With the flu season on, it can’t be helped that parents would worry about their kids, especially the young ones, when they begin to show symptoms of a cold or fever.
Mom of two Saab Magalona is just as worried about her boys Pancho, almost 2 years old, and Vito, 4 months. In a recent post, Saab shared the old-school solution they used to do at home while she was growing up.
“The boys have a little bit of sipon so they’ve been doing steam therapy. Old school as in I remember my grammy ‘forcing’ me to do this when I was in grade school and I hated it cos it was so hot (we were required to put a towel over our heads to get maximum steam),” she captioned a photo of the siblings “holding hands while steaming.”
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Steam therapy is a widely-used technique to get relief from cough or a clogged nose. It involves inhaling water vapor to loosen the blockage in air passages from the throat to the lungs.
Saab admits getting steam therapy as a child was not something she looked forward to, but “now that I’m a mama, I GET IT!!! Thankfully, the babies enjoy the steam and like ‘eating’ it. Sooo cute,” she wrote.
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOWAccording to Healthline, though steaming may not cure colds, “breathing in moist, warm steam may help ease feelings of irritation and swollen blood vessels in the nasal passages. “The moisture may also help thin the mucus in your sinuses, which allows them to empty more easily. This can allow your breathing to return to normal, at least for a short period of time.”
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How to do steam therapy, traditional-style
Boil a pot of water, then pour it carefully into a sturdy bowl. Put a towel over the top of the patient’s head and have him lower his face closer to the water so he could inhale the steam through the nose. Extreme caution is required to avoid scalding or burning the patient’s skin. Healthline warns that a steaming session should not last longer than 10 minutes at a time.
Traditional steam therapy is also not recommended for very young kids for risks of burns or scalds.
Fortunately, steam therapy could be achieved these days with the use of electric steam inhalers or vaporizers that are designed with better safeguards against accidents. As an alternative, parent and child can also sit inside the bathroom while letting the hot water run in the shower to produce steam for a similar effect.
CONTINUE READING BELOWwatch nowSaab gives additional tips on steam therapy to fellow moms: “We do it thrice a day for 15 minutes at a time and it helps loosen up whatever mucus they have. They also enjoy suctioning afterwards (I use my electric nasal suction from @orangeandpeachph). They seem to be getting better, and less and less sipon is suctioned each day.”
Saab also shares she has a back-up vaporizer from Euky Bear which she can keep running overnight when needed.
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