the nostrils every day, three times a day. In this case, you need to be treated with Isofra for at least ten days. If after this time the mucus still flows, you will have to increase the course of treatment for another five days.
Snot flowing from a child: how to treat it
A runny nose appears especially often in children, when the immune system has not yet strengthened and cannot resist infections, of which there are many in any children's group.
The difficulty of the situation is that when treating a child, you cannot use drugs that adults often use in the initial stages of a runny nose.
Doctors give several basic recommendations, following which you can rid your child of snot very quickly.
The first thing to do is determine the cause. Not only colds, but also many other diseases, such as allergies, provoke the appearance of snot. Therefore, it is better to immediately seek help from a pediatrician. He will be able to correctly determine the cause and prescribe treatment accordingly.
If for some reason you cannot get to a pediatrician, you can use other emergency measures. You should start by rinsing your nose. This will help remove unnecessary mucus and make breathing easier. Most often, it is recommended to use a saline solution for this, which can be purchased at a pharmacy. These include Humer, Aquamaris, Quix and others.
You can do it even simpler and use salted water for rinsing (a teaspoon of salt per glass of warm boiled water) or regular saline solution. Such manipulations will not cause any harm to the body, but they will get rid of snot quite quickly.
Read: Nutrition for children in kindergarten
Monitor the air humidity in the room. If it is dry, the mucus will quickly thicken and it will be quite difficult to get rid of it.
The room where the child is located should not be hot. On the contrary, it’s better to be a little cooler, so it will be easier for the body to cope with the disease.
It is clear that using such methods to cure snot, which flows like a stream, is almost impossible; therapy must be comprehensive. Therefore, if it is still a cold, you need to use:
You need to know how to clean your spout!
Antiviral drugs such as Anaferon, Amizon, Nazoferno and others. They help overcome the virus and accompany the production of its own interferon in the child’s body.
Nasal drops. Their main principle of operation is to narrow blood vessels, and not to cure a runny nose. Give preference only to children's drops and sprays, otherwise there is a risk of exceeding the dosage or injuring the nasal mucosa.
Try to boost your immunity in every possible way. For this you can use fruits and berries, tea with lemon or raspberries and much more.
It is better for a specialist to treat the baby, otherwise the baby’s condition will only worsen.
