Will the baby drool more if the baby's face is pinched? What will happen if the baby's face is pinched frequently?

The baby's face is chubby and super cute, making people want to pinch it. In fact, the baby's face should not be kneaded hard, as this will stimulate the secretion of the salivary glands and make the baby drool more.

Will babies drool more when their cheeks are pinched?

Many people believe that the culprit for babies' excessive drooling is being pinched on the face. This view has always been regarded as the truth, but in fact this view is inappropriate. Generally speaking, gently pinching a baby's face will not cause the child to drool more, because it is difficult to stimulate the saliva-producing organs. But we do not recommend pinching the baby's face frequently, because the child's skin tissue is relatively tender, and if you pinch too hard, it will damage the baby's nerves, and it will indeed cause damage to the glands and cause excessive drooling.

What happens if you pinch your baby's face frequently?

1. Baby's cheek fat pad is easily injured

There is a special kind of fat tissue under the baby's cheek skin - the buccal fat pad. The buccal fat pad makes the baby's face look chubby and at the same time, it also coordinates the upper palate, cheeks, lips and tongue when the baby sucks and chews. Experts say that people's saliva is secreted by the parotid glands in the mouth. If the baby's face is often pinched, it will easily affect the development of the parotid glands and increase the child's saliva secretion. If the child has not learned to swallow, too much saliva will flow out.

2. Saliva causes skin eczema

Generally speaking, children will secrete a lot of saliva when they are 4 months old, and they will start to grow teeth at around 7 months old. At this time, children will often drool. However, if family members pinch the child's face too many times, it will stimulate the development of the parotid gland, which will cause the child to secrete more saliva, drooling, and even drooling a lot in the next few months. The human body's saliva contains some digestive acid. When saliva flows to the skin, it is easy to corrode the outermost stratum corneum of the skin, causing symptoms such as eczema and inflammation. This is the reason why many babies who drool have redness and rashes around their mouths. Therefore, when the baby drools, it must be wiped dry in time and cleaned frequently.

3. Affect the baby's facial development

The baby's bones are very fragile, and frequent kneading will affect the normal development of the facial bones. For example, frequent twisting of the cheeks may cause asymmetrical development of the baby's left and right jaws, resulting in a crooked or uneven face, which seriously affects facial development.

Reasons why babies drool

Drooling is a common symptom of babies. In addition to some well-known factors, there are some other reasons. Parents should have a comprehensive understanding!

1. Oral problems

(1) Imperfect oral function. Imperfect body functions are a prominent feature of babies. The child's saliva flows out due to imperfect oral function. At this time, the child's mouth is small and shallow, which makes it easy for saliva to flow out. The nervous system that regulates swallowing is imperfect, and it is difficult for the child to reduce the amount of saliva by swallowing.

(2) Food residue. Some children will have a wet, light yellow area on their pillows after waking up. The area tastes salty and is most likely caused by oral problems. Most babies do not have the habit of brushing their teeth, so there is a lot of food residue in their mouths. Many children will have caries, gingivitis, etc., and the amount of saliva in their mouths will also increase.

(3) Bacterial growth. The temperature of the oral cavity can provide a breeding ground for bacteria. Once the oral cavity is invaded by bacteria, it will cause pain, thereby stimulating the salivary glands.

2. External stimulation

(1) Solid food. When a child starts to eat solid food, the baby's mouth is no longer as dry as before, and the amount of saliva will increase. The salivary glands will secrete a large amount of saliva under the stimulation of complementary food.

(2) Bad habits: Babies often put their fingers or small objects in their mouths, which can also stimulate their salivary glands.

Drugs. Drugs are also a major cause of increased drooling. For example, some babies will drool unconsciously when they take drugs to treat epilepsy.

3. Dental problems

(1) Teething. When a child's teeth are growing, the saliva in his mouth will overflow. At this time, the deciduous teeth break through the restriction of the gums and grow outward, which will cause pain in the gums. Since the nerves in the mouth are a whole, the nerves in the salivary glands will also react, causing them to secrete.

(2) Buck teeth. Some babies have difficulty closing their lips when they sleep, and often drool. Usually, the front teeth of these children protrude too far forward, making it difficult for them to be covered by their lips.

4. Neuroregulation disorders

(1) Being too excited during the day. A small number of babies drool during their sleep due to neurological disorders. This is because some children are abnormally excited during the day, and their nervous systems also remain in this state at night, which affects the function of the salivary glands.

(2) Systemic diseases. Some children suffer from diseases, especially systemic diseases, which may cause their entire nervous system to be out of balance and their saliva secretion to be abnormal.

How to treat baby drooling

For the symptom of drooling caused by the baby's physical pathology, mothers should discover it in time and let the baby receive treatment in time. Generally, when encountering the symptom of baby drooling, mothers can consider letting the baby receive traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment has few side effects and will not harm the baby's health. In traditional Chinese medicine theory, there are two reasons for drooling. One is the accumulation of heat in the spleen and stomach, because Lianquan acupoint is the road of body fluid. If the spleen and stomach of children are damp and hot, Lianquan cannot be restrained, and saliva will flow out continuously. At this time, the baby's symptoms may be drooling at the corners of the mouth, sticky saliva, and even red and rotten corners of the mouth, red and short urine, dry stool, red face, red tongue, thick yellow tongue coating, purple fingerprints and other symptoms. The treatment method is to clear heat and dampness and purge the spleen, which can be treated with Qingre Xiepi San.

Another reason is the coldness of spleen and stomach. If the baby has coldness of spleen and stomach, the saliva cannot be controlled and will not stop flowing out. The saliva of babies with coldness of spleen and stomach is thin, and there are also symptoms such as clear and long urine, pale face, thin white tongue coating, and light red fingerprints. The treatment method is to use "Zhang Huan Wenpi Decoction" with added flavors: cloves, costus root, pinellia, atractylodes, dried ginger, schisandra chinensis, and lindera. In addition, you can also use herbal prescriptions. For example, if you boil water with dendrobium and add green fruit, the effect will be better, and it can be taken for 5 to 7 days. Or 3 grams of ginger and 6 grams of licorice, boiled in water and taken until you get better.