12/09/2024
While mouth breathing is common in kids today we need to think of the root cause.
If you observe babies, they will be preferential nasal breathers – if they are allowed to.
One blocked nose, means that for survival, mouth breathing starts to creep in.
If the sinus blockage stays for days to weeks, the child often sleeps with the mouth open and unconscious open mouth posture starts to build.
Risk factors can include a high narrow palate, swollen adenoids or tonsils or severe oral restrictions.
For the most part, parents can be extra vigilant in giving their child the best chance to breathe through the nose.
If you have young children, I would argue cleaning their nose is one of the most important hygiene practices to do daily:
Here’s some strategies to put in place for young kids:
1) Nasal bulb or snot sucker.
Young children often do not know how to blow their nose. This is for physical clearance of any mucous.
Suctioning the mucous out of a small child’s nose is often the only way to clear the airway.
Suction devices aren't popular with kids, but they can help completely clear sinuses.
Do this before feeding them, but only if they seem congested.
2) Saline Nose Drops
After clearing the nose with a bulb or suction device, saline nose drops can be a great clearance tool. They can be bought over-the-counter, at a pharmacy or grocery store, or you can make it at home.
After clearance is the best time.
3) Vitamin D
Yes I talk about it often… but there’s a reason. Vitamin D is the director of the immune system. If you get chronically blocked noses, you could be deficient in vitmain D.
Chronic nasal congestion (Rhinosinusitis) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the mucosal lining of the nose and nasal sinuses.
The ability of Vitamin D (VD3) to augment innate and adaptive immune responses has sparked interest in its immunologic role in the treatment of chronic blocked sinuses.
Supplementation of vitamin D3 has shown promise in reducing the severity of chronic blocked sinuses.
A high fat, low sugar diet is the best way to encourage adequate vitamin D3 level sin kids.
Do you notice your child mouth breathing?