Clear nasal discharge in babies - a symptom of many illnesses, parents shouldn't take it lightly.

According to Dr. Nguyen Hy Quang, from the Ear, Nose, and Throat Department at E Hospital in Hanoi , parents often worry and take their children for an early check-up when they experience ear pain and high fever. However, in some cases, children who do not have a fever or have a mild, transient fever for one day, followed by nasal congestion and runny nose, are often not examined early and are only given cough syrup and expectorants.

Failing to take children for a check-up of their nasal and throat condition after 5-7 days of taking cough syrup poses many risks. Children may miss the opportunity for complete treatment of their nasal problems and may require surgery to remove their adenoids in the long term.

Treatment for nasal congestion differs significantly between early and late stages, after two weeks. In the early stages, when the nasal discharge is clear or minimally cloudy, antibiotics are not necessary, and the child can recover with cough syrups and nasal drops.

Once pus has formed, especially in the early stages when the amount of pus is small, treatment is quicker and only requires low-dose antibiotics for a short period.

Without early examination and treatment, children may develop severe complications from purulent rhinitis, requiring adenoidectomy.

In the later stages, when the nose is filled with pus, treatment becomes difficult and arduous. The longer the sinusitis lasts, the more bacteria accumulate and grow deeper into the sinus cavities, causing inflammation, edema, and degeneration of the nasal mucosa (sinuses), hindering fluid drainage.

When bacteria multiply, they have the opportunity to clump together to form a biofilm, which prevents antibiotics from killing the bacteria, causing children to suffer from prolonged or recurring rhinitis.

"When children have runny noses and coughs, early examination will help reduce the risk of biofilm formation in the adenoids, reducing the risk of needing adenoid surgery later due to frequent inflammation ," Dr. Quang said.

Bacterial rhinitis in children that lasts longer than 3 months is considered a chronic condition.

When children suffer from chronic bacterial rhinitis, even with regular nasal suctioning and rinsing, their quality of life is still affected. Children often feel uncomfortable because their noses are constantly in a state of poor ventilation (even if they only experience occasional nasal congestion).

However, if there are episodes of secondary inflammation, in addition to potentially leading to otitis media, acute tonsillitis, and bronchopneumonia, the following less common acute complications may also occur:

Inflammation and edema of the eyelids, cellulitis, and orbital abscess are the most common complications.
Ethmoid sinusitis with pus leakage to the inner corner of the eye socket (causing pus to drain through the skin) is also quite common in children.
Meningitis, brain abscess.
Cavernous sinus thrombosis, sepsis.

Dr. Quang shared that pus is usually thicker and more viscous, so it gets stuck in the nasal passages (middle, upper, and lower), making it difficult for parents to suction it out. Therefore, parents should absolutely not be complacent even if their child only has clear nasal discharge.

Parents should take their children to the doctor if nasal discharge is accompanied by the following symptoms:

- Your child may have a slight fever (even if it's just a fleeting fever at certain times of the day, often occurring in the afternoon or evening). This could indicate nasal inflammation or another infection in the middle ear or tonsils.

- Nasal discharge becomes thicker and turns cloudy white.

- Cough with phlegm, characterized by a deep, thick cough.

- Increased risk of gagging and vomiting due to the thicker pus flowing down the throat and causing irritation.

- The runny nose lasts for 5 days or more.

Nguyen Ngoan

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