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How to Clean Your Baby’s Nose
"Ten little fingers, ten little toes, two little eyes and one little nose. One little stuffy nose and crying the baby goes."
Newborns can be very cranky when they have a stuffy nose. Their narrow nasal passage could get blocked and lead to difficulty in breathing. Clearing the nasal passage would help them breathe well, reduce chances of infection and let them get restful sleep. If your baby snorts, has noisy breathing, finds it difficult to feed, or is very irritable, it could be because of a stuffy nose.
Video: How to Clean Your Baby’s Nose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amdvL45f6hg
Effective Ways to Clean Your Baby's Nose
Blocked noses can be caused by cold, flu, mild infection, mucus build-up, or change in the weather. Sometimes, excess mucus could dry and block the nasal passage. You may want to check if something is stuck up their nose or it is genuinely nasal congestion.
The easiest stuffy nose remedy for babies is to clear the nasal cavity by making the child sneeze to expel the mucus. This is possible when the child is older. In case of infants, you will have to help them clear the blockage using a nose cleaner for babies.
Cleaning Baby Nose Using a Saline Nasal Spray
The safest option to clean the nose for infants and toddlers is by using a saline nasal spray. It will help thin the mucus, relieve congestion and clear the nose.
How to Use Saline Nasal Spray?
Lay the baby on his back.
Tilt the head back slightly. You can use a pillow to help hold his head back.
Spray/squeeze two-three drops of saline nasal solution in each nostril. Wait for 30-40 seconds.
If some spray comes out of the nose, wipe it away gently with a soft cloth or tissue.
Turn the baby sideways or on the stomach and let the nose drain. Wipe clean.
If it gets onto the face or eyes of the baby while spraying, do not get worried. Wipe it off gently.
You can also make the saline water for a baby’s nose at home.
Boil a cup of clean and filtered water.
Add one-fourth teaspoon of table salt to hot water, and mix well.
Cool the saline solution to room temperature.
Store the solution in a clean spray bottle. You can also use a clean dropper.
Use it three to four times a day or as required.
Use or discard the preparation after three days.
You can make a mild solution for infants and a slightly stronger one for toddlers.
Cleaning Your Baby’s Nose with a Rubber Bulb Syringe
You can use a bulb syringe for babies to clean their nose. It is made especially for their tiny nostrils.
Get the baby in a sitting position. Use pillows for support.
Squeeze the air out of the bulb of the mucus extractor for babies.
While still holding the squeeze, gently insert the tip into the baby’s nostril, taking care to not go deep.
Release the pressure to let the mucus flow out.
Clean the bulb of mucus.
Repeat with the other nostril.
Always clean the suction bulb for baby before and after use.
Using Nasal Aspirators to Clean Your Infant’s Nose
Nasal aspirators are more efficient, less invasive, and easier to use in comparison to a bulb syringe. It comprises a nozzle, a piece of lengthy and soft tube, and a mouthpiece for suction. You can also check out battery-operated or electronic nasal aspirator for babies available online or in speciality stores.
How to use a nasal aspirator to clean baby’s nose:
Lay the baby on his back.
Use 2-3 drops of nasal saline solution and check if it clears the congestion.
If it is insufficient to clear the nasal passage, consider using the aspirator.
Test the suction by placing the aspirator at your fingertips.
Place the tip of aspirator’s nozzle in the baby’s nostril and the mouthpiece in your mouth.
Gently suck the nozzle and mucus will be released from the baby’s nose into the nozzle. Avoid being aggressive as it may cause nasal tissues to inflame or bleed.
Remove the nozzle in the downward direction.
The filter in the tube will protect you from inhaling any germs or mucus.
Use twice or thrice a day. Over-usage can damage or irritate the nose lining.
Wash and sanitise your hands and equipment before and after usage.
Tips for Using a Rubber Bulb Syringe and Nasal Aspirator
While these products are safe to safe to use as snot remover for babies, you will have to take a few precautions.
Choose the right size of the tip for inserting in the baby’s tiny nostril.
Always clean and sanitise the device before and after use.
Do not use more than two to three times a day or many days in a row. Consult your paediatrician if the congestion lasts for a long time or recurs frequently.
Store the device in a clean place.
Use gently to avoid damage to the baby’s delicate nostrils.
Other Nose Cleaning Methods for Your Baby
You should clean your baby’s nose on a regular basis while bathing by gently cleaning the area around the nose with a cotton ball or a soft towel soaked in warm water. Do not insert anything in the nostrils to avoid possible damage to the nose lining.
1. Elevate the Baby's Head While Sleeping
Raising the head slightly can ease the stuffy nose and help in breathing. Alternately, place a rolled up towel below the baby’s head. This will offer relief to the baby at nap time. Make sure they get plenty of rest to help recovery.
2. Try Steam Inhalation
Moisture and warmth can help ease the congestion. You can run a hot shower and let the steam build up in the bathroom. Sit with the baby in the steam for a while. This will help in thinning and loosening of mucus and clear the congestion. Increasing fluid intake can also help.
3. Use a Vaporiser or Humidifier
Dry air could be the cause of dry nose. If you stay in a place which tends to have dry weather, invest in a humidifier. Moisture in the air can offer relief from congestion. This can be especially helpful in winters.
In most cases, the nasal passage can be cleared within a week or two at home by using the above methods. Consult your paediatrician if:
The child does not show any improvement after trying these home remedies.
You think there is something stuck inside the baby’s nose.
The child continues to have a stuffy nose for a long run, which might be due to an allergy or hay fever.
Nasopharyngeal Suctioning (NP)
This is done by a medical professional, a respiratory therapist or a doctor if the:
Mucus is not released with bulb syringe or nasal aspirator
Baby has abnormal breathing
Baby is unable to nurse and breathe simultaneously
In this procedure, saline water is used to moisten and loosen the dried mucus. A thin suction tube connected to a suction device is inserted gently into the baby’s nostrils till it touches the back of the throat. This induces coughing and brings the mucus to the back of the throat. Suction is carried out to clear the mucus, and once the passage clears, the tube is pulled out gently from the baby’s nostril. The procedure is repeated as required. Frequent suctioning may lead to mild bleeding in the nose or swelling inside the nose. In such cases, a neo sucker or smaller suction tube may be used.
Use of simple home remedies should be effective in most cases to help ease your baby of a stuffy nose. If it doesn’t improve, consider using a nasal spray or an aspirator. In case of persistent snot, consult your paediatrician at the earliest.
Also Read: Home Remedies to Treat Blocked Nose in Babies Read more
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Why It's Always Better to Teach Your Child Correct Names of Private Body Parts
One fine day Shweta’s 2-year-old lovely daughter while having her bath asked “Mumma, I have one question in my mind. Please tell me what is it and why it feels so good touching it?” she immediately pointed down towards her clitoris and then innocently looked at Shweta wondering why her mom was taking so much time in answering her. On the other hand, Shweta (although knew the answer) suddenly had her mouth shut and felt overly embarrassed - how was she supposed to answer her daughter's question! Her mind juggled whether to use the exact terms regarding her private body parts or to use euphemisms for the same? Wouldn't the use of exact language steal her innocence at such an early age? Would it be culturally and socially acceptable? What would happen if she used the words in public?
All these questions must have definitely come to your mind too and you would agree that Shweta is not alone in feeling embarrassed, answering her child's curious questions related to genital parts. Pertaining it to deep rooted cultural norms or inherited fascination and discomfort in openly talking about sex and sex organs, most of us, as parents, often feel awkward naming the child's genital parts appropriately. We tend to resort to using euphemisms like boo boo, pee pee, wee wee, cookie, etc. instead of the real anatomical names. But have we ever thought that just to escape a situation of so-called embarrassment we are doing more harm than good to our children’s safety as well as overall empowerment?
In today's scenario when reports suggest that one in every 10 children is suffering from sexual abuse before attaining the age of 18 and about 20% of them suffer such heinous crime even before they turn 8, it's high time we really opened our minds regarding this issue which is not only sensitive but an extremely serious one too. It is rightly said that the first education for a child begins at home and that the very first teacher to a child is her parents. When we make our child learn hands as “hands” and not as “pickie” or legs as “legs” and not a “walkie”, eyes as “eyes” and nose as “nose”, then why should we hesitate in calling a penis as “penis” or vagina as “vagina”? In fact, they too are a part of our very own body and play an as much important role as a heart or a brain does.
You might wonder why it's so strongly recommended to use the exact words for genitals in front of the children and to teach them to say the words as normally as we say other words. Well, here are the reasons as suggested by not only the child sex abuse prevention educators but also by the paediatricians across the world:
1. First and the foremost reason is that if genital parts are called by pet names or euphemisms it is likely that we inculcate in our child's mind that these private areas are some bad places or areas that shouldn't be talked about openly. Hence we inadvertently teach the child to keep it a secret even if inappropriately touched.
2. If a child is inappropriately touched, she should be able to clearly and openly communicate with the trusted adult or care giver about what happened with her. Remember most of the times child molestation is done by a known person and taking any action over the known person gets very difficult if a child uses a pet name instead of the anatomical name. Mind it, euphemisms create a whole lot of confusion. For instance, if a girl’s vagina or vulva has been inappropriately touched she should say it that some ABC touched my vagina or vulva. What will happen if she says ABC touched her cookie. Will the court take any serious action against the perpetrator? No. Hence to be heard seriously and to make sure some action is taken, the statement should be clear and precise.
3. Use of euphemisms can make the paedophile easily say that inappropriate touch was just a fun game or a joke or an act of no importance. on the other hand, studies have reported that the child who calls by the exact words is less likely to be targeted by the abuser as he gets scared that the child knows everything about the bad act and could tell everyone about it.
4. The next compelling reason is to make the child love and admire her whole body. Using names like boobs or pussy is not only derogatory but also a sense of discomfort is instilled in the child's mind. It very much signals our discomfort too in front of the child. This makes the child think that these areas are not worth mentioning. The child should not shame his or her body parts; instead, there should be a kind of respect for own and other's body.
5. Using correct anatomical names helps in lessening the shame that exists around sexuality. It is of great help during the period of puberty when the child's body undergoes a vast number of changes and that time it really gets easy and comfortable to frankly talk about those changes.
6. If a child knows the exact names it becomes easier for him or her to tell about any medical conditions related with them or if he or she has been hurt there. The child would tell the problem to the parents or care givers and health care professionals more accurately.
As we now know the reasons in favour of using correct body parts' names one might wonder when and how we should start teaching the child about the same. The answer is: when the children start differentiating between the sexes and genitalia; that is, around the age of three. However, it's never too early to start an open conversation related to this. Hence it can be anytime when the child starts understanding what you speak or starts learning to speak a few sentences.
The learning process can be done anytime like a fun game during bathing or while playing teacher- teacher or doctor patient where the child is told to point out the body part. Where is the nose? Where are ears? Where is the penis and where is the vulva? Also, tell them that nobody is allowed to touch them without your permission.
Remember never to ignore the child's curious question. The more you ignore, the more you feed your child's curiosity, so that she might even resort to some kind of bad path to curb it. The communication should be honest straightforward and as normal as can be.
First, learn yourself the correct terms before teaching it to the child. Yes, you read it right! Sometimes the awkwardness is so pervasive that even we as a parent fail to know the correct terminology for those parts. Here are few terms with their exact meaning to help you out:
• Clitoris: the sensory part that is often touched by the child located in the front of the vulva where the folds of labia join.
• Vulva: the external part or covering of the female reproductive system which is seen in between the legs. Often mistaken for vagina by commons.
• Labia: the two lip like folds or flaps that surround the vaginal opening.
• Vagina: is an internal organ. A muscular tube that connects the vaginal opening to the uterus.
• Breast: the two prominence on either side of the chest.
• Nipple: is the small projection of skin from the breasts.
• Penis: the cylindrical structure that protrudes out in men in between upper thigh region of the legs used for urinating and intercourse.
• Glans: the tip of the penis.
• Scrotum: the sac of skin that hangs from just below the penis and rests in between the upper thighs.
Remember prevention has always been better than cure. Child sexual abuse is much more prevalent than we realize. Very few cases are identified and fewer are reported accurately or taken care of. The very first step in preventing child molestation is to teach your child correct names about their private body parts and to have an open conversation in this matter. Make your child a confident and well empowered for his/her bright future. Your child should be able to love his/her body and able to protect himself/herself. So next time when your child calls aloud vagina or penis, there shouldn't be a hush, a whisper or a giggle; don't be embarrassed, come out of your discomfort and feel proud instead.
Disclaimer: The views, opinions and positions (including content in any form) expressed within this post are those of the author alone. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The responsibility for intellectual property rights of this content rests with the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with him/her.
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Alert: 5 Critical Warning Signals Your Period Can Give About Your Health - Don't Ignore Them!
All women have a love - hate relationship with their period. From the cramps to the blood, everything about your period seems to hamper you! But skipping a period means the beginning of another kind of anxiety. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have a new member added to your family soon - it could also indicate health problems!
Yes – you read that right! You’ll be surprised to know just how many signs from your period can indicate health problems you could be having - problems that you should immediately get checked! Knowing a few things about your period can come extremely handy in the long run even if there’s nothing wrong with your menstrual cycle at the moment. Here are a few critical warning signals you need to watch out for to find out what your period says about you:
Period Cramps
Some of us have it lucky with minimal cramps that barely slow us down. For most us though, menstrual cramps are a constant through those five days. However, if your cramps are so bad that you they hinder you from going about your daily routine and you need to take leaves or holidays and stay in bed - you might be facing a problem. If, despite taking over-the-counter pain killers, your cramps are not bearable, you might have endometriosis, a condition where the uterine tissue (that forms the lining of the uterus and shed during periods) is outside the uterus. Since, during periods when the lining sheds, the blood doesn’t have anywhere to exit the body - it results in these cramps.
Endrometriosis has other symptoms as well, like heavy flow and bleeding between periods. It can cause infertility issues as well.
Colour and Consistency of Period
Period colours can indicate a lot of things about your health. The ideal colour and consistency of a period is cranberry juice red – a nice, saturated red!
If the colour is darker with a thicker ’clotty’ texture, then it means that your estrogen levels are high. If there are too many clots, you need to watch out for a hormonal imbalance and maybe even uterine fibroids. Don’t panic - they’re mostly benign – but they can be painful! Cutting on consumption of soy, dairy and sugar could help you in such cases.
If the color of period blood is on the other end of the spectrum with a pinkish colour, you could have low estrogen levels. If this is extremely sudden, due to a workout change or accompanied by watery consistency, you may have a nutritional imbalance or be at risk of osteoporosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, it could also mean you are entering the perimenopause stage where your body is preparing itself for menopause. It is best to get it checked by your doctor in any case. ||
Flow of Period
On an average, women lose about a cup’s worth of blood per blood. However at times, women do experience heavy flow, and if consistent, it can cause anameia, fertility issues, uterine fibroids, or as discussed above, endometriosis.
On the other hand, a very light period could be the result of a variety of reasons ranging from hormonal or nutritional imbalance, stress or even perimenopause. However, abnormally light periods could also mean you are at risk or have more serious health issues like autoimmune disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or Asherman's syndrome.
Frequency of Period
The average period lasts two to seven days and occurs every 21 to 35 days. The menstrual cycle ideally becomes more regular as you age. However, irregular periods past your teens could be a result of stress, extreme weight loss, pregnancy, consumption of excessive alcohol or the use of certain drugs. Birth control pills can also cause light spotting between periods. However, if you’re spotting without taking these pills, you should get evaluated immediately as it is a symptom of cancer or pre-cancer. It could also be a sign of a vaginal infection or a hormonal imbalance. Irregular periods from time to time shouldn’t be a cause of worry but its best to get checked by your doctor especially if this happens for a prolonged time.
A Pseudo-Period
If you have a surprise period with no bloating, PMS or other any symptoms that you generally experience, there’s a chance you’re not ovulating. This is mostly seen in overweight or obese woman and could be an indicator of the fact that you’re pre-diabetic since insulin resistance can effect on your menstrual cycle. It’s imperative you get checked by your doctor and look at a weight control program – especially if you’re planning a pregnancy. Read more
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"Babyhug bath tub with bather for newborn best buy review "
Bathing time is the most fun time for babies. They laugh, cry and yet enjoy their comfort zone. I am Sonam Prasad, a new mom for the second time.
I was recently browzing through many websites as I wanted a bath tub bather for my angel and I received this BabyHug Bath Bather in my suggestions. Like we all know that bathing is time consuming and task for moms. I really like this tub as it is big in size and easy to use.
Thanks to the firstcry for keeping this essential item in your list.
Earlier, I had to keep my baby on my lap and then bathe her but now, I use this tub daily. It now hardly takes me 20 mins to bathe her.
Just like every other mom even I have to take extra care to their baby so that she does not get hurt as babies are gentle while bathing. This tub comes as a two piece set in one I store lukewarm water and keep while the other is a slidder on which I place my baby and massge her and give her bath. This has made my life super easy now. This product is made up of plastic and is light in weight. There are various colors available, I have choosed beige color.
The best thing that I like abolut this product is that it is easy to handle and it does not have sharp edges that would harm the baby. It would be best if there could be a handle so that if we need to life it then it would be more convienent. This tub can be used for long term its best for newborn to 18 months. I surely recommend all new moms to have this product in their bathrooms it really makes bathinh an easy job.
Happy moms with happy babies! Read more
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
1 hour ago
Q. #asktheexpert water leak from baby eye....what is that
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
1 hour ago
A. blocked naso lacrimal duct kk. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
1 hour ago
Q. loop of cord is seen round the neck in growth scan is it a problem at the time of delivery
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
1 hour ago
A. single Loop okay no problem wait. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Puja Kumari has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
1 hour ago
Q. #asktheexpert My baby is 4months old he is having fever after vaccination . how many days would the fever remain? can I give him medicine
Puja Kumari
Trying To Conceive
53 mins ago
A. vomiting ka kya karan ho sakta
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
49 mins ago
Q. #asktheexpert
Can we have sex during pregnancy and is it safe?
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
48 mins ago
A. okay no problem if you don't have any risk factors ko. if there is no relief it is better you see your doctor for proper examination particularly physical examination if there is need for doing investigations to find out the problem and treatment ok
Dr Ghouse has added a new answer
Trying To Conceive
40 mins ago
Q. Dr meri baby 12 month running hai uska weight 6 kg hai uska growth nahi ho pa Raha hai to kya kare or over active hai
Dr Ghouse
Paediatrician
38 mins ago
A. ok see c. if the baby is not having proper height and weight it means that baby is having failure to thrive baby needs investigations like TSH and other related test to find out the reason
Dr Sameer awadhiya has added a new answer
Guardian of 0 children
27 mins ago
Q. mere twins baby hai boy nd girl one month 8 days when I check eye and ear which month
Dr Sameer awadhiya
Paediatrician
26 mins ago
A. For the query asked needs consultation with doctor for proper guidance so it is better that the doctor will guide you the correct way .
Online consultation can also be taken jjand the expert will give you the proper answer .
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