After a baby catches a cold, parents often feel lost and unsure of what they can do to help. However, home care for a baby with a cold is crucial. Proper home care not only helps the baby recover faster, but also helps shorten the duration of the illness.
1. Rest
The younger the baby, the more rest and care they need. It is important to let the symptoms subside before resuming activities to prevent a relapse due to unresolved infection. For a baby with a fever, it is best to have them stay in bed to minimize stimulation to the central nervous system.
2. Balanced Diet
The general principle is to choose easily digestible foods and have frequent small meals. Forcing the baby to eat can burden their digestive system and hinder both recovery and overall health. Each meal should be smaller in portion size, but more frequent. It is also beneficial to give the baby some fruit juice, such as fresh orange juice. As the fever subsides and digestion improves, the baby's diet can become thicker. As the baby's condition improves, they can gradually return to their normal diet, usually within a week.
3. Suitable Environment
Keep the baby's room well-ventilated. Fresh air helps the baby sweat effectively and lowers body temperature. Avoid directly blowing air at the baby, as it can cause the baby's skin blood vessels to constrict and worsen the condition. Provide a comfortable resting environment for the baby, keeping the room calm and quiet, and try to increase the baby's sleep time to conserve energy. You can let the baby lie in bed and tell them stories or play soothing music to help them relax, which promotes recovery.
4. Sweating
Encourage the baby to drink more water. Water increases cellular metabolism, helps eliminate toxins from the body, and promotes sweating, which helps lower body temperature.
Avoid dressing the baby in too many thick clothes or blankets. Loose-fitting clothing facilitates sweating and heat dissipation. Never dress a feverish baby in too many clothes or cover them with thick blankets, as this can cause the fever to persist or even trigger febrile seizures. After the baby takes antipyretic medication, they may sweat a lot. It is important to change their clothes if they become wet with sweat to prevent them from catching a cold and worsening their condition.
5. Physical Cooling
For a feverish baby, physical cooling should be the first choice, especially for infants. If physical cooling is ineffective, then antipyretic medication can be used appropriately. Physical cooling methods include local cooling, tepid baths or sponging with warm water, and rectal administration of cold saline. Among these methods, local cooling is the simplest and most commonly used at home.
