✓ Seasonal bronchitis in children

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What is bronchitis

Cough, greenish-yellow nasal mucus, sneezing e fever? Your child probably has the bronchitis. "It is an upper respiratory tract infection - explains the pediatrician Mariella Rossitto from our city - due to viruses and bacteria present in the air.

The causes of bronchitis

Bronchitis occurs mainly in winter because at this time of the year there are several factors:

in the city the increase in pollution levels from fine dust (Pm10) irritates and bronchi,
closed windows in the house facilitate the proliferation of germs,
excessive heating dries the air, making it difficult for the body to maintain the right internal humidity for the mucous membranes to play their role in protecting against infections.

And to these elements we can add the passive smoking. In fact, recent studies have shown that smoking on the balcony is not enough: the smoke is deposited in the form of particulate matter in the fibers of the clothes (as well as the exhaust gases of cars), which is then breathed by children once they are in their parents' arms ".

Prevention: Keep the house clean and humid

Prevention

To prevent bronchitis it is therefore important a healthy home environment.

First

avoid smoking;
often return the air in the rooms;
promote the right humidity by placing bowls of water on top of the radiators or spreading wet and wrung sponge sheets over the radiators.

Another advice from the pediatrician is to keep aquatic plants indoors: being species that need water to survive, they favor air humidification, as well as oxygen exchange, thanks to chlorophyll photosynthesis. Among these, for example, the papyrus.

Have him wash his little hands

Other rules to follow are:

always take off your shoes as soon as you enter the house;
change clothes to the little one when he returns from kindergarten;
get used to wash your hands, in order to eliminate the germs eventually transmitted by others.

It is also useful to always keep the baby's nose free, blowing it often; for the little ones, the mother can intervene with washing of saline solutions.

Encourage him to drink

In addition, to encourage the humidity of the internal mucous membranes, it is useful to encourage children to drink a lot of water, fruit juices or rather orange juices rich in vitamin C which strengthens the immune system.

When can I go back to kindergarten?

These precautions must also be maintained during the period of illness, in addition to the therapy prescribed by your pediatrician. Once the acute phase has passed, the child can be sent back to kindergarten even if it still has some cold e cough. The latter is the most annoying symptom of bronchitis, mainly because it increases during the night due to the lying position.

"The classic cup of milk and honey is fine to calm her down," suggests the pediatrician. But without forgetting to wash your teeth before going to bed!

(Article by Focus Pico)

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