Sea water for babies

January 17 2022
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What application is sea ​​water for babies i dzieci? What is included in such a preparation and what is its action? Whether opinion experts confirm that sea ​​water for the nose suitable for a newborn - from the first days of life? When is saline for babies useful? What is worth paying attention to when choosing for a child seawater spray or drops? Whether Dinner of such products promotes their popularity? Before you decide to buy, find out which one sea ​​water for the nose for the youngest, it will be the right choice.

Keeping the nose open is extremely important in babies as they cannot breathe through their mouths yet. That is why it is so important for them to clean the nose daily, because dried mucus can block the nasal passages. This makes it difficult for your little one to breathe, eat and sleep well.

Sea water for children

The autumn and winter period is a particularly difficult time for children and parents. Children get sick very often, especially those who go to nurseries and kindergartens. Infection in children is a difficult experience for parents. The little ones are then irritated, they cry and they have trouble sleeping, especially the nights are difficult. On top of that, they come to that eating problems - it is difficult for children to suckle food if they cannot breathe freely at the same time. The situation is also aggravated by dry air in the apartments, caused by central heating or air conditioning.

In such moments, a medical device based on natural ingredients, i.e. sea water for children, including newborns and infants, comes in handy. Below we discuss the properties of such preparations, as well as the opinions and recommendations of specialists regarding their choice.

Sea water from the first days of life

Sea water, it a sterile solution of sea or ocean water containing trace elements (i.e. trace elements) and macronutrients that are naturally part of its composition. The main ingredient is sodium chloride, but also antibacterial (manganese, copper) and anti-inflammatory elements (magnesium, zinc), as well as selenium, calcium and potassium are also important.

You can get this product even before the baby is born. Presumably, the moment will come quite quickly when we will reach for it. However, we should pay attention to choose a high-quality preparation - especially in the case of sea water for the nose for a newborn baby. This is important when used frequently - as is the case with other products for the youngest children. If we want to buy nasal sea water intended for them, the opinions of doctors and pharmacists are an element that we should definitely take into account.

Sea water: pay attention to the composition

Experts recommend choosing a preparation with a good composition. First of all, it should be free of preservatives. So if we see, for example, benzalkonium chloride on the sea water package from the first days of life, we should give up buying such a product. The preservative may have an irritating effect, and with prolonged use, it may dry out the mucosa.

The choice is so large that we can easily find a preparation with a better composition. The best choice will be one that contains sea water with micro- and macro elements (possibly with a small addition of purified water), rather than pure purified water that has only been enriched with certain ions.

Sea water for children: advantages

Why is sea water for children a useful product in a home medicine cabinet? First of all, due to its physiological neutrality. We can even use it in newborns, but let's pay attention to whether the product description (on the packaging) clearly states that it is sea water from the first days of life.

Here are the main ones benefits sea ​​water for children:

  • suitable for daily nasal hygiene,
  • moisturizes and brings relief to dry mucous membranes,
  • during infection, it helps to clean the baby's nose and remove mucus,
  • restores breathing comfort.

The most common contraindication to the use of sea water is hypersensitivity to its components. Sea water intended for children can be found in the offer of many companies.

Emilia Konka

Resident doctor at the Department of Congenital Defects in Metabolism and Pediatrics, Institute of Mother and Child

The expert advises:

When buying such a preparation, pay attention to the types of dispensers. Depending on your preferences, we can choose nasal sea water for a newborn in drops or in a spray. Sprays are finished with a plastic applicator, safe for the little nose. It is important that the applicator gently spray the preparation inside the nostrils. We should also remember about hygiene. After use, wash the applicator thoroughly with soap and water, and then dry it. Each of the household members should have their own preparation so as not to transmit any bacteria and viruses. 

Hypertonic or isotonic sea water?

To moisturize, cleanse and unblock the child's nose, we can use both sea water and saline, i.e. 0,9% sodium chloride solution. Sea water has the advantage over saline that it contains valuable minerals. Another advantage is the possibility of using it in the form of a spray, thanks to which it reaches deeper into the nose than the saline applied from the ampoule.

Sodium chloride concentration in saline   it is the same as in the human body, so we can wash our eyes with it or rinse our nose to remove allergens from it. Due to its isotonicity, the preparation is safe and can be used on a daily basis, depending on the needs.

Sea water may contain sodium chloride in isotonic (0,9%) or hypertonic (1,7-3,7% in commercially available preparations) concentration.

Isotonic solution

It works more gently and can already be used in newborns for daily care and moisturizing of the nose.

Hypertonic solution

We use it in the case of respiratory infectionsto get rid of nasal secretions, clear it and make it easier to breathe. It should be used in the event of a persistent runny nose. A higher concentration of sodium chloride dehydrates and contracts the nasal mucosa. Thanks to this, our toddler can feel relief.

Sea water or saline can be used with infants several times a day. In the case of residual mucus secretions, various types of aspirators (not a pear!) Are useful to remove it.

Nebulization

In the case of more serious, troublesome infections, it is worth reaching for nebulization preparations. We wrote about nebulizers here. However, let's remember one rule: isotonic preparations can be used at any time of the day, while the doctor prescribes hypertonic preparations for small patients when they have problems with expectoration. They can be used in the early afternoon hours at the latest. Nebulization preparations can be enriched with hyaluronic acid, which additionally moisturizes the mucosa.

Sea water for babies: price and availability

Parents of runny kids will find in every pharmacy a large selection of preparations that bring relief to clogged noses. The affordable price of sea water for infants and older children is also important here, with the safe composition of the product should always be a priority. Saline is the cheapest, but sea water in drops or sprays is also not an expensive preparation. By allocating a dozen or so zlotys for such a product, there is already a lot to choose from.

As for preparations in ampoules - usually 5 ml, we pay a really symbolic amount for a single ampoule. Remember that one ampoule is enough for one use. So let's have a few in your home medicine cabinet.

Prevention

In conclusion, it is also worth mentioning Fr. prophylaxis. For the sake of the respiratory system, regardless of age, let's take care of proper air humidification at home. This is especially important in the fall and winter season, when the radiators are working at full steam. We should also remember that a runny nose should not be a reason to give up walking with the child, and fresh air - unless the wind or frost is too penetrating - will help to clear a stuffy nose.

Author

Ewa Kaminska

Pharmacologist, Chief expert in the field of opinions on cosmetics, medical devices, washing and rinsing agents and biocides, Institute of Mother and Child

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