No parent likes to see their child bunged up with a cold, especially when it feels as if there’s nothing you can do to help them.
But one mum thinks she has the answer, sharing a hack she uses to soothe her daughter when she is suffering from sinus pain.
Sia Cooper, a personal trainer from the US, posted a video of herself using acupressure and massaging under her daughter’s eyes and in between her eyebrows.
“Simply apply direct pressure with your fingertips and gently rub,” she wrote on 15 November.
Cooper added: “Also helps to temporarily relieve a little pressure so your little ones can feel better. Also works good for adults, too.”
While it definitely looks relaxing, is this technique effective in relieving sinus pain in young children?
Paediatrician Dr Keir Shiels told HuffPost UK while massage - including facial massage - is an “excellent” way of calming a child down, it won’t relieve the pressure that causes sinus pain.
“Sinuses are holes in the bony plates of the skull which gradually move, grow and fill up with air during growth,” he explained.
“A child of this age doesn’t have fully developed sinuses in the same place as adults. Massaging the bone over the top of sinuses won’t help ‘flow’.
“The flow of air through a sinus is incredibly slow to begin with, but stretching the skin over the top of the bone won’t increase the movement of air through the underlying sinus.”
So how can you treat a child with inflamed sinuses?
“The best ways of treating sinuses are to open them up and unblock them,” Dr Shiels added. “However this can only be done from the inside, as that is where the sinuses get their air supply.
“Run a hot shower and let the bathroom fill up with steam. Play with your child in the DIY sauna you’ve created.
“Steam is by far the best way of opening the sinus inlets - it makes mucus more runny and opens up the airways.
“Massage is a great technique for comfort. But steam is better for sinus drainage. Use both techniques for the best outcome.”
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