Once inhalation was very popular and was considered a very effective treatment for colds. But after the emergence of new drugs, physiotherapy procedures have receded into the background. Now people began to think more and more about the dangers of drugs and look for them an alternative. Especially when it comes to the health of our children.
A substitute for traditional treatment, such therapy as inhalation, of course, can not be, but as an auxiliary, it has proved itself very well. Though recently some pediatricians have started talking about the fact that inhalations do not bring any benefit, or even harm the body. Let's try to figure it out, and let each mother decide for herself whether she will treat her child with inhalation.
Inhalation in children is done both with a cold and with a cough. You can take the child to the treatment room, and you can do inhalation and at home.
There are special inhalers that are powered by electricity. There are steam, where water is boiling with medicine, there are more expensive - nebulizers. They act differently. With the help of the first steam, the upper respiratory tracts warm up, the sputum is saturated with moisture, the cough from the dry becomes wet.
The action of the nebulizer is based on the transformation of the therapeutic solution into the smallest droplets - a suspension that penetrates easily through the mucous membrane of the respiratory organs into the blood. The splitting of water is achieved by means of a powerful pump, in this case the apparatus is loud enough to hum. There are nebulizers in which the splitting is due to ultrasound, these models are noiseless and do not scare the child.
The advantage of this inhaler is that it can be used at a temperature, whereas steam inhalations for children are contraindicated even at a temperature of 37 °.
So, with the device we have decided, now is the time to learn what to do with a child inhalation. When using a nebulizer, you need to know that not all drugs can be compatible with it. In general, children themselves are inhaled with mineral water or saline solution. In more serious cases, the doctor prescribes a ready-made drug product.
When carrying out steam inhalations for children using a conventional inhaler, various herbs are used to prepare decoctions and medicinal preparations with an expectorant effect. It is chamomile, linden flowers, mint, sage, oak bark, eucalyptus, pine needles. Also used are aromatic oils of fir, juniper, mint, lavender. In the pharmacy, you can buy a tincture of eucalyptus with menthol and add to water for inhalation.
How to make an inhalation for a child?
In the case when the child has a cough, inhale the steam, he must through the mouth, with a cold - through the nose. In addition to phyto-drugs, the use of a solution of soda will be effective: 4 teaspoons per 1 liter of water.
If your arsenal does not have an industrial inhaler, it can be successfully replaced by an ordinary teapot with hot water, in which a drug has been added. A cone with a hole at the end is twisted from the sheet of paper. The widest part is brought to the child's face, and the narrow one is inserted into the tip of the teapot.
Inhalations of hot steam should be administered to children with extreme caution, so as not to burn. The temperature should not exceed 70 °. Inhalations for children under one year of pediatricians are contraindicated.
Parents should know how many minutes you can inhale a child. Time should not exceed 5 - 10 minutes, depending on the age and mood of the child. During inhalation, the baby should be relaxed and breathe evenly. If the child screams and breaks out, the inhalation will not give the desired result.
Many parents use the old grandmother's method to breathe on a pot of potatoes. For greater efficiency, you can add soda and a crushed chive of garlic.
After inhalation, you need to wrap the baby, put him in bed. It is better to do the procedure before bedtime and in no case for two hours not to go out.