home remedies for cold in infants
Colds in both infants and adults are not usually known to be serious however they can be highly annoying and cause a disruption in a person’s day to day life. Common cold in infants tends to be very annoying for both the child and the parents as well. Research has shown that on an average, an infant will suffer from eight to ten colds before he is two years of age. Some of the other symptoms associated with a common cold in infants are fever, cough, sniffles, pains, aches and sneezes. One of the home remedies for cold in infants is to spend some time with the baby in a steamy bathroom so as to relieve the congestion that may have been formed on account of the cold. One needs to simply sit on the bathroom floor with the infant for at least 15 minutes while running a hot shower. However one should take care not to directly expose the baby to the hot water and not to leave the child unattended in the bathroom. Alternatively, one may also use a humidifier in the infant’s nursery as one of the home remedies for cold in infants. Essential oils are also included in the list of treatment for colds in infants as they help the baby in breathing more easily. However since infants have very sensitive skin, these essential oils such as peppermint or eucalyptus should not be directly applied on the baby’s skin. It is necessary that these oils be diluted with the bath water that is being run while giving the baby the steam treatment. Similarly one should also try and keep the baby’s chest and head elevated as much as possible while he is sleeping. This is also one of the effective home remedies for cold in infants wherein the elevation of the head and the chest will ease the coughing and help drain the congestion. When the baby is awake he should be kept at an incline or sitting up most of the times. When the infant is suffering from a cold, one should make sure that the baby is getting plenty of rest and fluids as this will help the baby’s body to fight off the illness and to also shorten the duration of the illness. Fluids are an important part of home remedies for cold in infants but they should however not be forced. One should avoid cow’s milk as it may further aggravate the cold and instead stick to breast milk which is beneficial to the child.
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