Pneumonia in babies can be treated by following simple remedies. These remedies help in easing the condition and relieve the baby from the symptoms.
Since babies consume only breast milk or formula, you cannot do much in terms of diet or homemade supplements. Rather you can do the following home remedies for pneumonia in babies and comfort them.
Do you know how to treat pneumonia in babies naturally? You can heal your baby’s pneumonia naturally by following these steps. Learn more about natural treatment for pneumonia.
How to Treat Pneumonia in Babies Naturally?
Using Humidifier
The most common symptom of pneumonia is coughing. The accumulated phlegm causes obstruction in the lungs and trachea. So, the body expels the phlegm using cough.
Setup a cool mist humidifier to ease the coughing in babies. These humidifiers add moisture to the air and keep the sinus wet.
This inhibits the sinuses’ ability to create more mucous to keep them from drying. Also, humidity in the air keeps the mucous light which makes it easier for the baby to cough it up easily.
A precaution to take note of while using a humidifier is that it should not be used continuously. Because it can moisten the walls which creates mold growth and affects the air with spores.
This can lead to other allergies and asthma. Also, the use of a humidifier is only for bacterial pneumonia.
Increasing Fluid Intake
Similar to the humidifier action, increasing the fluid intake keeps your body hydrated. This hydration reduces the body’s need to produce mucous.
Also, the accumulated phlegm or mucous gets diluted and it will be easier for the babies to cough it up easily.
You can simply give water to keep the body hydrated. If your baby is old enough you can give broths and fresh juices. Broths can be soothing to the throat.
If your baby is very young, then breast milk is enough. Because it contains all kinds of antibodies. But as a breastfeeding mother, you should avoid foods that increase the cold in your baby.
If you are giving enough fluids, the baby frequently urinates and this can be evident from the wet diapers. Keeping the baby hydrated eliminates the mucous easily from the body.
Using Suction to Remove Mucous
If you find your baby with obstructed nasal and with breathing difficulty, you can use a bulb syringe to remove the mucous.
Using a few drops of nasal saline will break down the mucous. Then take a bulb syringe and clear the air out by pressing the bulb.
After pressing the bulb, insert the syringe into the nostril slowly and release the bulb.
When doing so, the mucous will get sucked into the syringe and it can be washed away.
Similarly, you can clear the nasal pathway for breathing by doing this multiple times. This eases the child to breathe and makes them less fussy.
Let the Baby Rest
If you find your baby sleeping a lot, do not disturb. Do not worry about its food or water intake.
When the body is removing the waste products or fighting the infection, it doesn’t want any other process such as digestion to happen. So, it will put the body to sleep.
Plenty of rest will clear away pneumonia soon from the body. These are some of the home remedies for pneumonia in babies.
What are the Things to Avoid during Pneumonia?
Babies have the ability to naturally heal with the help of breast milk. But the diet of the mother affects breast milk.
If your baby has pneumonia, the breastfeeding mother should avoid any type of junk food. Also, it is best to avoid alcohol and malt beverages.
Secondly, everyone in the house should avoid smoking. Especially inside the house. The mother should avoid smoking at all times if she is breastfeeding.
The smoke contains high carbon and nicotine which further increases the production of phlegm and mucous in the baby. So, everyone must abstain from the habit.
The next thing to avoid is cough syrups. Cough syrups increase the accumulation of mucous by hindering the process of coughing.
Coughing helps the baby to expel the mucous out of the body which is very important for a rapid recovery.
If it is obstructed, then the mucous will start to stay longer in the lungs and can become more serious. So, never give any kind of cough syrup.
Also read this too:
- How to Prevent a Baby from Getting Stomach Flu
- 11 Home Remedies for Infants with Diarrhea
- How to Reduce High Body Temperature in Babies
- How to Cure Baby Thrush at Home
What to do if the Pneumonia is Accompanied by a Fever?
It is normal to have a fever as an inflammatory reaction to any kind of infection. The body gives high fever while combating the infection. If the baby is let to rest, the fever goes off in one or two days.
The mothers can provide a sponge bath with water to reduce the body temperature. Also, the baby should be periodically hydrated with water or breast milk.
When to see a Doctor?
If your baby’s condition doesn’t improve after providing all the remedies and taking all the precautions, then you may consult a doctor.
Also, if the fever didn’t reduce or if the body temperature is very high, then you should immediately consult the nearest hospital and treat them. The doctor may prescribe some medicines suitable for your child.
How to Prevent Pneumonia in Babies?
It is very easy to prevent pneumonia in babies if you follow a simple lifestyle routine and hygiene. In terms of hygiene, every person in the house should preserve their personal hygiene.
Those who are interacting with the baby more like the parents or the nanny should take extra precautions. Try to maintain everything that may come in contact with the baby carefully.
Do not smoke inside the house. Your baby’s lungs are in the growing stage and it doesn’t have to be burdened with a lot of unwanted wastes and toxins. So, everyone should avoid smoking.
The next thing that protects your baby is sufficient nourishment. If the baby is breastfed, make sure the child feeds properly and periodically.
If you have a slightly older baby, you can provide them with healthy organic vegetable broths and fresh juices to keep their immunity increased.
Conclusion
Pneumonia can be quite difficult for the babies to overcome and it depends on the severity of the infection. The best medicine for babies is breast milk and plenty of rest.
Apart from these, you can try these home remedies for pneumonia in babies to ease their symptoms and relieve them.
