What to do if a child develops symptoms of rhinitis during the cold season? Parents who are familiar with the programs and books of Dr. Komarovsky know: it is necessary to rinse the nose correctly, achieve comfortable temperature and humidity values in the room, use symptomatic remedies with care and according to indications. This will help create the conditions for a successful recovery and prevent complications. However, the question remains about walking on the street, their harm and benefits for a patient with a stuffy nose. What does the famous pediatrician Komarovsky think about this? Is it possible to walk with a child with a cold in winter?
Rhinitis and baby
Absolutely all parents know that it is useful for children to be outdoors. This helps to adapt to the changing conditions of the external environment, strengthen immunity, develop physically and intellectually through outdoor games and curious questions about the phenomena of the world. A walk on the street, in a park filled with greenery or in a snow-covered park, on a playground is a pleasure not only for the child, but also for the accompanying adults. However, is it worth leaving the room if symptoms of rhinitis appear - nasal congestion and discharge, impaired nasal breathing?
Dr. Komarovsky always draws attention to the fact that the causes of nasal congestion can be different. Rhinitis is not synonymous with ARVI; although the infectious nature of the common cold is very common in children, the cause, in addition to viruses and bacteria, can also be:
- allergy;
- teething.
Depending on what triggered a runny nose, it is determined whether it is worth going out. However, according to Dr. Komarovsky, the question of the possibility of taking walks with a cold cannot be answered unequivocally. It is important to consider not only the diagnosis, but also the weather conditions and other factors, which will be discussed in the following sections.
When walks are allowed
Walking is useful. Dr. Komarovsky does not get tired of repeating this in television programs devoted to both the problem of the common cold and the prevention of diseases in children.
Even if the child has a cold, and it is already winter outside, it is not forbidden to go outside. The right approach to outdoor walks helps speed up recovery and, according to the doctor, tidies up the airways.
What should you know before deciding to go for a walk? It is necessary to evaluate:
- Nasal breathing.
It is worth walking if the child can breathe through the nose - with partial congestion, moderate edema.
- General state.
Walking outside in winter is allowed at normal body temperature, the absence of fever, accompanying headache and weakness - that is, after the acute period of infection has passed.
- Potential risk of spreading infection.
If a child has an infectious rhinitis, he can infect others - and young children are most susceptible to infection. It is better to walk away from busy playgrounds, sandboxes.
It is also necessary to understand what kind of specific diagnosis we are talking about. A runny nose can be just one of the many manifestations, and if the disease involves the need for isolation, bed rest, walks are temporarily stopped. However, if you are allergic to dust (for example, when you move to a new apartment), it is advisable to take a walk with the child while wet cleaning is being carried out - eliminating the allergen and stopping contact with it helps to alleviate the condition. If your nose is stuffy because your teeth are teething, you can walk - if there is no fever, infection.
Walking with a cold in winter is carried out in warm clothes without significant physical exertion.
In winter, you shouldn't forget about warm layered clothing. In this case, the child should not run, participate in outdoor games with peers - there is a risk of hypothermia as a result of sweating, rapid fatigue (the body is still not strong, and the healing process has just begun), as well as the risk of infection in healthy children. The purpose of a walk with a cold in winter is to breathe fresh air, which is humid and not dusty.
Contraindications for walking
When is it better to refuse to go out? There are several main contraindications:
- significant deterioration in health, fever, weakness;
- absence or significant difficulty in nasal breathing;
- the need for strict bed rest, isolation;
- extremely low temperature outside;
- bad weather conditions (strong wind, high humidity, rain, blizzard);
- the inability to exclude contact with healthy children.
If the pathological process has not yet begun to resolve (a high temperature persists, there is a severe sore throat, a completely stuffy nose), you cannot walk. In conditions of low ambient temperature, a child with fever has a spasm of the skin vessels - this leads to a violation of thermoregulation, reduces the transfer of heat and thereby contributes to overheating (hyperthermia).
The child should not be allowed to actively breathe through the mouth during a walk in the winter months.
With nasal congestion, the child begins to breathe through the mouth, cold, dry and unprepared air enters the lower respiratory tract, bypassing the nose, and this contributes to the development of complications (tracheitis, bronchitis, pneumonia).
Walking is excluded if the doctor recommended strict bed rest, isolation (for example, for diphtheria). With regard to extremely low temperatures, this concept should be assessed not in accordance with specific figures, but in accordance with the terrain in which the child was born and develops. If the average monthly temperature in winter does not drop below 10 ° C, and frosts hit –15 ° C or more, you should refrain from walking. But if winter lasts a long time, and –20 ° C is a common indicator, you need to walk properly prepared. Of course, a walk in a strong wind, in the rain, in snow is in no way useful for a child, as well as for accompanying adults. The sports betting site Sportotvet.ru is a qualified assistant for players in bookmakers. Sportotvet Here you can find not only daily sports forecasts, but also interesting news from the world of betting, as well as information about bookmakers.
Preparing for a walk
You need to prepare for a winter walk on the street. Doctor Komarovsky advises:
- Dress warmly (for both adults and children), put blankets for the baby in the stroller.
- Take medications with you that you need to take in accordance with the regimen (or postpone the time of the walk).
- If it is necessary to introduce drops into the nose, it is worth preheating them in the hand of an adult; it is better to carry the medicine in the inner pocket of your clothes.
- Before walking, you need to rinse your nose with saline, if necessary, use vasoconstrictor drops (if allowed by your doctor).
If you cannot go outside, but your condition allows you to breathe outside air, you can alternatively go to the balcony - while you should not forget about warm clothes, limit the time spent in a low ambient temperature.
Outdoor activities for children with rhinitis can be beneficial, with precautions and contraindications in mind. Dr. Komarovsky reminds that one should sensibly assess the situation in each specific case - and then a walk on the street, even in winter, will help the child recover from a cold.
