Nurhasanah A wrote:
>
> Kenapa ya anakku itu mudah sekali kena batuk+pilek? atau memang lagi
> musim
> ya, karena cuacanya lagi ngga' karu-karuan. Ada yang bisa kasih
> masukan??
>
dari www.babycenter.com
Why does my baby get so many colds?
Babies get lots of colds because their immune systems function at about
60 percent of adult capacity, making them more vulnerable to illness.
Plus, your child can develop immunity to only one of the 200 different
viruses that can cause the common cold at a time. Remember all the colds
you've had over your lifetime? Your child would have to get all of those
— and more — to be immune to all cold viruses.
As your baby grows, she's likely to be exploring a lot and touching
everything, so it's easy for her to pick up a cold virus on her hands.
Then all she has to do is put her fingers in her nose or rub her eyes,
and the virus will get a chance to set up shop in her nasal passages and
make her miserable for a few weeks. If she puts a contaminated toy into
her mouth she won't get a cold; the virus has to get into your child's
nose to cause infection.
Your baby may get sick more often during the fall and winter months
because cold air and indoor heating dry out her nasal membranes, making
it easier for a cold virus to get a foothold there. She also spends more
time during cold weather cooped up indoors, where viruses are more
likely to spread from one person to another.
And recent studies have confirmed what working parents already know:
Children in daycare get more colds, ear infections, runny noses, and
other respiratory troubles than kids cared for at home. Even if she's
not around lots of other children, your child is likely to get between
four and 10 colds in her first year. As she gets
older, the number of colds she gets will diminish, dwindling to about
three a year in the teen years.
How can I tell she has a cold and not the flu or allergies?
If your baby is running a fever higher than 101 degrees F, has a nose
running with clear mucus, is unusually lethargic, complains about
feeling achy all over, and loses her appetite, it's probably the flu.
The stuffy or runny nose (characterized by thick white, yellow, or green
mucus), sore throat, and cough that accompany a cold won't make your
child as miserable as the flu does. A child with the flu may also have
diarrhea or vomiting.
Itchy, watery eyes and nose are hallmarks of an allergy, as are repeated
sneezing attacks and itchy skin that lasts for weeks or months. Also,
the mucus coming out of your child's nose will continue to run clear,
rather than thickening and turning yellow or green as it tends to in
children with colds. Allergies aren't associated with fever, and they
tend to show up in the spring, summer, and early fall.
Call your pediatrician immediately if your baby is under 3 months old
and has a rectal temperature of 100.4 degrees F or higher. He'll want to
make sure she doesn't have a bacterial infection that will require
treatment.
How should I treat my child's cold?
No medicine will make the virus go away faster, but you can help your
baby feel better and prevent the infection from getting worse by making
sure she gets plenty of rest and liquids (that means breast milk or
formula only for babies under 6 months). Never give a baby under 4
months old over-the-counter medicine, because the side effects could be
dangerous; always consult with your pediatrician first before doing so
with an older baby.
If your baby is feverish, ask your doctor if you can give her
acetaminophen. After hearing your baby's symptoms, he may ask you to
hold off until he examines your baby because the drug could mask a more
serious problem. (Never give your baby aspirin; it can make her
susceptible to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening
condition.)
Since children aren't developmentally ready to blow their nose until
about age 4, you'll have to help ease her congestion in other ways:
• Tip your baby's head back and squeeze over-the-counter saline drops
into your baby's nostrils to loosen up the mucus. Then suction out the
salt water and mucus a few minutes later with a rubber bulb syringe. If
your child is having trouble nursing with a stuffy nose, try this tactic
about 15 minutes before a feeding; she'll then be able to breathe and
suck at the same time. Apply petroleum jelly to the outside of your
baby's nostrils to reduce irritation. (Don't use nasal sprays on your
baby unless your pediatrician says it's okay. They may work temporarily,
but can cause a rebound effect in which the congestion gets worse with
continued use.)
• Use a humidifier or a cool-mist vaporizer to moisten the air in her
room. Or take your baby into the bathroom with you, turn on the hot
water, close the door, and sit in the steamy room for about 15 minutes.
A warm bath can accomplish the same thing — adding menthol or eucalyptus
oil to the water is a safe and soothing way to temporarily unclog a
stuffy nose. (Find soothing vapor bath products in our Store.)
• Elevate the head of your baby's mattress by placing a couple of towels
between the head of the mattress and crib springs. Sleeping at a slight
incline may help relieve her postnasal drip, but don't overdo it. If
your baby is a restless sleeper, she could end up flipping around so her
feet are higher than her head, defeating the purpose of the elevation.
(Never use pillows to prop up your baby; they could suffocate her. And
don't put anything under the legs of the crib because that can make it
unstable.) One BabyCenter parent found that her
stuffy-nosed 3-month-old slept better when she put his car seat inside
the crib and let him sleep there, in a semi-upright position.
Is it okay to give my child over-the-counter cold medicine?
Clifford Harris, a pediatrician in San Leandro, California, and a member
of BabyCenter's advisory board, recommends you save these medications
for when your child really needs them, such as at nighttime, when her
symptoms may be keeping her (and you) from getting any rest. So if your
baby gets stuffed up in the middle of the night, it's okay to give her
an over-the-counter decongestant to help her get some sleep. But call
your pediatrician the next morning before giving any additional
medicine, particularly if the medicine made her hyperactive instead of
drowsy. Most drugstore remedies are a combination of decongestants and
antihistamines, a formula that can cause hyperactivity in some children.
Don't use nasal spray decongestants for more than a few days in a row
since this can cause a rebound effect that will just make the problem
worse. You don't need to worry about a rebound effect with other
medicines if you use them only occasionally. These medications won't
shorten the course of a cold or prevent further complications such as
ear or sinus infections.
For treating fever, acetaminophen such as infants' acetaminophen or
ibuprofen can ease your baby's discomfort. Never give a child aspirin;
it makes her more susceptible to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially
fatal disease.
What natural or alternative treatments can help relieve my child's cold
symptoms?
Adding a few drops of menthol, eucalyptus, or pine oil to a vaporizer or
bath can help your baby feel less congested, says Kathi Kemper, author
of The Holistic Pediatrician. (You can get these oils at most health
food stores.) If your baby is older than 4 months, a weak, lukewarm
solution of chamomile tea can also be soothing, according to Clifford
Harris, a pediatrician in San Leandro, California.
While there's no evidence that echinacea is dangerous to children, the
jury is still out on this popular medicinal herb (thought to boost the
immune system and keep infections at bay) because it has never been
tested on children.
A word of warning: Never use Ma huang, also known as ephedra or
ephedrine, an herbal decongestant. Its potency can vary widely, and the
Food and Drug Administration has linked it (in adults) to 1,000 bad
reactions, including high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, seizures,
heart attack, and stroke.
Because no scientific studies support the safety of any herbal remedies
in children, many herbalists recommend against using herbs to treat
children. Always talk to your pediatrician first before giving your baby
any kind of medicine — conventional or otherwise.
How can I tell if my baby's cold has turned into something more serious?
If your child is younger than 3 months old, you should call your
pediatrician at the first sign of illness, particularly if she has a
fever higher than 100.4 degrees F (taken rectally) or a cough. In an
older baby, call if cold symptoms persist for more than seven days or
if:
• Your baby's temperature climbs above 101 degrees Fahrenheit or stays
elevated (over 100 degrees F) for more than three days.
• She has thick yellow or green mucus coming from her nose. If this
continues for more than 10 days, it may signal a sinus infection.
• Her cough worsens and she's wheezing or gasping. These symptoms could
be a sign of pneumonia or respiratory syncytial virus, a relatively
common but potentially serious respiratory problem in babies under 1
year old.
• She cries when sucking during a feeding, or pulls and rubs her ear.
This could be a sign of an ear infection.
Is there anything I can do to cut down on the number of colds my child
gets?
You can't prevent every cold, but there are things you can do to
minimize your baby's exposure and boost her defenses. For starters, make
sure family members and friends wash their hands before picking up your
baby this is particularly important around newborns, who are more
susceptible to illness than even 1- or 2-month-old babies). To the
extent you can, keep your baby away from sick children or adults; they
will understand if you ask them to postpone a visit until they're not
contagious. Keep in mind that babies in daycare get more colds than
those kept at home simply because they're exposed to more kids and,
hence, more illness. Make sure your childcare provider is conscientious
about washing her hands.
Keep your baby well hydrated. Cold viruses find it easier to get a
foothold in dry nasal membranes. For babies under 6 months this means
making sure they continue their normal breast- or formula-feeding
routine. After that age, you can give your child water as well. You can
tell if your baby is dehydrated if she's wetting fewer than five to six
diapers a day.
Second-hand smoke can put your baby at risk for more upper respiratory
problems, so keep clear of cigarette smokers. Keep your baby away from
areas where someone has been smoking. Children who live with cigarette
smokers have more colds and their colds last longer than those of
children who aren't exposed to smoke.
Finally, breastfeed as long as you can (the American Academy of
Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least six months to reap the
health benefits of breast milk; a year is even better). While it's not a
fail-safe guard against infection, studies have shown that breastfed
babies get sick less often than their formula-fed peers do because the
antibodies in breast milk protect against a host of germs.
--
O
_/)(\_ |~ Salam,
/~~\ o' |~ Rien.
/_ _\ o'
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