Winter is the peak season for respiratory diseases. Inhaled drugs are increasingly used in the clinic to treat respiratory diseases. Nebulizer inhalation is particularly suitable for children. Nebulizer treatment can be driven by pipeline oxygen in the hospital or by using a home-use desktop or portable nebulizer inhaler.
Nebulizers are powered by alternating current or batteries, and turn liquid medicines into mist that can be easily inhaled into the lungs, thereby achieving the purpose of treating respiratory diseases. Nebulizer inhalation therapy is very suitable for children because it requires almost no active work. However, it requires the cooperation of children and they cannot move around, which is not easy for children to do.
A mask is required for nebulization treatment (older children and adults can use the mask in their mouth). Choose a mask of appropriate size for your child, cover the mouth and nose, leaving no gaps around, and breathe normally for about 10 minutes. For older children, teach them to take a slow and slightly deeper breath, hold their breath for 2 to 3 seconds to allow the drug to stay effectively in the airway, and then exhale; younger children only need to breathe quietly and normally until the therapeutic dose of the drug is inhaled.
If the child does not cooperate well, the dose of inhaled medicine may be insufficient. For example, when the mask is about 1 cm away from the face, about half of the medicine will be lost, and if the mask is 2.5 cm away from the face, 80% of the medicine will be lost.
When children cry and make noises, they take deep breaths, and parents may mistakenly believe that children can better inhale drugs at this time. This is not the case. When children cry and make noises, they will make long exhalations, followed by rapid inhalations to complete the breathing movement. At this time, the respiratory airflow is disordered, and the proportion of effective inhaled drugs is very low. The airflow during calm breathing is laminar, and the drugs can be inhaled deep into the airway to work better.
How to make nebulization therapy easy and fun?
Nebulization therapy can be performed smoothly when the baby is asleep or in the arms. Children aged 2 or 3 may fail to nebulize because they are afraid of wearing a mask or cannot cooperate for a long time.
For children who need to use nebulization therapy frequently or for a long time, parents can make nebulization a routine event at a fixed time every day, and the child will get used to it.
If the child does not like or even fears wearing a mask, you can tell him that this is the mask used by pilots and astronauts, let the child watch videos about pilots and astronauts, and give commands such as "take off!" before starting the nebulizer.
Let the child decorate the nebulizer with stickers.
Try to let the child sit alone in a children's dining chair for nebulization. If the baby is unwilling, then the mother may accept it when holding the nebulizer.
Try to make the time of nebulization interesting. Listening to stories, songs, watching interesting videos, etc. can distract the child's attention. Some specific fun toys can only be played during nebulization therapy.
If possible, encourage older children to cooperate with their mothers to wear masks for themselves, or hold the mouthpiece and start the machine by themselves. If the child completes the task well, give timely praise.
Finally, after the atomization, don't forget to wipe your face and rinse your mouth to remove residual medicine.