When it comes to children’s runny nose, parents’ first reaction is “cold”, and then want to stop it immediately. A. How does snot come from the nose? What is the function? A layer of mucous membrane is attached to our nasal cavity, and the cup-shaped cells on the mucous membrane will keep secreting mucin. Together with the fluid secreted from the submucosal glands, the tissue fluid permeated by capillaries and the tears left in the nasal cavity along the nasolacrimal duct, the mucus in the nasal cavity is mixed, and this mucus is nasal snot, which is the protective film of the nose. A small part of this mucus evaporates and a small part dries up into boogers, but most of it is swallowed by us. A healthy person’s nose has to process hundreds of milliliters of snot every day! Nose snot helps us moisten and warm the air we inhale, and also sticks to airborne dust and bacteria, forming a natural protective barrier, while it also contains small amounts of antibodies and lysozyme that help us kill microbes and defend against them. What do the different colors of nasal snot represent? 1.Transparent snot A cold and runny nose is not necessarily a cold, but when it is warm and there is a lot of snot, we should be careful! This is probably because the nasal mucosa is secreting a lot of mucus, so that the attached microorganisms that can produce diseases can be washed away, in order to prevent us from getting sick, which is a pre-expression of resistance to infection. At this time we need to rest more and drink more water to maintain our immunity and enhance our metabolism. Because once the flushing fails, we start to catch a cold. In addition to that, non-stop clear watery nose may also be due to allergic rhinitis. At the same time, it may be accompanied by frequent sneezing symptoms. For this situation, it is recommended to check the allergens of the child, or use nasal or oral medication according to the doctor’s recommendation, or you can rinse the nasal tract with saline. 2. Milky white nasal mucus Milky white nasal mucus is not so friendly when the tissues in our nasal cavity start to become congested and swollen, and the nasal mucosa thickens, which slows down the secretion of normal tissue fluid. The normally clear and healthy mucus becomes thick and milky as the mucin concentration increases due to lack of sufficient water. In this case we indicate that we have been infected by microorganisms (including viruses and bacteria, etc.), and it is likely to be a pre-cold symptom, which requires us to be alert. 3. Yellow snot Yellow snot indicates that our infection is escalating because when there is a neutrophil in the immune cells, it is helping us by engulfing the hostile microorganisms and then oxidizing them to death. And the neutrophils that complete their task and die in battle will then stain the nasal snot yellow. So, when yellow nasal mucus appears, it means that immune cells are fighting against foreign invaders and the symptoms of our cold may become obvious or even feverish. This is why when we blow our nose with a bad cold, the color is often yellow. 4, green nasal snot Green nasal snot is due to the invading microbial enemy is too strong, too many white blood cells fighting to resist or die, the remnants of neutrophilic cells on the battlefield of nasal mucosa, making the mucus thicker and stickier and greener (worse than the yellow battle!) . At this point, we can have our doctor prescribe us some prescription medication specifically to treat and relieve the cold and fever symptoms depending on our physical state. If our nose turns yellow and green for more than 14 days and does not improve, and is accompanied by nasal congestion and headache, please make sure to take your child to the doctor to check if he/she is suffering from sinusitis. If it is, you need to follow the doctor’s advice to treat it in time, otherwise it will be difficult to heal and recurring attacks will affect the quality of life. 5. Red or brown snot Red and brown is indeed because the snot is mixed with blood, but don’t be afraid! Most of the time, it is just because the environment or the body is too dry, resulting in the rupture of capillaries in the nasal cavity. This time to pay more attention to replenish the body moisture, usually put a humidifier around or something on it. 6.Brown nasal snot Brown nasal snot is mostly because there are dirty things in the nasal snot, such as dust, dust, etc. You can use sea salt water to spray and wash your nose 7.Black nasal snot Black nasal snot may be caused by inhaling too much dust, and may be caused by being forced to inhale second-hand smoke for a long time, if the above two situations are excluded, then consider whether there is a fungal infection, and you should immediately go to the hospital for examination. In short, different colors of nasal mucus is a development cycle when we have infection, and it may also be some diseases related to the tissues around the nasal cavity, so we can make some alert and judgment in time according to the situation. Once we have a clearer understanding of runny nose, we will not be blindly anxious when we see our babies with runny nose~ How to take care of a baby with runny nose? For younger babies, if there is a lot of snot, mothers can use a nasal aspirator to help their babies suck out the snot. (Nasal aspirator) Wipe the nose with a soft tissue and moisturize around the nose with wipes and moisturizer. If the baby’s nasal congestion is severe, nasal drops or sea salt spray, (you can choose the right one according to the baby’s age) can be used to relieve nasal congestion and moisturize the nasal cavity. You should also give your baby more water. If you have a cold, you can drink water boiled with white onion or soak your feet in hot water with a small amount of shredded ginger, both of which can help to relieve a runny nose. Pay attention to rest, which can promote recovery. If there are other symptoms such as high fever and coughing while having a runny nose, you should take your baby to the doctor in time.