It might seem like your toddler or preschooler has a nose that is always runny, but experts say that’s normal.
“Children under 6 years of age average six to eight colds per year, with symptoms lasting an average of 14 days,” according to Dr. Maria Mejia, an associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “It’s very normal for children to contract illnesses frequently as their immune systems build.”
Most of these colds happen between September and April, Mejia adds. Children enrolled in daycare or school are simply exposed to a lot of pathogens, viruses and bacteria, which their less-developed immune systems just can’t fight off.
“A general rule of thumb is that if your child gets better after a week to 10 days, it was most likely a cold,” Mejia noted in a Baylor news release. “If their symptoms persist longer and/or seem to come on after exposure to certain substances or during seasonal changes, allergies are probably to blame.”
The common cold is a group of symptoms that includes runny nose, fever, sore throat, and cough. Your child may also have red eyes and swollen lymph nodes on either side of his neck.
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When a child does appear to have symptoms consistent with an allergy, the primary care provider may recommend visiting an allergist or ear, nose and throat specialist.
Children who show signs of a virus should immediately see a doctor if they display one or more of a variety of symptoms, including refusing to drink anything for a prolonged period, difficulty breathing or rapid breathing, and a fever greater than 101 degrees that lasts longer than three days.
Other concerning symptoms include eyes becoming red or having a yellow discharge, or behavior changes such as irritability or lethargy/decreased responsiveness.
Symptoms of an ear infection — such as pain, fussiness or ear pulling — also means it’s time to see a doctor.
Nasal congestion is the most aggravating symptom of the common cold; you can expect toddlers and preschoolers to wake at night because of it. Teach your child to sniff up the mucus and swallow it as well as to blow into a tissue. A humidifier or a cool-mist vaporizer can preventnasal passages from drying out, which makes the mucus more difficult to remove. You can also put warm water or salt water drops (1/4 teaspoon of salt dissolved in 8 ounces of water) in your child’s nose and then suck the liquid and softened mucus out with a nasal bulb syringe, which you can find in a drugstore.
You can teach your children healthy habits to help prevent sickness, including proper hand washing. Your child(ren) should learn to wash their hands after using the restroom and, as they get older, to wash after blowing or touching their nose.
Hand sanitizer is an alternative option if soap and water aren’t available.
Also teach kids to cover their mouths while coughing, using their inner elbow, to help prevent the spread of disease.
Make sure children eat healthy meals, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep. Balanced meals with vitamins and minerals can help boost their immune systems.
You can also help children stay healthy by keeping them up to date on vaccinations, including those for COVID-19 and flu, Mejia advises.
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Since there’s no way to speed up the healing process, the best you can do is manage the symptoms. Offer your child plenty of water and soup: Their body is working harder to fight off the infection, and fevers increase fluid requirements. Warm liquids, like chicken soup and vegetable broth, soothe the throat and temporarily unclog congested nasal passages.
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