The main causes of coughing and snot when teething

Eruption of the first teeth is a very painful process for the baby. He behaves capriciously, refuses to eat, and does not sleep well during this period. The appearance of the first teeth can also cause coughing and snot. The task of parents is to notice and facilitate the flow of teething for the baby in time.
It is worth noting that you do not always need to contact a doctor if your baby has a cough and snot when his first teeth are erupting. Undoubtedly, your child should be regularly examined by a pediatrician. You also need to get advice and recommendations from him about child care in general and during teething in particular. However, you can independently relieve the symptoms associated with teething.
You should definitely get acquainted with all the features of teething. You will find detailed information about this in the article. We have also collected tips from leading pediatricians for you. They will help you to ease the condition of your baby during the eruption of his first teeth.

The appearance of the first baby teeth is a difficult period in the life of a child and his parents. This period of time is associated with whims, violation of sleep and nutrition. But most of all, mothers and dads of babies are concerned about such alarming symptoms as coughing and snot when teething. Editorial Board of the portal UltraSmile.ru I decided to tell you why this happens and whether you always need to see a doctor. Also in the article you will find information on how to relieve the child’s condition in the presence of problems such as runny nose and cough. In fact, in fact, there are only two of them. They will be discussed today.

1. Increased saliva production

When the body begins to prepare for teething, the baby increases blood supply and circulation of the mucous membrane and gums, which irritate the teeth that are about to break through. In particular, blood circulation in the area of the salivary glands and nasopharynx increases, due to which the salivary secret begins to appear in the child’s mouth in excess. It is also present in the nose, and its parents often mistake it for snot.

Saliva, among other things, is a defender of the body from the attack of bacteria. In young children, it does not yet have all the enzymes that help fight harmful microorganisms, but, nevertheless, it is already able to secrete small amounts of the enzyme lysozyme, which has an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect. It is necessary for the natural fight against the inflammatory process on the mucous membrane, without which no tooth is accompanied by eruption.

Saliva accumulates in excess in the baby’s mouth, part of the saliva flows out, part enters the gastrointestinal tract (which is why the child may experience dilution of the stool, diarrhea).

If the baby is in a supine position, then saliva gets into the nasopharynx, flows down the back wall of the throat, causes irritation, and the body includes protective mechanisms, so there is a so familiar cough and runny nose. But if the cause of coughing and snot is determined accurately, that is, the fault was just saliva, then do not give the kids expectorant drugs, in 3-4 days after eruption, such symptoms will pass on their own.

2. Weakened immunity

The eruption of the first baby teeth is associated with great stress for the body, and the local immunity is very much weakened even despite the active production of saliva. That is why, against the background of the growth of teeth, the child so often “grabs” various viruses, which leads to the development of SARS. Coughing and snot in this case do not occur during teething, but during the development of viral diseases. Or, as we used to call all respiratory pathologies, for colds.

“Here we are with the first child, while thinking about whether there may be a cough for teething, rattled in the hospital, because we received ENT complications. Read all the information that this situation, they say, is normal, so they started, everyone thought, teeth are climbing. However, after the discharge, the tooth did come out, but it seems that we had two problems at once. So, it is better to immediately go to the doctor if the child coughs. I won’t even think about it with the second one.”

Weakened immunity during teething can cause coughing
But how can we distinguish between norm and pathology? Where is a serious disease that requires treatment and supervision of a doctor, and where are the symptoms associated exclusively with teething? Let’s look at this issue further.

How to distinguish norm from pathology

Runny nose Often occurs against the background of eruption of fangs and incisors (“eye teeth”): the secret secreted from the nose is always transparent and liquid, resembles water the Secret from the nose only at first was liquid and transparent, but after 1-3 days it thickened, the snot became yellowish or green. There was a stuffy nose.
Temperature For 1-2 days before eruption of teeth, the temperature may rise up to 37,5-38 degrees. Easily removed by antipyretics.  Diarrhea can be observed for several days, but no more than 2-3 times per day. May be. If vomiting is accompanied by diarrhea, it indicates the appearance or attachment of a rotavirus or intestinal infection.

When teething, a large amount of saliva is released, which flows out of the mouth onto the baby’s chin and lips, and the skin around the lips becomes irritated and reddened from constant humidity, and a rash may even appear on it. You also have to change the baby’s clothes almost every hour, because the whole breast of the child is also filled with saliva. All these are signs that the cough is not a symptom of a pathology or serious disease. There is no reason to panic in this case, just do not forget to wash the child’s face with water more often and remove drool with a handkerchief. Use ointments and powders, to remove the irritation of the skin.

According to some well-known doctors and pediatricians, coughing on teething teeth can occur both wet and dry. Most often, it appears after prolonged crying of the baby, as a result of which the breath is lost and there is dryness and scratching in the throat, which is why the so-called “cough reflex”develops. In particular, this opinion is held by Dr. Jackson M.

A guide to action for moms and dads, grandmothers and grandfathers

To such phenomena as a runny nose and cough delivered a minimum of discomfort to the baby, try to take care of some points:

• maintain an optimal level of humidity in the room: to keep the cough dry and easy to leave, maintain a suitable microclimate in the room where the child is most often located. The room needs to be ventilated more often (of course, we take the child out of the room), maintain the humidity in it at the level of 40-60% – for this you can buy an air humidifier or use the old folk method and place containers with water in the room near the heating devices. It is also advisable to carry out wet cleaning of the apartment every day, wipe not only the floors, but also the shelves and toys,
• buy an aspirator: with its help, you can easily remove mucus from the nose of those kids who have not yet learned to blow their nose on their own. Today, pharmacies sell electric, mechanical, and vacuum aspirators. If you do not want to spend the money on the extractor, it is possible to use as “my” normal enema small size,
• The aspirator will help get rid of mucus in the nose
  feed the baby with warm liquid, but feed only on demand: if the child does not want to eat, do not force it,
• do not wrap the baby, so as not to cause an increase in body temperature,
• arrange more outdoor walks with your child, even in winter (but only if there is no temperature),
• moisturize the mucous membrane of the nose with saline solutions, it is also possible to do inhalations with saline,

properly prepare the sleeping place: to prevent saliva from entering the nasopharynx during sleep, and the breath was free, slightly lift the baby’s sleeping place (about 15 degrees). You can use a large pillow for this purpose, or additionally put something under the child’s mattress in the place where the baby’s head will be located,
speed up the process of teething: buy a silicone brush to care for the first teeth and gently massage it into the mucous membrane of the crumbs. Purchase cooling teethers and pacifiers.

Silicone teethers will help your baby during this period
And the most important thing that is required from caring parents is attention and patience to their children. After all, only your love and care will help the crumbs survive this difficult period. And if you suspect that coughing and snot are the causes of colds or other diseases, and are not associated with teething-be sure to contact your pediatrician, who will prescribe adequate treatment. It is especially worth doing this if the cough has become so strong that the child comes in with it, he has convulsions, wheezing and other alarming symptoms.

Many modern mothers love to listen to and watch Dr. Jake S programs, so it will also be useful for you to find out what he thinks about the topic of coughing and runny nose when teething.

Ashley M.  believes that often when a child begins to cough at the age of six months and older – parents can not always adequately assess the situation on their own, they are sure that the cause is teething. Although there are also viral diseases to blame, which the baby becomes especially susceptible to from this age due to the peculiarities of the immune system. However, if the baby is active, the doctor does not see any reason for concern, but still advises to consult your pediatrician in any situation.