Causes of nasal grunting in a newborn baby. Why do babies grunt: causes and methods of eliminating an unpleasant symptom?

Wheezing, bubbling, squelching - these are the sounds heard in the baby’s nasopharynx when he has a cold or an acute respiratory infection. The following situation often happens: the child grunts, but there is no snot, the temperature is normal. The cause may be untreated inflammatory processes in the upper respiratory tract, enlarged adenoids, and allergies.

Almost forty years ago, the whole country sang along with Valentina Tolkunova, who first performed the song “Snub Noses.” Children snoring peacefully while sleeping evokes affection. But what will mom say when quiet sounds give way to strange wheezing? Of course, this causes concern, especially for parents of young children.

If a newborn baby grunts through his nose, but there is no snot, then extraneous sounds most often associated with imperfections in the structure of the infant’s respiratory organs. The respiratory tract is just developing, like other organs; the nasal passages are still short and narrow. Discomfort is caused by dried mucus on the walls of the nasopharynx.

The baby wheezes when air passes through the upper respiratory tract, when the mucus in the nasopharynx dries out, forming crusts.

Why does the mucous membrane in a child’s nasopharynx dry out:

  • dry air, especially during the heating season;
  • parents do not clear mucus from the baby’s nose;
  • the children's room is poorly ventilated;
  • Wet cleaning is rarely carried out.

Dry mucous membranes cause discomfort baby, and strange sounds when breathing make the mother worry about the health of the baby. To help you need to rinse the baby’s nose, instill solutions that act as antiseptics and moisturizers. Vasoconstrictor drops will not be useful in this case!

How to get rid of "grunting"

Good effect on the nasopharyngeal mucosa preparations based on sea water, For example "Aqualor", saline solution or solution sea ​​salt . A ready-made preparation based on saline solution for a newborn or a child over 1 year old can be purchased at a pharmacy. The bottle must be warmed to room temperature, then the liquid must be injected into the child’s nasal passages through the tip. If the baby “grunts,” then rinsing the nose should be done twice a day - morning and evening.

The solution is called “physiological” because its concentration is the same as blood plasma. When 9 g of table salt is dissolved in 1 liter of water, a liquid of similar composition is obtained. Seawater is usually a more concentrated solution. For example, the Black Sea contains on average 18 g/l of salts (chlorides, carbonate sulfates). Saline solution is prepared in pharmacies using distilled water; it is a clean and safe liquid.

How to rinse a newborn's nose:

  1. Warm the saline solution carefully to room temperature.
  2. Place the baby on his back, holding his chin with his hand.
  3. Carefully inject 2-4 drops of the solution into each nostril using a baby dropper.
  4. Raise the child or pick him up and hold him in the “column” position.
  5. After 5–10 minutes, use cotton wool to clean each nasal passage.


Daily wet cleaning and aquariums with water will help to avoid the harmful effects of dry air on the baby’s nasopharyngeal mucosa. It is advisable to install a special humidifier in the room or place a bowl of water over the heating device.

The baby needs to be turned from back to side until he learns to do this himself. It’s good if the baby regularly changes position, this reduces the likelihood of mucus hardening and drying in the nasopharynx. Helps breathing with a gentle massage of the baby's back and abdomen.

“Grunting” with the nose is a symptom of adenoiditis in a child

During inflammatory processes in the upper respiratory tract, the nasopharyngeal tonsil (adenoids) grows. But even in this form, this organ can only be seen with the help of special instruments. Most often, inflammation of the tonsil occurs in children 3–7 years old. The disease is called “adenoiditis”; it is caused by a runny nose and sore throat.

Signs and symptoms of adenoiditis:

  • The inflammatory process in the nasopharynx makes nasal breathing difficult and provokes coughing.
  • Pallor of the skin occurs due to low hemoglobin levels.
  • The child speaks through his nose but there is no snot, his voice becomes nasal.
  • Inflammation may affect the middle ear cavity.
  • The child sniffs and breathes through his mouth.
  • The baby is restless and does not sleep well at night.
  • Appetite decreases.

Doctors pay attention not only to the listed external symptoms. To determine an accurate diagnosis, a small patient is given an X-ray of the nasopharynx and an examination of the nasal cavity is performed - rhinoscopy. Sometimes an experienced ENT doctor determines the degree of adenoids by palpation examination.

Adenoiditis is one of the causes of developmental delay

It happens that the child sniffles through his nose, but there is no snot, the temperature is normal. The pharyngeal tonsil responded to infection in the upper respiratory tract by growing (hypertrophy). When the inflammatory process subsides, the adenoids may remain enlarged.

Why does adenoiditis occur in children:

  • Untreated acute inflammatory diseases of the nasopharynx.
  • Dry, dusty air in the children's room.
  • Wrong diet.
  • Weak immunity.
  • Hypo- and vitamin deficiency.

Nasal congestion and wheezing at night quite often occur in children with enlarged nasopharyngeal tonsils. A high degree of proliferation of adenoids becomes main reason breathing through the mouth in the absence or small amount of discharge. There are several consequences of poor adenoid health that parents should pay attention to. This is difficulty in nasal breathing and hearing impairment.

In the chronic form of adenoiditis, intoxication of the body occurs and the child’s development slows down.

There are 5 important points to consider:

  1. If a child has had ARVI or other acute inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract, the adenoids do not immediately return to normal.
  2. Acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI) must be treated until complete recovery.
  3. In the children's room you need it every day ventilate, remove dust, use a humidifier.
  4. Hardening helps strengthen the immune system and better resist ARVI.
  5. Adequate nutrition helps prevent adenoiditis.

Other causes of “grunting” sounds in the nasopharynx

Often nasal congestion, wheezing and coughing cause strong odors, dusty air, animal hair, plant pollen. How do you know that a child’s nose is clogged and snot is not flowing due to allergies? Finding out whether the baby has hypersensitivity to any substances is possible only with the help of special analyzes. It should be remembered that an allergic component usually accompanies upper respiratory tract infections.

Parents are worried about the child’s condition when he “wheezes inside, as if the snot is sitting deep.” This is a collection of thick mucus in the back of the nasal passages. Among the probable causes of the symptom, doctors name infections, allergies, a reaction to teething, and to dry, dusty air.

“Grunting” through the nose only at night without coughing indicates that the snot has thickened in the area of ​​the back of the nose. Dry mucous membranes cause discomfort for the baby, and moisturizing nasal drops, ventilation and humidification of the air in the room will help to overcome it.

Parents often notice with bewilderment and alarm that their baby, recently discharged from the hospital, is snorting. Such grunting, as well as wheezing, whistling and other similar sounds in the nose, especially often occur during and after feeding, as well as after sleep. In this case, the child may experience symptoms of a runny nose, but not always - sometimes the nose grunts, although there is no snot.

Why does a baby grunt with his nose, and what to do in this case? Turns out, grunting is common among babies and children. infancy, and in most cases - practically harmless. We will tell you why the baby grunts through his nose, and what to do so that the baby can breathe freely and easily.

Where do the grunting sounds come from?

Why does a baby snore? Grunting occurs when air, when passing through the nasal passages, encounters an obstacle - mucus, crusts, adenoids, foreign body, etc.

The nasal passages in children of the first year of life are very narrow, and the slightest accumulation of mucus (which must be in the nose to disinfect and humidify the air) disrupts the free passage of air, which is why all sorts of extraneous sounds appear.

In addition, the baby does not know how to blow his nose like adults, and the mucus in the nose can stagnate for a long time. At the same time, it thickens and dries, making breathing even more difficult. If mucus has accumulated in the anterior parts of the nose, it can be easily removed with an aspirator or a small bulb. If the mucus is too deep, but you should try to pull it out, you can damage the child’s mucous membrane, provoke bleeding, and introduce bacteria into the nasopharynx.

It is the accumulation of mucus in the back of the nose that most often causes grunting sounds.

Reasons

Increased mucus formation, and as a result, grunting in the nose, can be caused by several reasons:

  • physiological runny nose of infants;
  • cold runny nose;
  • dry air in the nursery;
  • allergic reaction to dust, pet hair, pollen, household chemicals;
  • teething.

Normally, part of the mucus formed evaporates, and part flows into the pharynx and is swallowed. But if the air in the room is dry, the liquid from the mucus evaporates too quickly, and the nasal secretions thicken. Thick, viscous mucus complicates the self-cleaning of the nose, accumulates and “clogs” the nose. A number of factors contribute to the accumulation of mucus, including the baby’s lack of mobility and his constant position in a horizontal position.

Runny nose

The first thought that comes to parents if the baby snorts is a runny nose. At the same time, it is rarely taken into account the fact that a runny nose is a symptom, not a disease, and it appears under the following conditions:

  1. The infection is viral, less often bacterial.

Indeed, a runny nose caused by a respiratory infection is accompanied by increased mucus production, which is why the child cannot breathe freely through his nose and grunts. At the same time, the patient also experiences other symptoms of a cold - sneezing, coughing, redness of the throat, increased body temperature.

It happens that, but he has no other symptoms of the disease - the baby is cheerful and active, the temperature is normal. In this case, do not worry - most likely, you are faced with a physiological runny nose. Newborns, as well as children under 3 months, have a moister mucous membrane than adults. There may be so much mucus that it looks like a runny nose. However, this phenomenon has nothing to do with the disease and does not require any treatment. At the age of two to three months, the functioning of the mucous membrane is normalized, and the physiological runny nose disappears.

  1. Allergic rhinitis.

Allergies are often congenital, so the fact that allergic rhinitis can be diagnosed in an infant should not be surprising. What can cause an allergy? In fact, the children's room is full of potential allergens - pet hair, dust (or rather, the ubiquitous dust mites), and household chemicals that mom used to wash the floors or wash the bed linen. With allergic rhinitis, a large amount of liquid transparent mucus is released from the nose, the child often sneezes, his eyes turn red, and watery eyes are observed.

Mucus stagnation

If infant grunts through his nose, but almost no snot flows; it is very likely that they accumulate in the deep parts of the nasal cavity. The baby is unable to blow his nose, and even the mother cannot remove the mucus with the help of an aspirator. How to help a child?

The baby spends almost all the time in a horizontal position (lying down). This is the first factor that complicates the flow of mucus from the nose. Turn the child on his stomach, on his side, while he still does not know how to do this on his own. When feeding, hold it so that the head is raised - this not only makes nasal breathing easier, but also prevents milk from entering the nasopharynx (which is often the cause of grunting after feeding).

The second reason for stagnation is dry air. Remember that humidity of 50-70% is favorable for the respiratory tract (at an air temperature of 18-22C).

Dry crusts in the nose

If the baby wheezes through the nose, or you hear sniffling and whistling from the nose, most likely dry crusts have accumulated in the nasal passages. The reasons for this are the same - dry air, lack of ventilation, dust in the room, overuse of the heater, rare walks with the child.

To make your child's breathing easier, drip his nose with saline solution or saline nasal drops, such as Aqua Maris, Salin, etc., and then remove the softened crusts. They can be removed from the anterior parts of the nose with a damp cotton swab (use cotton swabs with a limiter) or a cotton swab or gauze pad. The posterior parts of the nose should not be penetrated. Apply moisturizing drops several times a day, and the crusts deep in the nose will come off on their own.

Mothers often complain that their baby’s nasal wheezing intensifies in the morning and is also accompanied by a cough. At the same time, it is not possible to remove the mucus with an aspirator, as if it was sitting very deep. In this case, postnasal drip syndrome may be suspected.

Postnasal drip syndrome is a pathological phenomenon in which mucus formed in the nasopharynx flows into the throat and accumulates on the back wall of the pharynx, causing inflammation.


Its symptoms:

  • grunting in the nose at night and in the morning;
  • cough after waking up;
  • redness of the throat;
  • restless sleep;
  • feeling of a lump in the throat, sore throat (unfortunately, only older children can talk about this).

There is only one root cause of postnasal drip syndrome - a runny nose, of any type (allergic, infectious - it doesn’t matter). Normally, mucus from the nasopharynx flows both out and in - into the throat, but it should not accumulate on the walls of the pharynx. And here, again, it is necessary to mention the dryness of the air - it is this factor that provokes thickening of the mucus, causing it to hang on the back wall of the nasopharynx, causing a sore throat, coughing and grunting in the nose.

Teething

Sometimes you hear parents complaining that their child has been snorting for 2 months, ever since his first teeth began to erupt. Indeed, increased formation of mucus in the nose, and as a result - grunting, very often accompanies teething. The fact is that teething is always accompanied by local inflammation of the gums. This leads to increased blood flow to the oral cavity and increased saliva production. Nasal mucus has much in common with saliva - both saliva and snot contain large amounts of disinfecting substances, such as lysozyme, interferons, and both are released in large quantities in response to inflammation.

Prevention and treatment

What should parents do if their baby wheezes when breathing? To make your baby's breathing easier and reduce the risk of upper respiratory problems in the future, follow these recommendations:

  • Regularly clean the anterior nasal passages with moistened cotton swabs or turund;
  • upon accumulation large quantity mucus in the nose, suck it out using a special aspirator (after use, you must rinse it warm water with soap);
  • play with the child, turn him over, massage him - all this stimulates active breathing and prevents mucus from stagnating in the nasopharynx;
  • maintain optimal temperature and humidity in the house;
  • during the heating season, irrigate the child’s nasopharynx several times a day with moisturizing nasal drops, or maintain normal air humidity using a special device - a humidifier;
  • ventilate the children's room every day, preferably before bedtime;
  • regularly carry out wet cleaning in the nursery, and also get rid of unnecessary “dust collectors” near the child’s crib - carpets, plush toys;
  • If symptoms of a runny nose appear, treatment for the child should be discussed with the pediatrician.

Thus, grunting can be both a physiological phenomenon and a signal that the child’s breathing is complicated. In any case, it should attract the attention of parents, becoming an incentive to improve conditions in the home and proper care behind the baby's nose.

Situations in which a child grunts, but does not have a runny nose, can be roughly classified into two groups. In the first, the main characters will be children under the age of one year, in the second - children over one year old.

Why does a child who is less than a year old grunt when there is no snot?

Let's figure out why a child who is only a few months old breathes heavily and sniffs through his nose, but does not secrete mucus from his nasal passages. It turns out that this symptom does not indicate the development of a runny nose. Specific sounds are determined by the physiological characteristics of the structure of the respiratory system of newborns. As a rule, the problem disappears when the baby is 2 or 3 months old. In some children it persists for up to a year. Then the situation returns to normal on its own.

So, why does a 2-3 month old baby grunt? The discomfort felt by a newborn can be caused by the following factors:

During regurgitation, some of the milk enters the nose, which subsequently makes breathing difficult;

After feeding, the baby is immediately put to bed. Some of the food ends up in the back area of ​​the nasal passages, which causes grunting through the nose in the absence of snot;

The mucous membrane of newborns easily becomes dry, and the mucus in it dries out quickly. Since the nasal passages of the baby are very narrow, there are almost no passages left for the free movement of air in them.

If a child constantly grunts from snot, this prevents him from eating and sleeping, of course, you need to consult a pediatrician. After all, a variant of the norm may disguise some disease that requires treatment. So, a child can grunt, but his snot will not be sucked out due to:

Deviated nasal septum;

Swelling of the mucous membrane caused by injury to the nose during careless hygiene procedures;

Allergies to dust, pet dander, pollen, taken medicines etc.;

Getting a foreign object into the nose (this reason is especially relevant if a child who is already 6 months old or more is grunting through his nose - at this age the baby may well put small things into his nostril).

Another reason for nose grunting in the absence of snot in children under one year old is stridor. With this diagnosis, softening of the cartilage of the larynx or excessive narrowing of the nasal passages is observed. Parents should not be afraid - as the child grows and develops, everything will return to normal.

How to help a newborn baby who grunts and sniffles

If the origins of the cause are physiological (this was confirmed by the doctor), you need to humidify the air in the room, and after feeding, keep the child in an upright position for half an hour. The nasal passages can be moistened with saline solution. When the weather is good outside, mom needs to take more walks with the baby.

If snot flows from the nasal passages, you need to remove them using a special syringe. Its edges are rounded and soft, which prevents injury to delicate baby skin.

Why does a child over a year old grunt if he does not have a runny nose?

When we are talking about children aged 2-8 years who constantly grunt their nose, but at the same time cannot blow their nose normally, then this cannot be connected in any way with physiology and a variant of the norm. The most common causes of this symptom are:

– curvature of the nasal septum, abnormal structure of the nasal passages, the situation is corrected surgically;

The initial stage of a viral or bacterial infection. Very often, with these diagnoses, the snot does not start flowing immediately - first there is severe congestion;

Tumor neoplasms in the nasal cavity. This is a serious cause that is important to diagnose at the earliest stages. Unfortunately, breathing usually becomes difficult when the tumor reaches a size commensurate with the diameter of the nasal passage;

Entry of a foreign body into the nostril. Parents cannot always see that there is a foreign object in the child’s nose. Usually, when trying to remove it on their own, the baby pushes the foreign body even deeper. Here you need to get an appointment with an ENT specialist as soon as possible to clarify the situation;

Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. You can understand that grunting through the nose is caused by problems with the gastrointestinal tract by the release of cheesy mucus, which is formed as a result of small particles of food entering the posterior sections of the nasopharynx;

Nose injury. In case of fractures or severe bruises, the mucous membrane swells.

Another common cause of nasal congestion in older children is allergies. At the same time, the child sneezes and his eyes water.

To understand how to help their child, parents should take him to a qualified otolaryngologist. Only after establishing the correct diagnosis will it become clear what to do so that the child begins to breathe normally and stops constantly grunting through his nose.

Young parents, noticing that their newborn child is snorting, are very worried - is he sick? What to do if a newborn grunts, and how to help him? In this situation, mothers often hastily attempt to “treat” grunting in all possible ways - they use instillation, warming, etc.

Often parents even refuse daily walks with their baby, fearing that he already has a cold. Is this reasonable? In fact, the appearance of grunting sounds when breathing in a newborn rarely indicates an illness - in most cases this phenomenon is completely harmless. This is usually due to the anatomy and physiology of children in the first months of life. Indeed, a healthy newborn, and often a 2-month-old baby, can grunt, sniffle, grunt - there is nothing wrong with that.

In this article we will talk about why grunting sounds occur in newborns, and also consider cases when grunting turns out to be a symptom of illness.

Reasons

Why does a newborn snort? Any specific sounds coming from the nasopharynx, including grunting, occur when the flow of air during inhalation or exhalation encounters obstacles - mucus, dry crusts, etc. This brings discomfort to the child, but he does not yet know how to get rid of mucus in the nose by blowing his nose, and all he can do is grunt and wheeze.

Features of anatomy

The nasal passages of infants are much narrower than those of adults, and the nasopharynx is more moist, so infants often suffer from difficult nasal breathing, especially in the first year of life.

Often grunting is accompanied by feeding. In this case, milk may enter the nasopharynx - this irritates the receptors, the baby tries to get rid of it and grunts. Also, milk can enter the nasopharynx during regurgitation, so during and after feeding it is advisable to hold the baby upright for some time, supporting the head straight.

Physiological runny nose

If a newborn baby grunts, but you do not observe any other abnormalities, most likely you are dealing with a physiological runny nose. This phenomenon is associated with increased nasal mucus production within one to two months after birth. Sometimes a physiological runny nose occurs a little longer, up to 3-4 months of life. The fact is that the baby's mucous membranes did not function while he was in the womb, and now they need some time to adapt to new conditions.

Thus, if a child is grunting for 1 month, but otherwise feels great, there is no need to treat him - this phenomenon will go away on its own.

Stagnation of mucus in the nose

If you notice that your child is wheezing through his nose, it is very likely that thick mucus has accumulated in his nasopharynx, making breathing difficult.

Infants spend almost all their time lying on their backs. In this position, the outflow of mucus from the nasopharynx is hampered, and it accumulates between the nose and throat. A similar problem worries many adults who notice clots of mucus in the throat after waking up - this is muconasal mucus that has accumulated overnight.

In medicine, clinical cases of constant flow of nasal mucus down the throat are called postnasal drip syndrome.

Postnasal drip syndrome is a consequence of both excessive mucus production and its thickening. Thus, liquid mucus will drain freely, but viscous and thick mucus can linger in the posterior parts of the nasopharynx for a long time, causing significant discomfort.

Thickening of mucus in the nasopharynx occurs as a result of:

  • breathing dry or hot air;
  • long stay in a dusty, rarely ventilated room;
  • insufficient mobility of the baby;
  • lack of fluid in the body.

When viscous mucus accumulates in the posterior parts of the nasopharynx, the child sleeps restlessly, and in the morning he grunts and coughs.

How to make sure that your baby is not sick?

Grunting in itself should not be considered a sign of illness. It’s another matter if grunting occurs simultaneously with other symptoms, such as:

  • nasal congestion (the child constantly has his mouth open and cannot suckle);
  • copious discharge of snot;
  • the newborn wheezes constantly, cannot sleep and eat normally;
  • increased body temperature;
  • cough;
  • sneezing;
  • indigestion;
  • lethargy of the child, frequent crying, whims.

Grunting against the background of a general deterioration in health may be a sign of a viral infection, bacterial rhinitis or nasopharyngitis, allergic reaction, problems with digesting milk, etc.

To find out the exact cause, the child should be examined by a pediatrician.

How to help a child?

To make breathing easier for a newborn, you need to set yourself 2 tasks:

  • regularly clean the nose from accumulated crusts and mucus;
  • improve the conditions surrounding the baby so that the mucus in the nose does not thicken and easily removes itself.

Let's figure out how to do this.

Cleaning your nose

To remove excess mucus from a baby's nose, you can use an aspirator or a small bulb. This should be done if you have a runny nose or if your nose is running. If the baby sniffles heavily through his nose, it means that dry crusts have accumulated in the nasal passages - they should be removed.

The procedure for cleansing the nose of an infant is as follows:

  1. We will need a saline solution. This can be boiled water with a small content kitchen salt(no more than a teaspoon per liter), or special nasal drops based on sea water for infants. The best option is saline solution purchased at a pharmacy. It is sterile, harmless and very affordable. Before use, the solution must be warmed to body temperature by holding the bottle in your hand.
  2. The child should lie on his back. There is no need to throw your head back.
  3. Apply 1-2 drops of solution into the child’s nostrils.
  4. Next, you need to take the child in your arms, hold him in an upright position, and lightly massage his nose. At this time, droplets of the solution will be distributed throughout the nasopharynx and will soften the crusts.
  5. After this, you can clean the front of the nasal passages using cotton wool pads moistened with the solution. Do not penetrate deep into the child's nose, and also wipe the inside of the nasal passages dry.

Cleaning the nose should be done regularly, but you shouldn’t overuse it if the child is already breathing calmly.

We create comfortable conditions

Our time is such that children spend most of their time indoors, and short walks hardly satisfy the growing body’s need for fresh air. That is why one of the most important tasks when caring for children remains maintaining cleanliness and humidity in the children's room. Regular wet cleaning (3-4 times a week), daily ventilation, avoiding unnecessary carpets, will help with this. soft toys and other dust accumulators. During the heating season, care should be taken to maintain normal humidity - it should be at least 50%. In such conditions, the work of the mucous membrane is normalized, and nothing interferes with the baby’s breathing.

Parents often notice with bewilderment and alarm that their baby, recently discharged from the hospital, is snorting. Such grunting, as well as wheezing, whistling and other similar sounds in the nose, especially often occur during and after feeding, as well as after sleep. In this case, the child may experience symptoms of a runny nose, but not always - sometimes the nose grunts, although there is no snot.

Why does a baby grunt with his nose, and what to do in this case? It turns out that grunting is common among babies and infants, and in most cases it is practically harmless. We will tell you why the baby grunts through his nose, and what to do so that the baby can breathe freely and easily.

Where do the grunting sounds come from?

Why does a baby snore? Grunting occurs when air, when passing through the nasal passages, encounters an obstacle - mucus, crusts, adenoids, foreign body, etc.

The nasal passages in children of the first year of life are very narrow, and the slightest accumulation of mucus (which must be in the nose to disinfect and humidify the air) disrupts the free passage of air, which is why all sorts of extraneous sounds appear.

In addition, the baby does not know how to blow his nose like adults, and the mucus in the nose can stagnate for a long time. At the same time, it thickens and dries, making breathing even more difficult. If mucus has accumulated in the anterior parts of the nose, it can be easily removed with an aspirator or a small bulb. If the mucus is too deep, but you should try to pull it out, you can damage the child’s mucous membrane, provoke bleeding, and introduce bacteria into the nasopharynx.

It is the accumulation of mucus in the back of the nose that most often causes grunting sounds.

Reasons

Increased mucus formation, and as a result, grunting in the nose, can be caused by several reasons:

  • physiological runny nose of infants;
  • cold runny nose;
  • dry air in the nursery;
  • allergic reaction to dust, pet hair, pollen, household chemicals;
  • teething.

Normally, part of the mucus formed evaporates, and part flows into the pharynx and is swallowed. But if the air in the room is dry, the liquid from the mucus evaporates too quickly, and the nasal secretions thicken. Thick, viscous mucus complicates the self-cleaning of the nose, accumulates and “clogs” the nose. A number of factors contribute to the accumulation of mucus, including the baby’s lack of mobility and his constant position in a horizontal position.

Runny nose

The first thought that comes to parents if the baby snorts is a runny nose. At the same time, it is rarely taken into account the fact that a runny nose is a symptom, not a disease, and it appears under the following conditions:

  1. The infection is viral, less often bacterial.

Indeed, a runny nose caused by a respiratory infection is accompanied by increased mucus production, which is why the child cannot breathe freely through his nose and grunts. At the same time, the patient also experiences other symptoms of a cold - sneezing, coughing, redness of the throat, increased body temperature.

It happens that a child at 2 months old grunts, but he has no other symptoms of the disease - the baby is cheerful and active, the temperature is normal. In this case, do not worry - most likely, you are faced with a physiological runny nose. Newborns, as well as children under 3 months, have a moister mucous membrane than adults. There may be so much mucus that it looks like a runny nose. However, this phenomenon has nothing to do with the disease and does not require any treatment. At the age of two to three months, the functioning of the mucous membrane is normalized, and the physiological runny nose disappears.

  1. Allergic rhinitis.

Allergies are often congenital, so the fact that allergic rhinitis can be diagnosed in an infant should not be surprising. What can cause an allergy? In fact, the children's room is full of potential allergens - pet hair, dust (or rather, the ubiquitous dust mites), and household chemicals that mom used to wash the floors or wash the bed linen. With allergic rhinitis, a large amount of liquid transparent mucus is released from the nose, the child often sneezes, his eyes turn red, and watery eyes are observed.

Mucus stagnation

If an infant grunts through his nose, but almost no snot flows, it is very likely that it accumulates in the deep parts of the nasal cavity. The baby is unable to blow his nose, and even the mother cannot remove the mucus with the help of an aspirator. How to help a child?

The baby spends almost all the time in a horizontal position (lying down). This is the first factor that complicates the flow of mucus from the nose. Turn the child on his stomach, on his side, while he still does not know how to do this on his own. When feeding, hold it so that the head is raised - this not only makes nasal breathing easier, but also prevents milk from entering the nasopharynx (which is often the cause of grunting after feeding).

The second reason for stagnation is dry air. Remember that humidity of 50-70% is favorable for the respiratory tract (at an air temperature of 18-22C).

Dry crusts in the nose

If the baby wheezes through the nose, or you hear sniffling and whistling from the nose, most likely dry crusts have accumulated in the nasal passages. The reasons for this are the same - dry air, lack of ventilation, dust in the room, overuse of the heater, rare walks with the child.

To make your child's breathing easier, drip his nose with saline solution or saline nasal drops, such as Aqua Maris, Salin, etc., and then remove the softened crusts. They can be removed from the anterior parts of the nose with a damp cotton swab (use cotton swabs with a limiter) or a cotton swab or gauze pad. The posterior parts of the nose should not be penetrated. Apply moisturizing drops several times a day, and the crusts deep in the nose will come off on their own.

Mothers often complain that their baby’s nasal wheezing intensifies in the morning and is also accompanied by a cough. At the same time, it is not possible to remove the mucus with an aspirator, as if it was sitting very deep. In this case, postnasal drip syndrome may be suspected.

Postnasal drip syndrome is a pathological phenomenon in which mucus formed in the nasopharynx flows into the throat and accumulates on the back wall of the pharynx, causing inflammation.


Its symptoms:

  • grunting in the nose at night and in the morning;
  • cough after waking up;
  • redness of the throat;
  • restless sleep;
  • feeling of a lump in the throat, sore throat (unfortunately, only older children can talk about this).

There is only one root cause of postnasal drip syndrome - a runny nose, of any type (allergic, infectious - it doesn’t matter). Normally, mucus from the nasopharynx flows both out and in - into the throat, but it should not accumulate on the walls of the pharynx. And here, again, it is necessary to mention the dryness of the air - it is this factor that provokes thickening of the mucus, causing it to hang on the back wall of the nasopharynx, causing a sore throat, coughing and grunting in the nose.

Teething

Sometimes you hear parents complaining that their child has been snorting for 2 months, ever since his first teeth began to erupt. Indeed, increased formation of mucus in the nose, and as a result - grunting, very often accompanies teething. The fact is that teething is always accompanied by local inflammation of the gums. This leads to increased blood flow to the oral cavity and increased saliva production. Nasal mucus has much in common with saliva - both saliva and snot contain large amounts of disinfecting substances, such as lysozyme, interferons, and both are released in large quantities in response to inflammation.

Prevention and treatment

What should parents do if their baby wheezes when breathing? To make your baby's breathing easier and reduce the risk of upper respiratory problems in the future, follow these recommendations:

  • regularly clean the anterior sections of the nasal passages using moistened cotton swabs or turundas;
  • if a large amount of mucus accumulates in the nose, suck it out using a special aspirator (after use, wash it with warm water and soap);
  • play with the child, turn him over, massage him - all this stimulates active breathing and prevents mucus from stagnating in the nasopharynx;
  • maintain optimal temperature and humidity in the house;
  • during the heating season, irrigate the child’s nasopharynx several times a day with moisturizing nasal drops, or maintain normal air humidity using a special device - a humidifier;
  • ventilate the children's room every day, preferably before bedtime;
  • regularly carry out wet cleaning in the nursery, and also get rid of unnecessary “dust collectors” near the child’s crib - carpets, plush toys;
  • If symptoms of a runny nose appear, treatment for the child should be discussed with the pediatrician.

Thus, grunting can be both a physiological phenomenon and a signal that the child’s breathing is complicated. In any case, it should attract the attention of parents, becoming an incentive to improve conditions in the house and properly care for the baby’s nose.