Diet taboos for children with sinusitis

Children with sinusitis do not need to excessively restrict foods. There are only three categories that really need to be avoided - foods that are clearly known to cause allergies/intolerances in children, highly irritating foods such as high-sugar and high-oil ice drinks, and foods with high allergenic risks in the acute stage of the disease. For the rest, a normal diet will be sufficient. On the contrary, blind diets will lead to insufficient nutrition and will slow down recovery.

A few days ago, I met a 5-year-old patient in the outpatient clinic. He suffered from sinusitis for half a month, and his nose and nose had not gone away. When he asked about his diet, he couldn’t laugh or cry: My mother heard from neighbors in the community that sinusitis should avoid "eating food", so she directly ate eggs, milk, and lean meat. I stopped giving birth to the baby, and I drank white porridge with boiled vegetables every day. When the baby arrived, his face was sallow, and he even asked for small cakes during the consultation. During the nasal endoscopy, the swelling of the mucous membrane did not go away at all. It was obvious that the immunity could not keep up, which slowed down the recovery.

Having said this, someone must ask, can the "fawu" mentioned by the elders be touched? In fact, different medical systems do have different opinions on this issue: the core principle of Western medicine is that "as long as there is no clear allergy, you can eat it." As long as the child eats shrimp, crab, mango, mutton and other so-called "hairy foods", he never gets a rash or has a stuffy or runny nose, even if he eats a small amount during the onset of the disease, it is completely fine. ； Traditional Chinese medicine usually recommends eating less foods that generate heat and dampness during the acute phase to avoid aggravating the secretion of inflammatory secretions in the nasal cavity. In fact, the logic of the two sides is not contradictory - if your child is allergic, or the sinusitis has worsened after eating seafood last time, of course you should avoid it. If there is no reaction after eating seafood, there is no need to kill him with a stick.

In addition to allergy-related foods, there is another category that almost all children with sinusitis should try to avoid as much as possible, which are foods that are heavy, high in sugar and oil, and too cold. Think about it, if your baby has a clogged nose with thick mucus that cannot be discharged, and you stuff it with a cream cake, popsicle, or French fries, the high sugar content will directly increase the viscosity of the respiratory secretions, making it more difficult to blow out the thick mucus. When ice is stimulated, the blood vessels in the nasal mucosa will suddenly contract and expand, and the already swollen nasal cavity will be blocked even more tightly. Last time, I had a 7-year-old child who was almost cured. On the way home from school, my grandma felt sorry for her and bought her a cup of iced milk tea. The baby was so congested that night that she couldn't sleep. The next day, she woke up with a lot of purulent nose and mucus, and the effect was half of the effect. Oh, by the way, feed salty pickled products to your baby as little as possible. The principle is similar to that of iced drinks, which will irritate the mucous membrane and increase swelling.

Another point that is easily overlooked is that each child’s food intolerance is unique, so don’t copy the “sinusitis taboo list” online. I met a baby before who was otherwise fine. His nasal congestion worsened when he drank pure milk. This happened three times in a row. So he should definitely stop drinking it for the time being. ； Some children are prone to coughing and runny noses after eating fried peanuts, so just avoid them during the illness. This kind of individualized taboos is much more useful than a unified list.

Many parents tend to go to extremes and either avoid everything or don't care about anything. In fact, there is really no need. There was an old man who brought his baby to see a doctor before. He said that he had heard others say that he should not eat cold food when he was sick, and he did not even dare to give his baby apples at room temperature. As a result, the baby was constipated for almost a week, the lung heat could not be discharged, and the sinusitis healed very slowly. In fact, as long as the baby feels no discomfort after eating it, he should eat fruits, fresh vegetables, normal lean meat, eggs, and milk at room temperature. If he supplements enough VC and protein, his immunity will be raised, and the inflammation will disappear quickly.

Really don’t turn taboos into metaphysics. Those are the core principles. For the rest, observing your baby’s reaction is better than anything else.