Mustard benefits
Many people are sure of the beneficial properties of mustard. Mustard powder is traditionally considered a safer remedy than pharmacological preparations - and when treating a child, parents are looking, first of all, for a medicine that is free from side effects. However, is it worth relying on mustard if your nose is stuffy? How to use it correctly to relieve the condition of children?
Mustard-based products are offered in the form of dry powder or mustard plasters - paper sheets covered with a layer of powder, packages containing a certain amount of it. Active substances begin to act only in warm water - essential oils are released, irritation of the contact area of the skin. It is crumbly mustard that is used for the foot bath.
Why do you need mustard for a cold? It is generally accepted that with its help you can:
- To activate blood flow to the contact area (feet, ankles).
- Increase blood flow in the upper respiratory tract (reflex mechanism).
- Strengthen the activity of metabolic processes, stimulate immune mechanisms.
A foot bath is annoying, distracting and warming. The main point of using mustard is to influence the reflexogenic zones located on the soles of the feet. There is an opinion that in this way it is possible to achieve significant relief from rhinitis and even improve the body's resistance. However, there is still no convincing scientific justification - all the properties of mustard, except for annoying and warming, remain only speculations.
A runny nose in children most often appears as a result of a cold, and most cases of so-called colds are ARVI, acute respiratory viral infections. Since the symptoms are associated with hypothermia, mustard-sweeping is considered the most appropriate way to improve the condition — quickly and conveniently.
It should be understood that neither mustard nor warm water can significantly affect the course of a cold or ARVI - it is impossible to interrupt a started infectious and inflammatory process.
Unfortunately, even with modern advances in medicine, no effective remedy has been invented that allows you to forget about the common cold once and for all. Therefore, mustard is more of an adjunct than the main treatment for rhinitis.
Indications and contraindications
Mustard is a homemade warming agent, which, however, is not always useful and not for everyone. Some pediatricians strongly advise to give up foot baths, others admit the possibility of their use if there are no contraindications. When should you soar your feet with mustard?
- local hypothermia (for example, if the child has wet feet);
- general hypothermia (exposure to rain, walking without a jacket).
It must be emphasized that a foot bath can only help immediately after hypothermia - that is, before persistent symptoms of rhinitis appear. It is possible to warm the legs of a child with an active runny nose, but the effectiveness of such a procedure is questionable.
An indication for a warming bath can only be a cold runny nose; for allergic or non-allergic vasomotor rhinitis, mustard powder is absolutely useless. Symptoms of the onset of a cold and allergies are very similar - swelling, watery discharge, so attention is needed. If a child has an allergy, a mustard bath can make the symptoms significantly worse.
When you can't soar your feet with mustard? Among the main contraindications are the following:
- Propensity for allergic reactions.
If a child suffers from any form of allergy, even if there is no reaction to mustard, it is better to refuse treatment with it.
- Fever.
Thermoregulatory mechanisms in children are not as well developed as in adults. A foot bath with mustard is an additional heating of the body. If you carry it out to a child with a high fever, you can face unfavorable and dangerous consequences - including hyperthermic syndrome, convulsions.
- Cuts, scratches on the skin of the legs.
If there are wounds on the legs, in no case should you use an irritating agent, this will increase the pain.
- Rash, inflammation, neoplasms in the lower extremities.
Warm up and irritate the elements of the rash, swelling is prohibited, this can lead to complications.
- Early and early childhood.
If a small child has a runny nose, you cannot use mustard - you need to choose a different method of treatment. In addition to the danger of overheating, there is also a high risk of burns, both thermal and chemical.
It is worth remembering that a child cannot always complain about unsatisfactory water temperature, severe burning sensation, or correctly describe other symptoms. Meanwhile, painful sensations cannot be tolerated. Therefore, adults who carry out the procedure must show care and accuracy, carefully check the heating of the water, and monitor the condition of the child. A preliminary measurement of body temperature is mandatory.
Algorithm of actions
If you decide to use mustard for your foot bath, you need to do it right. First of all, it is worth telling the child what the essence of the procedure is - he must understand that he will have to keep his feet in a basin with warm water for some time. Explain that it doesn’t hurt to float your feet with mustard, so you should immediately report a strong burning sensation.
Make sure that the child is dressed warmly, does not get cold, and is not in a draft during the procedure. At the same time, it is not worth wrapping up in blankets, a sweater and rolled-up trousers in winter, T-shirts made of natural material in the warm season are enough. If you wish, you can throw a blanket over your shoulders.
Prepare water (about 12 liters) and mustard (about 50 grams). Take a clean basin deep enough so that the water reaches the baby's ankles. You should also have on hand:
- additional container with clean warm water;
- dry clean towel;
- clean and dry socks made of natural material - cotton, woolen.
How to soar the legs of a child? Dissolve the required amount of mustard powder in water. Invite the child to lower their feet into the pelvis, distract him with a toy, book or movie, continue warming with mustard for 10-15 minutes. After the specified time has elapsed, rinse your feet with clean water without mustard, dry with a towel, put socks on the child, and put him to bed.
The water temperature should be in the range of 40-50 ° C, since in hotter or colder water, the active substances are not emitted by mustard.
Do not add water to the basin, and even more so do not add a new portion of mustard, otherwise you may face the consequences of a burn. The skin of the feet may turn slightly red - this indicates the irritating effect of mustard oils.In this case, there should be no pain, severe redness, burning.
Using home methods when treating children should be done with caution - it is best to consult a doctor in advance. Perhaps a child's runny nose is not infectious, but allergic in nature, which excludes the need for warming procedures, including foot baths with mustard powder.
