Common Cold In Babies: Symptoms And Causes

Common cold is very common in babies because of their undeveloped immune system. They usually suffer from common cold 6 times in their first year.

Common cold can be a bad experience for your baby and can make your baby’s life miserable. And when your baby feels uneasy you too will feel anxious. But if you know the signs of the common cold well and are able to identify it in your baby you can take appropriate measures to control it and give relief to your suffering baby.

The common cold is the infection of the upper respiratory tract i.e. the throat and nose, caused by viruses.

Symptoms:

The principal symptoms of common cold in babies are runny nose and nasal congestion. They are the first signs of common cold in babies. Mucus discharge from baby’s nose can be seen, which may be clear in the beginning, but might gradually become thicker and then turn yellow or green in color.

Other symptoms of common cold in babies are breathlessness, coughing and sneezing. If your baby is affected with common old, he/she will cry too much. Being a mother, you can sense by your baby’s excessive cry that something is wrong with your baby. Another symptom of common cold is the watery eyes, which can be accompanied with a low-grade fever of about 100 F.

Some other symptoms can also be observed in case of severe cold. These symptoms include, ear pain and yellow eye discharge, traces of blood in cough, loss of appetite, difficulty in sleeping, irritability, and mouth and lips may appear blue in color. Baby suffering from severe cold will wet his or her diaper more than normal.

Causes:

Your baby may get infected with the cold viruses on coming in direct contact with a person who has common cold. Common cold can be caused by about 100 different viruses. So your baby may get infected if any of these viruses enter your baby’s body through nose or mouth. This can happen when any infected person talks, sneezes or coughs near your baby. Your baby can also get common cold if he or she comes in contact with cold virus by touching the contaminated articles like toys.

You must consult your baby’s doctor immediately if you observe any of the severe symptoms in your baby or if the cold continues for a week or more.