Does pediatric massage work for cough?

It is common for children to catch colds, especially in winter and spring. The main symptoms of a cold in children are coughing, and they may often have fever, nasal congestion, chest tightness and shortness of breath. Since children's immunity is weaker than that of adults, parents should pay more attention to children once they catch a cold. Once a child catches a cold, many mothers like to send their children to the hospital as soon as possible. However, there is another way to treat children's cough, which is pediatric massage. Maybe many people don’t know what pediatric massage is. In fact, pediatric massage is also a method of infant massage, which can also help babies relieve some diseases. So, is pediatric massage useful for cough? Next, let’s learn about it together.

Massage steps

1. Parents use their thumb to rub the palm's thenar eminence 100 times.

2. Use the ribbed surface of your thumb to massage the inner Bagua (around the Laogong point in the palm) of the child in a circular motion, for 1 minute on each hand. Neilaogong is located in the center of the palm, where the middle finger points when making a fist.

3. Press and rub the Tiantu (below the throat, in the depression 0.5 inches above the upper edge of the sternal notch) and Tanzhong (on the sternum, in the middle of the line connecting the two nipples) points for 2 minutes each.

4. Push the chest and ribs apart: The child lies on his back, and the adult stands in front of his head. With the thumbs of both hands facing each other and the other four fingers spread out, push from the sternum along the 1st to 4th intercostal spaces outward to the mid-axillary line. Perform this operation for 3 minutes.

5. The child lies prone, and the adult uses the thumb to massage the Feishu point (1.5 inches lateral to the spinous process of the third thoracic vertebra) for 2 minutes. Finally, push along the inner edge of the scapula from top to bottom in a left figure eight position for about 30 times to end the treatment.

Precautions

1. Pediatric massage is suitable for children under 9 years old.

2. When giving massage to children, you should choose a place that is sheltered from wind, strong light and with little noise; the room should be kept quiet, tidy, with fresh air and appropriate temperature. After massage, be careful to avoid wind and eat raw or cold food.

3. During massage, parents should keep their hands clean and remove rings, bracelets and other accessories. Nails should be trimmed regularly, and freshly cut nails must be filed flat with a nail file. It is advisable to keep your hands warm when doing massage in winter.

4. If children are too hungry or too full, it will not be conducive to the therapeutic effect of massage. When a child is crying, you should first calm the child down before giving him massage.

5. Children's skin is delicate, so be careful not to scratch it during massage. Home massage generally uses massage oil or talcum powder and other media to prevent skin damage during massage.

6. The basic requirements for pediatric massage techniques are: even, gentle, brisk and lasting.

7. The operating sequence of pediatric massage techniques: generally first the head and face, then the upper limbs, then the chest, abdomen, waist and back, and finally the lower limbs; you can also focus on the key points first and then the general points; or focus on the main points first and then the auxiliary points. Strong stimulation techniques such as holding, pinching, kneading, and pounding are generally performed last, except for first aid, to prevent the child from crying and becoming restless, which would affect the progress of treatment.

8. Generally speaking, the total time for a pediatric massage is 10-20 minutes. However, due to different conditions and ages of children, there are certain differences in the number and duration of massage. The patient is old and has a serious condition, so the number of massages is high and the duration is relatively long. On the contrary, the number of times is small and the time is short. Generally, take once a day; in severe cases, take twice a day.