Should babies with flu take a bath? How to take care of children quickly recovering from illness properly

Causes of colds and flu in babies

Currently, according to health experts, in Vietnam, influenza is caused by three strains of influenza virus, strains A, B, and C. Among influenza virus strains, strains A and B are the two most common strains and has the greatest transmissibility in human history.

According to medical experts, the incidence of influenza virus strains in the elderly and children is very high up to 90%. Here are some reasons why babies get colds and flu:

Children infected directly from sick people: People who are infected or have flu symptoms come into contact with babies. Or the person with the flu sneezes, coughs and spreads the droplets to the outside of the surface, objects that children often come in contact with.

Children under 5 years of age have a very high 90% chance of catching the flu virus when it comes to the cold and wet season.

Living or working environment: A densely populated environment is more likely to catch a cold, the flu virus can live in the air for a certain period of time.

Newborns accidentally touch any surface, object containing the flu virus, … then put it directly into the baby’s mouth, eyes or nose.

Signs when babies have flu

When an infant has a cold, there are symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, sudden fatigue, … But these signs are difficult to detect in young children and infants. Because children cannot tell adults what state their body is in. Therefore, parents need to know the following obvious signs to know that their child has a cold:

• Your baby may have a fever in the first few days of a cold, or he may not have a fever when he has a cold.
• Fatigue suddenly manifests itself when a child cries loudly, or cries while sleeping.
• Sore throat manifests in infants often have dry cough, cough with phlegm.
• Runny nose, mucus in the baby’s nose is constantly flowing, and the mucus is colorless and liquid. After having a cold, about 2-3 days after that, the mucus in the nose is solid, yellow or green.
• Newborns may experience vomiting and diarrhea.

Often parents can confuse the flu with a cold because the symptoms of the two are quite similar. However, common cold symptoms will be more severe than colds, so parents should pay more attention to their children.

But in many cases, the child’s condition is more serious and shows unusual manifestations. If your child has one of the following symptoms, he or she needs to be taken to a hospital or medical facility for prompt treatment:

• The child has an earache, yellow pus appears inside the child’s ear.
• Continuous high fever   above 38 degrees for 3 consecutive days or more.
• The baby’s body is tired, leading to a lack of breastfeeding.
• Severe dehydration and electrolyte deficiency in infants manifests in fatigue, little urination, crying without tears,…
• When a child has a high fever, some parts of the body or the whole body of the child have a red rash, causing uncomfortable itching in the baby.
• The baby’s facial skin is pale, the tips of his fingers, toes and lips appear purple.

For adults, the flu is a fairly common illness and goes away quickly. But with the undeveloped immune system in infants, parents should carefully take care of and regularly take care of the child. Avoid cases where children appear severe symptoms and lead to bad complications that are harmful to the health and development of children later.

Should babies with flu take a bath?

Usually, the symptoms of a cold and flu in infants begin to appear about 1 to 2 days after being infected with the virus. The flu can last about 5 to 7 days. During the flu, children need to be cared for carefully and properly, they will be able to recover faster.

In the process of taking care of a baby with a cold, parents often wonder if babies with flu should take a bath? Parents are very afraid when a newborn baby gets a cold when bathing, it will make the condition worse or the child will recover longer.

But parents whose newborn baby has a cold should still be washed as usual to feel more comfortable and comfortable. In addition, a clean bath will also help remove the flu virus from outside the child’s body. This will help limit the transmission of the virus to family members, increasing the risk of re-infection in the child.

However, parents also need to learn and pay attention to how to shower and how often to bathe properly. Use moderately warm water to bathe your baby. Bathing will help children be cleaned of sweat, dirt, viruses. In addition, warm water can also help children clear their nose, making it easier for them to breathe when they have a cold.

Note when bathing babies with flu

Answer to the question, should babies with flu take a bath? We need to pay attention to the issues to be able to safely bathe children with flu. Newborns have very thin skin, so they are very sensitive to the outside temperature.

In particular, when the child has a cold, parents should pay more attention to bathing children when they have a cold. Here are some things parents should keep in mind when bathing a newborn with the flu:

• The water temperature is neither too hot nor too cold, as this can cause burns or worse flu. To regulate the appropriate temperature for the child, parents can use the elbow to check the most accurate temperature.
• It is necessary to bathe children in a sheltered place, so close the room door and turn off the air conditioner to avoid causing cold for the child. You can create a warm atmosphere by turning on the heater before bathing your baby. Do not bathe children at too high a temperature that causes allergies or skin irritation in children.
• When a child has a cold in the winter, the bath water cools very quickly, so it is reasonable to bathe the child for about 5-10 minutes. If you let your child soak in water for too long, it will make them more susceptible to colds and flu.
• It is recommended to bathe the baby in parts of the body, not take off all the baby’s clothes to bathe at once. This helps children avoid colds. Immediately after bathing, wipe quickly and put on warm clothes for the baby. Cold air should be avoided as it makes colds and flu in children worse.
• For babies over 3 months old, baby essential oils can be used to mix in warm water to warm the baby like cajeput essential oil, ginger essential oil, etc. But mothers should also be careful when using it to prevent children from being poisoned.

How to take care of babies with colds and flu quickly

Although the flu causes bad effects on babies, if treated and cared for properly, children will recover quickly. Here’s how to properly care for a child with the flu.

Give the baby full milk

For infants, breast milk is an essential source of nutrients for the infant’s recovery from colds and flu. When a child has a cold, the symptoms caused by the flu virus cause the body to lose strength, lose water, etc. Therefore, the child needs to be breastfed fully.

If the baby does not want to suckle or sucks less, the mother can feed the baby many times to ensure adequate nutrition. In addition to providing nutrients, breast milk also provides a temporary immune system against disease-causing viruses.

Clean baby’s nasal cavity

The first manifestation of a cold in a newborn baby is a stuffy nose, runny nose, etc. To avoid the child’s inability to breathe and infection of the nasal cavity, parents can wash the nose and suck mucus to the child. breathe easier. Note that you should clean the nose about 3-4 times a day and do it gently to avoid hurting the baby’s nose.

Wear cool clothes

Wearing cool clothes, good sweat absorption also contributes to effective flu treatment for babies when they have colds and flu during hot times. This is one of the ways that parents often apply when the family has children with flu. Wearing cool clothes helps your baby feel more comfortable and makes it easier to bring down the fever.

In case the child has a cold in the winter, parents need to keep the child warm enough to avoid the child being infected more seriously. In particular, parents should pay attention to keeping the baby’s hands, feet and head warm because these areas are very sensitive, so they are more susceptible to colds and flu.

Take the child to the hospital

For infants with flu, parents should take the child to the hospital for medical care for instructions on care and treatment. Accordingly, in some cases, children have symptoms caused by the flu, which endangers their future health and even endangers their lives. Here are the cases where parents need to take their child to the hospital immediately:

• High fever continuously for many days and there is no sign of fever reduction, in case the child has a fever to 39 degrees Celsius.
• The child falls into a coma, showing that the child is asleep, but when an adult acts, the child does not respond.
• Pale skin, the tips of the fingers, toes, and lips of the child show signs of cyanosis.
• Giving up breastfeeding leads to severe dehydration.
• When a child has a fever, a rash appears on one area of ​​the body or the whole body.
• There are manifestations of complications caused by the flu in infants.

Should babies with flu take a bath? Parents need to pay attention to the symptoms after bathing the child and the development of symptoms caused by the flu so that they can take the child to the doctor for timely treatment.

Humidify your baby’s air

Dry air causes discomfort in the baby’s nose, parents can use an air humidifier to help minimize flu symptoms. Including, sinusitis, chapped lips, runny nose,…

Should babies with flu take a bath? In addition, after parents bathe the child for a period of time, the child may have a dry nose leading to discomfort, so parents should use a humidifier to help the child more comfortable. Parents should note the following when using a humidifier:

The humidity in the room should not be too high, when there is residual water vapor on surfaces and objects. You should turn off the humidifier and then open the window to let air in.

Regularly clean and disinfect the air humidifier to avoid mold and dust, which adversely affect the respiratory system of children with flu and other family members.

Preventing the risk of colds and flu in babies

Parents should have equipment to prevent the risk of colds and flu in babies. Our grandparents often have a saying “prevention is better than cure”  so parents should prevent illness now to reduce the risk of flu in children. We can’t completely stop the spread of viruses, but we can keep them to a minimum.

Limiting family members to direct contact with the baby to avoid the case that the child gets the flu virus through the respiratory tract. Note that family members should be vaccinated to limit cross-infection in the family.

Family members need to wash their hands thoroughly, so wash them with warm water for the baby. Alcohol hand sanitizer can be used when soap and water are not available.

When you want to sneeze or cough, you should cover your mouth to avoid splashing droplets everywhere. Cover it with a tissue and then throw it in the trash, wash your hands to avoid touching your eyes and nose.

Regularly disinfect bathroom, kitchen, and toy surfaces to thoroughly destroy the environment in which flu viruses are favorable to operate and multiply.

Avoid contact with sick people while caring for a newborn.

The sick person should not have direct contact with the child to avoid spreading the disease to the child. When a family member has a cold, parents need to isolate the sick person and regularly clean and disinfect the child’s living space.

Above is Monkey’s entire answer to the question “should babies with flu take a bath?” sent to parents. Hopefully, the above article helps parents answer these questions and apply appropriate methods to help their children recover quickly. Don’t forget to follow and subscribe to Monkey member to update more new knowledge about parenting to help children develop in the most comprehensive way.