Dr. Komarovsky about green nasal mucus in a child

A runny nose in children accompanies a great many diseases and is considered to be one of the most frequent "childhood" symptoms. All parents know that it is the most diverse - from dry to abundant, and the color of nasal mucus - from transparent to gray and yellow-green to purulent.

A runny nose in children is so common that it does not cause panic in experienced moms and dads. However, it is also impossible to relax, because timely help with rhinitis (this is what doctors call a cold) will help to avoid serious complications. By the color of nasal mucus, it is sufficient to simply determine the origin of the common cold and even guess its causes. This knowledge will give the opportunity to treat the baby correctly. Let's see why a child’s snot may be green.

And Dr. Komarovsky will help us to more clearly understand the reason for the formation of nasal mucus in the next video.

9 out of 10 children have a runny nose caused by viruses. Viral rhinitis - the undisputed leader among children's ailments. The fact is that viruses enter the child’s body most often through the nasopharynx and very rarely through the eyes. Natural protection is arranged in such a way that immediately after penetration in the nose, mucus begins to be produced, the task of which is to stop the invasion and prevent further penetration of viruses. Much in this situation is produced a lot, it is transparent and liquid. At the very beginning of a respiratory viral infection of this phenomenon, parents say "nose is flowing."

Evgeny Komarovsky emphasizes that abundant liquid mucus is completely harmless to your baby, the main thing is not to allow it to thicken or dry out. Since it is in the dried mucus contains such an amount of protein that it becomes very free to different bacteria. This is where the snot color changes.

Thick and green mucus speaks of the bacterial character of the common cold or its mixed nature - viral and bacterial. The color in this case is due to the presence of dead bacteria and neutrophils that have fallen in battle, which were thrown by immunity to protection against infection. The greener the color palette of nasal discharge, the higher the likelihood of mixed rhinitis. Yellow-green snot always talk only about the bacterial form of the disease.

Whether it is necessary to take antibiotics with green snot, Dr. Komarovsky will tell in the next issue.

In viral rhinitis, lymphocytes predominate in mucus, in bacterial - neutrophils, in allergic - cells - eosinophils. The knowledge of this allows, according to Komarovsky, to find the true cause of protracted rhinitis and poorly amenable to this or that treatment. A child takes nasal mucus from a nose from a tank, and by the number of cells or protectors it is determined from what exactly the baby’s body is trying so hard to defend itself.

As already mentioned, the green color of mucus appears when perishing neutrophils emit a special substance, which gives snot such color Therefore, the appearance of green snot Komarovsky recommends considering a sign quite favorable - it indicates that defender cells have already begun to fulfill their immediate responsibilities.

It usually occurs after the parents failed to maintain the fluid consistency of the nasal mucus during viral infection. But sometimes bacteria are the culprits of cause. Some special symptoms are characteristic of such rhinitis: at an early stage in the nose itchy, the child begins to sneeze and scratch the nose, as in allergies. This stage, unlike the allergic form of the disease, lasts not for long - about 2-3 hours, after which for 3-5 days liquid transparent mucus is released from the nose, which rather quickly begins to thicken.

A nasal congestion appears, the child's nasal breathing is disturbed due to edema inside the nasal passages, tearing may start, headaches, appetite decreases, the ability to discern odors completely or partially disappears. At the final stage, you can observe the very green and yellow nasal discharge, which has already become quite thick.

In infants, especially at the age of 1-3 months, a runny nose may be physiological, due to adaptation to a new environment for it.. All the procedures for such babies should be carried out only after consulting with their doctor, but the general approach to treating babies is the same as in the treatment of older children.

How to treat a runny nose, accompanied by green secretions, the best way to tell a doctor who can determine the true cause of the disease. It can be pharyngitis and angina. The task is to prevent complications that can be quite serious - otitis, sinusitis quite often they appear after a bacterial rhinitis, which was treated incorrectly or not treated at all.

Doctor Komarovsky will tell you about how to clear a mucus from the baby’s nose in the next video.

By the snot of mummies, the attitude is rather polar: some consider it as the most serious ailment and immediately begin to demand antibiotics, others are sure that the handkerchief in your pocket will cope with rhinitis, and such a kid with green snot can even be taken to kindergarten.

Evgeny Komarovsky encourages parents to prudence. No need to go to the above extremes. It is possible to treat a bacterial rhinitis without antibiotics, but you still need to be treated.

A visit to kindergarten or school for the time of a runny nose with yellow and green snot is better to postpone until better times. And do normalization of nasal mucus. This does not require expensive medications, says Eugene O., sometimes it is enough to simply create favorable conditions.

The mucus will not dry out and thicken, if in the room where the baby lives, parents will try to create humid air at the level of 50-70%. This can be done with the help of the device - humidifier. It is not cheap, and if the family’s financial capacity does not allow it to be bought, you can get a special faucet valve on the batteries in winter, and in any season you can hang wet towels, put a basin of water so that it evaporates, eventually, It will be both informative and helpful to buy a small fish tank.

In the room where it is hot, the snot also dries almost instantly and the infection begins to progress very quickly. Therefore, it is necessary to purchase and hang up a room thermometer and make sure that the air temperature in the room does not fall below 18 degrees and in any case does not rise above 20 degrees.

To cope with the bacterial cold will help a lot and fresh air. Instead of instilling antibiotics, Dr. Komarovsky advises to go for a walk. The more time the baby spends on the street (of course, in the absence of elevated body temperature), the faster the mucous membranes will again become wet, and the body will be able to resist the bacteria to the full.

And one more affordable "medicine" is water.. If the child drinks more, the mucus will soon become liquid and it will easily be naturally removed from the nasal passages.Komarovsky recommends giving a drink at a temperature that is equal to the temperature of the child’s body. So the fluid will be absorbed faster and absorbed by the intestinal walls, and hence the result will not take long to wait.

Parents think about pharmaceutical droplets and sprays from the cold in the first place, as soon as the child lays his nose, says Yevgeny Komarovsky. In fact, it is not necessary to do this without specific instructions and prescriptions from the doctor. The most common cause of rhinitis is viruses, and therefore 90% of rhinitis in children should not be treated with any medications, the doctor said, because antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, and vasoconstrictor drops, too.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you about how to treat the nose in the release below.

Without exception, all pharmacy remedies for rhinitis only temporarily eliminate the symptoms, but in no case cure the cause of rhinitis.says Komarovsky. Vasoconstrictor drops («Naphthyzinum"," Nazivin ", Nazol", etc.) in general can be drug addictive, if used for more than 3-5 days. They require great care in application, as they also have a number of side effects. Many drugs in this group are prohibited for children who have not yet turned 2 years old.

Often you can find recommendations for bacterial rhinitis, be sure to start dripping drugs with antibiotics, such as "Framycetin", "Isofra" other. These are good and effective drugs, Komarovsky says, but sometimes completely unnecessary. More precisely, in most cases absolutely not necessary. If a child has purulent rhinitis, the doctor will certainly, in addition to recommendations for rinsing the nose and walking, prescribe antibacterial drops, and maybe even complex drops prepared in pharmacies where there is a prescription department, strictly according to the doctor's prescription. But he will do it only after the bacterial test, in order to know exactly which bacteria need to be defeated as soon as possible.

The only reason to do the selection of a pharmaceutical pharmaceutical product is allergic rhinitis. But even in this case, it should be done unambiguously with the doctor, in no case independently.

• Green snot can not be allowed at all, if you timely and correctly respond to liquid and clear discharge from the nose, which appear in the initial stage of rhinitis. Parents need to create the “right” microclimate conditions mentioned above, and more often to additionally moisturize the nasal passages by washing the nose with saline or instillation of preparations to moisturize the nose - “Pinosol"," Ekteritsid "and the most common saline solution, which can be purchased for a penny at any pharmacy. To prevent drying, according to Evgeny Komarovsky, it is possible only with intensive instillation - half a pipette every hour in each nostril. There will be no harm.

• As early as possible, you need to teach your child to blow your nose. This skill will greatly help in the treatment of rhinitis. However, with a cold in infants should not despair due to the fact that the crumb because of age can not free the nose from the snot. Pharmacies sell small aspirators that help to quickly flush excess mucus from the nasal passages.

• If a runny nose with yellow green or green snot is leaking simultaneously with cough, it is possible in the treatment of "kill two birds with one stone," says Komarovsky. Such drugs as "ACC", "Ambroxol“Which you can give your baby from cough to liquefy sputum in the bronchi, will effectively moisturize and nasal mucus, as these drugs act on the mucous membranes of all respiratory organs.