Many mothers and fathers may wonder why their babies have runny nose even though they do not have a cold. How to arrange the daily life, diet and care during the period of runny nose and nasal congestion for babies? The role of nasal snot Under normal circumstances, the nasal mucous membrane in our nasal cavity continuously secretes nasal snot, and the total amount of nasal snot can be as high as 1 liter for 24 hours a day for adults. 70% of this amount of nasal snot is used to raise the humidity of the inhaled air during inhalation, while a small portion flows through the posterior nostril to the pharynx and is swallowed or spit out together with the saliva produced by the mouth. Our nasal mucosa is mainly composed of secretions from a large number of glands distributed in the nasal mucosa, as well as from capillary exudation of immunologically active components and leukocytes in the nose, and from tears flowing into the nasal cavity from the nasolacrimal ducts. About 95% of nasal mucus is water, and it also contains inorganic salts, mucopolysaccharides, mucins, lysozyme, leukocytes and other components. Nasal snot covers the cilia of columnar mucosal epithelial cells on the surface of nasal mucosa to form a mucosal cilia system, which can adsorb dust, bacteria and fungi in the air, so that the air inhaled into the lungs is almost free of bacteria. Causes of runny nose and nasal congestion? Compared with adults, the nasal mucosa of infants and children is more sensitive to various external factors, and the nasal cavity is relatively narrow, so they are more likely to have runny and stuffy nose. Cold air, virus infection, dust, pollen or irritants in the air may cause increased nasal secretion, resulting in increased nasal secretion and swelling of nasal mucosa, leading to nasal congestion. Cold air will make the mucous membrane of nasal cavity secrete more mucus to warm and moisten the inhaled air, in addition, the water vapor carried by the gas in the cold weather will condense near the nostrils and produce more liquid to mix with nasal mucus, forming the phenomenon of “slug”. When the common cold, influenza and other viral infections occur, the virus will also stimulate the nasal mucosa to secrete more mucus to wrap the virus particles and prevent the infection from spreading further to the airways and lungs. When crying in a depressed mood or when the eyes are irritated, excess tears flow into the nasal cavity through the nasolacrimal ducts, diluting the nasal discharge and causing “a snotty nose and a tear”. What is the nature and color of common nasal secretions? The nasal discharge caused by different reasons has different characteristics. Take the common cold as an example, it can have different characteristics at different stages of the cold. At the beginning of the cold, the nasal discharge is watery, thin like water and slightly sticky. Then it shows mucus-like nasal discharge, containing more mucin from mucus gland secretion, translucent and sticky. With the edema of nasal mucosa, the ciliary movement of nasal mucosa columnar epithelium is dysfunctional, the local bacteria in the nasal cavity are retained, and the white blood cells phagocytose the bacteria, the nasal mucus is purulent, yellowish white and cloudy, as the condition improves, the purulent component decreases and the mucous component increases, and gradually returns to normal. The whole process lasts about 1~2 weeks. Why does nasal discharge and nasal congestion cause irritability, crying and sleep disturbance in babies? When a baby has a cold, the excessive secretion of nasal snot accompanied by swelling of the nasal mucosa can easily lead to nasal congestion and poor ventilation of the nose, causing the baby to open his mouth and whistle, which is especially likely to cause the baby to cry, irritability and sleep disturbance. On the other hand, if the air is dry and the baby’s fluid intake is insufficient, it will make the nasal snot more sticky, dry, crusty and seriously block the nasal cavity, and it will be more difficult to clear the snot. Why does a baby with cold make a whistling phlegm sound in his throat when he sleeps? The increase of nasal mucus caused by cold alone, in addition to the nostril outflow, nasal mucus also flows through the posterior nostril to the oropharynx, the swallowing function of infants and children is not mature, not swallowing the mucus of the oropharynx into the abdomen in time, and not spitting out the mucus, when the baby whistles, the gas in and out of the trachea mouth, air and water mixed, will produce whistling phlegm sound, and also cause cough. Therefore, it is not possible to distinguish whether a baby has a simple cold or bronchitis simply by the presence of phlegm in the throat and a cough. What is the daily routine, diet and care for my baby during illness? Your baby’s runny nose and nasal congestion cause nasal obstruction and poor inhalation, which are the main reasons for crying and poor sleep. At present, medication is not recommended, so the only thing left to do is to start with your baby’s daily life, diet, and strengthen nasal care. Daily life: during illness, need to spend more energy to calm the baby, hug the baby more, tell the baby some stories, or some small toys to play, so that the baby do not over-activity, reduce energy consumption, but also to make the baby get better rest, for increasing the baby’s own immunity, to promote the recovery of the disease is very helpful. Reasonable diet: arrange the diet reasonably according to the baby’s appetite and preference, so that the baby gets enough fluids and nutrition. There are two questions that often bother parents. The first question: “Many people say that you can’t eat eggs or drink chicken soup after a cold, which will aggravate the cold?” The second question: “The doctor told me to go back and give my baby more water, but my baby just doesn’t like plain water, what should I do?” . In response to the first question, here is a quote from Spock’s Parenting: “Chicken soup may actually contain substances that can relieve cold symptoms, and even if it doesn’t, its warmth is comforting, the soup can hydrate your child, the salt in it helps with electrolyte balance, and the protein and fat in chicken soup are very nutritious. Chicken soup is really harmless, and any kind of warm soup is good for you”. For the second question, doctors often say “give your baby more water”. Drinking more water here can’t simply mean drinking more plain water, but providing your baby with more liquid food, such as increasing breastfeeding, formula, fruit food, etc., to provide your baby with sufficient water in various ways. This will keep the nasal discharge from becoming too sticky and crusty, make it easier to clean up the nasal discharge, and also keep the baby from becoming dehydrated due to increased fluid loss from various causes and make the baby have sufficient urine output. Home care: In order to make your baby’s snot not too sticky, you can also use a sprayer or humidifier to humidify the indoor air. In the north, where the air is dry, making the air in the room more humid through a sprayer or humidifier can dilute nasal secretions and promote recovery from a cold. Before the baby goes to bed, or when the nasal congestion is obvious and affects the baby’s normal whistling, use one or two drops of breast milk or saline drops to soften the snot and then use a cotton swab stick or a nasal aspirator to clear the snot, which is also a way to keep the nasal passages open to relieve the baby’s discomfort and improve sleep. Is swallowing snot in the stomach harmful? For older children, parents need to teach their children how to wake up with a snotty nose, wipe it properly with toilet paper and throw it in the trash, and develop good hygiene habits. However, there are still some things that parents worry about: “I can’t teach my children how to wake up their noses, but instead of waking them up, they suck them in. Is swallowing snot in the stomach harmful to children?” Some children will secretly pick their boogers and then eat them. Studies from Canada have found that swallowing snot is not harmful, but rather the germs encapsulated and dissolved in the snot can stimulate the body’s immunity and strengthen the child’s resistance. Therefore, parents no longer need to worry about this matter, they just need to turn a blind eye to the habit of children stealing boogers. When the child grows older and realizes that this is not a good thing, he or she will change the habit of eating boogers.