Hell doctor: 'useful' grandmother's advice, which is better to forget
'01.09.2022'
Source: AiF.ru
Although modern medicine is developing by leaps and bounds, many Russian families use grandmother's advice in everyday life. Moreover, they are especially often and generously distributed in relation to the youngest members.
What tricks people used before, when there was no decent medicine to raise healthy children. In the course was literally everything that was at hand. For each case of children's health problems, there was a recipe - breast milk, onion juice, rubbing with vinegar or vodka, and so on. Modern pediatricians do not approve of such therapy options and even criticize them. However, traditions are very strong. At the same time, many young parents do not even think that a huge number of grandmother's recipes can simply be deadly for the crumbs. After all, their resistance collides with iron: “We raised our children this way and nothing - no one died.” About what advice can be harmful to drink a child with a small amount of alcohol or feed him with semolina instead of a mixture, AiF.ru told the pediatrician, head of the analytical center "Parents' Choice" Tatyana Butskaya.
With the birth of a child, mothers and grandmothers are immersed in an atmosphere of disputes and misunderstandings. They are associated with different approaches to caring for a baby and its treatment. Mothers are guided by modern recommendations of evidence-based medicine, and grandmothers are guided by their experience and traditions. Alas, they are not always as harmless as they seem.
1 tip: “Let's give him some wine to sleep better”
This is one of the most dangerous traditions. It exists in many countries of the former USSR. Grandparents consider it normal to drink alcohol to a baby. Some do it in honor of the holidays, others - so that the child sleeps better. No matter how the older generation insists on “a spoonful of wine”, “they gave you - and nothing”, do not agree. Any, even the weakest alcoholic drink is detrimental to the immature liver of a baby. You run the risk of leading the child to severe poisoning and disruption of the gastrointestinal tract. Keep in mind that after such a tasting, hospitalization may be required.
2 Tip: “In the common cold, put breast milk in your nose”
Many grandmothers believe that breast milk can be used for daily nasal care and as the equivalent of medicine during illness. But this is not the case. The mucous membrane of the nose is covered with ciliated epithelium, that is, cilia. They move mucus towards the nasopharynx and thus purify the nasal passages. If you drip breast milk into your nose, the cilia will begin to stick together and no longer cope with their work. In addition, breast milk is not sterile, which means bacteria will grow in the nose. As a result, the child may become more ill.
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3 Tip: “Make the Water Hot, Three Wash and Don't Feel Soap”
Some believe: the hotter the better. The child is bathed in forty-degree water, soaped from head to toe and tinder with a tough washcloth.
The mistakes are obvious: hot water can lead to overheating. The baby needs to be bathed in water with a temperature of about 37 degrees. If the child has atopic dermatitis, the water should be cooler. Russian experts recommend cooling the bath to 35 degrees, and Western experts - to 27-30. The baby should not be washed with detergents every day. This reduces the protective properties of the skin, which means that it becomes more vulnerable to infection. Don't use regular soap. It can affect the pH (acidity) of children's skin and provoke its dryness, increased sensitivity to irritants. Avoid washcloths. They are of no use to a child. Children's skin is very thin and delicate - rubbing with a washcloth can hurt it.
4 Tip: “Do not open windows — this is drafts”
Grandmothers are afraid of drafts. They are afraid that the grandchildren may get sick. If the child is sweating or just after a bath, this is indeed quite possible. The cause of the disease can be a sharp temperature drop, vasospasm and activation against this background of its own pathogenic microflora. In all other cases, the fears are too exaggerated. Children get sick not from drafts, but from pathogenic bacteria and viruses. If you regularly ventilate the apartment, they will be blown away by a fresh stream of air. If you close all the windows and sit in a stuffy atmosphere, you will contribute to the multiplication of pathological microorganisms and their successful attack on your household.
5 Tip: “Swaddle so you can sleep better and keep your feet even”
If the baby is swaddled, it will really sleep better. However, it is not necessary to make it tight. So that the child falls asleep faster and does not wake himself up with constant winches, it can be limited to swaddling the handles.
As for the statement about straight legs, it is fundamentally wrong. Swaddling tightly won't make them smoother. If the child is strongly tightened with diapers, you will not help him, but only harm. First, if the baby was born with hip dysplasia, this method will aggravate it. Secondly, there is a risk of overheating the baby, disrupting blood circulation and breathing, and slowing down the development of his muscles. In addition, you deprive him of the possibility of knowing the world around him with the help of touch.
6 Tip: “Natural milk or semolina is better than synthetic mixes”
In the old days, if it was not possible to find donor milk, the child was given cow's milk or semolina. It was not the best alternative, but often the only one. Nowadays, there is a very large selection of artificial mixtures in stores. In their composition, they are as close as possible to human milk and meet the age and physiological characteristics of babies. True, some grandmothers believe that this is “chemistry”, which is better to replace with natural milk or semolina. Let me tell you right now that this is a bad idea.
Cow's milk is a very heavy product for a child's body. Firstly, it is too fat for the baby. Secondly, it contains more than 20 proteins, for the processing of which the baby does not have enough enzymes. Proteins in unchanged form are absorbed through the intestinal wall, which, due to anatomical features, is highly permeable. As a result, food allergies develop. According to statistics, it occurs in every fifth child. However, this is not the only trouble that the early introduction of milk into the baby's diet can lead to. Excess protein can disrupt metabolism, as well as develop obesity and diabetes. Among other things, the child may have a lack of iron and certain vitamins.
As for semolina, it contains gluten (gluten). This is another culprit for food intolerances in children. Therefore, do not even try to replace breast milk with semolina porridge. Talk to your doctor and he will select a good formula for your child, taking into account the individual characteristics.
7 Tip: “Take a bar of soap instead of an enema”
Constipation is a common problem in babies. Most often delayed stool due to problems with the microflora and immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract. To solve the problem, grandmothers are advised to use a piece of soap. But do not do it! Soap can cause mucosal burns. My advice - in case of constipation, use special microclysters. They can be easily found in any pharmacy.
8 Tip: “Keep your temperature warmer for the temperature to fall”
In case of fever, it is often advised to cover the child with a pair of blankets so that the sweat breaks out, and with it the temperature drops. You can't do that. An even greater rise in temperature can be provoked. If it rises above 39, then this is fraught with heat damage to the brain, heart and breathing problems for the child. If your little one has a fever, undress him and open a window. Let your baby drink more. If he is less than 5 months old, bring the temperature down at 3 degrees. If the baby is older - at 38.
9 Tip: “Let's Rip Off With Vodka Or Vinegar”
This is another popular method of dealing with high fever, which is very dangerous for children. Vodka can lead to alcohol poisoning, bite - to acid poisoning. But the problem is not only that. Vodka and vinegar will cause a spasm of skin vessels. Heat transfer will slow down, which means that the temperature of the internal organs (which, by the way, you cannot measure) will increase. The baby will get worse. That is why do not be afraid to use antipyretic drugs and do not hesitate to seek emergency help.
10 Tip: “We'll treat only with folk remedies”
The problem of antibiotic resistance in our time is becoming more and more relevant, so I welcome the desire to do without antibacterial drugs. However, there are diseases that require antibiotics to treat. They are necessary in the treatment of bacterial infections, such as tonsillitis. To avoid complications (with the same sore throat - rheumatism, nephritis), you need to drink the full course and not stop taking pills in the middle of the way.
