Children with cough should lie on a fan or an air conditioner?

This is an automatically translated article.

1. Causes of children coughing and sweating a lot

Cough is a reflex of the body to open the airways. When the respiratory tract has problems and is attacked by viruses, bacteria, cigarette smoke, car smoke, dust, etc., the body reflex will cough to expel those viruses and bacteria.
Children have a lot of cough and sweat due to many causes from mild to severe such as: cold infection, bronchitis, pneumonia, respiratory inflammation, allergies, asthma, air pollution...
The use of Using the wrong air conditioner is also a cause for children to cough and sweat a lot. If the air conditioner has not been cleaned for a long time, the dust filter is the hiding place for many types of bacteria, viruses, and mold causing diseases. Therefore, when the air conditioner is in operation, it is easy for children to breathe in, leading to allergic rhinitis. Parents are afraid of the cold, but let the air conditioner temperature too high, causing the child to get stuck and sweat in the back, neck,...
In fact, many studies suggest that the family's living habits also affect the degree of the child's cough. Habits of eating cold foods, taking cold showers, running and jumping in the rain, playing with water... are the triggering factors that make it easy for the virus to enter the body to cause disease. But most viral coughs in children are benign, requiring only home care. In addition, the habit of wearing clothes for children that is too tight, too thick also makes children more prone to sweating, leading to colds and coughs, even pneumonia.
Studies show that, when children are exposed to cold temperatures, the small blood vessels in the lining of the nose, throat and upper respiratory tract will constrict, reducing the amount of blood circulating to these areas. When the blood supply is reduced, there is a decrease in the supply of nutrients and a decrease in the cells that fight pathogens in the blood. In addition, when it is cold, the low temperature creates a favorable environment to stimulate some viruses to develop well. Changing weather is also favorable for some viruses to survive longer, so the throat and nose are more susceptible to illness.

2. Should a child with a cough lie on a fan or an air conditioner?

Children, especially babies, cannot regulate their own body temperature, so they always have a sensitive and easily changed body temperature. Parents need to maintain the child's bedroom temperature at a stable level, to limit sudden and extreme temperature changes that make the child unable to adapt and lead to a direct impact on the child's health. The use of fans or air conditioners can greatly affect the health of babies if parents do not know how to use them properly.
2.1. Be careful with air conditioners Air conditioners will provide a more consistent temperature than fans, especially on hot days. However, air conditioning will reduce humidity and air circulation, improper adjustment of air conditioner temperature can cause rhinitis, pneumonia, ... in children.
The ideal air conditioner temperature that parents can turn on for their children is from 26 to 28 degrees Celsius. On hot days, parents are often worried about children getting hot, so turn on the low temperature air conditioner, blowing strong wind mode without causing any problems. Not knowing this makes the baby's cough even worse. Because the cold air conditioner mode often makes the air dry quickly, the humidity in the room sometimes reaches only 50%. Cold, dry air will dry out your baby's airways and increase inflammation in the lining of the throat. This causes more sputum to be produced, and the more intense the child coughs. Leave a basin of water, a damp towel or a nebulizer in the room to provide moisture to the air, to prevent children from having dry skin, dry nose and throat, leading to dehydration. Avoid letting the child lie in the place where the air conditioner's wind blows directly on the face, on the body, should only be placed parallel to the direction of the outgoing air flow. When lying in the air conditioner, if the child sweats without wiping it, it will make the child more likely to catch a cold. Parents need to regularly pay attention to the child's temperature, dress the child in breathable, moderate-thickness clothing, and pay attention to wipe the body with a dry towel if the child is sweating. Use physiological saline nasal drops for children to avoid dry nose and throat. Pay attention to cleaning the air conditioner periodically to avoid harmful bacteria and mold from growing through the air filter of the machine. Do not turn on the air conditioner continuously all day, so turn off the air conditioner at least 2 times a day, about 1 hour each time. During that time, parents should also turn on the fan to dispel the stagnant air in the room, avoiding the room being secret. At the same time, open all doors to destroy disease-causing factors that can multiply and reside in closed rooms. Give your child water to drink often while lying in the air conditioner. Air conditioners help keep the room temperature stable, but make the air dry and lose moisture quickly. Therefore, parents should add warm water (oresol, fruit juice, milk...) for children. Turn off the air conditioner before letting the child out of the room. Children can go into heat stroke if they leave the air-conditioned room suddenly. Parents should turn off the air conditioner at least 05 minutes before taking the child out of the room to avoid the temperature difference that the child can bear too large. Cover the child with a thin blanket, covering the chest down to avoid catching a cold when lying in the air conditioner. But parents should avoid covering the neck tightly because this can make it difficult for children to breathe or have a hot neck, causing congestion and easy sweating. Use the air conditioner in case the weather is too hot. Parents should limit children lying in the air conditioner in case the weather is not too hot, just turn on a small fan or open the door to catch the natural wind. Both help limit the spread of viruses and bacteria, and help children adapt easily to the natural environment, create immunity and strengthen children's resistance. When coming back from the sun, it is necessary for the child to rest, wipe the sweat before the child enters the air conditioner so that the child's body adapts to the indoor temperature. Because when going out in the sun, the baby's body temperature will increase. If the child is immediately put into the room with the air conditioner on, it will easily lead to the child suffering a heat stroke because the temperature difference between the air-conditioned room and the outdoor can be more than 10 degrees Celsius if the parents turn the temperature on too low. . It is recommended to use an exhaust fan when turning on the air conditioner. Parents should turn on the ventilation fan to avoid making the air in the room stagnant and secretive when using the air conditioner. The secret space will make the child feel stuffy, uncomfortable, affecting the child's respiratory system. Not only that, the stagnant environment also causes bacteria in the air to thrive, making children more susceptible to illness, long incubation and difficult to recover. Therefore, parents use ventilation fans in the room to help create air circulation between the inside of the room and the outside to help the room become more airy, the children will feel more comfortable. 2.2. Do not let the fan face directly Many families today, because they are worried that using a cold air conditioner will make their children sick more easily, choose to use a fan. However, using a fan will cause the wind to blow directly on the young person, which can cause stuffy nose, difficulty breathing, adversely affecting breathing.
Fan blades in the cooling process will suck up dust and dirt, creating winds that bring dust towards the child. Therefore, parents need to pay attention to keep the fan in reverse rotation, not to let the wind blow directly on the young person. Do not use a steam fan because using a steam fan for a long time will increase the humidity of the air, creating a favorable environment for mold and harmful bacteria to grow.
The feature of an electric fan is that the air is continuously circulated with great intensity, leading to an increase in the rate of water evaporation. When the child lies in front of the fan, the evaporation of water in the airway is faster, especially when the fan is strong and standing still. Babies sleep back or open their mouths, so they are very susceptible to dry mouth, throat and bronchi, causing swelling of the throat mucosa.
When the baby has a cough with phlegm, parents should not put the fan directly, nor should it be in the direction of blowing from the feet to the head (the direction of the wind will blow into the nose and mouth), it is best to keep the fan at an angle, directed from the body below the feet, more than 1m from where the child lies.

3. What should a 5-month-old child with a cough and runny nose do?

If a young child is having a cough and runny nose, parents can still put the child in the air conditioner, but remember to cover the child's chest with a thin cotton blanket and turn on the air conditioner at a suitable temperature. In addition, the following precautions should be taken for children to limit aggravation of the disease:
3.1. Do not go out early in the morning Early in the morning, the outdoor temperature is much lower than the indoor temperature (at least about 2-3 degrees) and there is more wind. Leaving children out in the early morning can cause cold, wind, and cough. If a 5-month-old baby has a runny nose, the cough will be even worse. Not to mention the early morning dew is very cold, if the child stands outside in the yard or near an open window, it is easy for the child to inhale the dew, causing an allergic cough and a lot of phlegm.
To protect children, every morning when waking up, parents should not take the child out immediately, but should let the child wake up for about 5-10 minutes so that the body can reactivate to switch to the waking state. At that time, the body's cold room mechanism will be better. On normal weather days, parents should not let their children go out before 7 am; On cold days, children are only allowed to go out after 8 o'clock.
3.2. Avoid going out late In the late afternoon, the temperature drops quickly, especially from 5pm. The rate of cooling down too quickly will make the baby's body not able to adapt, easily causing cough and phlegm in children. The reason is that in conditions of reduced temperature, the respiratory system needs to secrete more fluid to humidify the air. When the respiratory system cannot regulate it, it will cause more coughing.
Ideally, parents should send their children home before 5:30 p.m. on summer days and 5:00 p.m. on autumn-winter days. Absolutely do not leave children outdoors after 6pm. When outdoors in the late afternoon, parents should hold the child in their lap, facing the wind, and the child's chest and belly pressed against their body (do not put the child in a stroller) to block the wind and keep warm. for children, minimizing the risk of colds.
3.3. Using physiological saline to clean the nose and throat of children When children have symptoms of sneezing, runny nose many times a day, parents should drop their noses for children 4-6 times a day with physiological saline. The more runny the child's nose, the more parents should use to clean the child's nose, helping to reduce inflammation.
For children with a stuffy nose, after 1-2 minutes of instilling thin and runny nasal fluid, parents can lift the child to sit up, gently sucking mucus in the nose with a nasal aspirator.
3.4. Elevate the child's head when sleeping If the child has a cough, sneeze, runny nose accompanied by a stuffy nose, parents should raise the pillow a little higher than usual for the child to sleep. This will make it easier for the child to breathe and the cough will also decrease.
3.5. Nutritional supplementation for children When a 5-month-old child has a cough and runny nose, parents need to maintain a reasonable diet to add enough nutrients for the child, strengthen resistance to fight pathogens, help Children recover faster. Give your baby more breast milk or formula to increase nutrition and water intake.
3.6. Using a humidifier Dry weather or being in the air conditioner for too long can cause children to inhale too much dry air, leading to coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and stuffy nose. Therefore, parents should put a humidifier in the child's bedroom to help air-condition enough humidity to make the child feel more comfortable.
Above are tips for parents to refer to when a child has a cough, should they use air conditioners or fans for children. Especially the notes to use the fan or air conditioner properly that parents need to save to perform, to help keep children healthy.

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