Why do babies often snort?

Parents often worry that their children have upper respiratory problems because their noses often sniffle from birth. In fact, this condition is not uncommon in newborns.

In the first months of life, a child’s organ systems are immature. The upper respiratory system, especially the nose of newborns, is small, the inside diameter of the nose is narrow, only 2-3 mm on each side. The baby’s nasal mucosa has the function of producing mucus, but the narrow nasal cavity causes mucus to concentrate and fill the nasal canal, creating a sniffling sound when the baby breathes. These may be normal manifestations and do not require intervention.

However, parents also need to monitor their child’s condition to accurately assess. If the child is healthy, feeds well, sleeps well, does not cough, does not have a fever, this can be determined to be a normal phenomenon and does not require examination. But if the child is snorting with rapid breathing, difficulty sucking or coughing, crying, fever, hypothermia… parents need to take their child to a medical facility for a doctor to check and advise.

Parents hear sounds that are a bit hard to hear, sometimes accompanied by a child coughing or sneezing a few times, the child often cries… to be reassured, they should also take the child to a medical facility for examination.

In the North, especially in winter, dry air is also one of the common causes of sniffling in children. Taking care of keeping children warm is important. When bathing, closing the bathroom door can help the air the child breathes become warmer, reducing the secretion of mucus and respiratory fluid.

A sniffling nose can also make your child uncomfortable. Therefore, parents can clean their children’s nose to help reduce symptoms. Parents use a soft towel dipped in warm water to wipe the child’s nose or apply 1-2 drops of physiological saline (saline used for newborns). Gently massage around the wings of the nose to help clear the child’s nose and reduce uncomfortable symptoms.

Parents should not overuse saline drops into children’s noses to avoid dry or damaged noses. Parents should also not arbitrarily irrigate their children’s nose, because improper cleaning techniques can cause too much fluid to enter the child’s nose, causing choking or otitis media. Nasal irrigation for infants should be performed by medical staff. Parents should not suction their child’s nose with their mouth or arbitrarily use vasoconstrictors, antibiotics or nasal drops.