How to make air baths for babies? How long does the procedure take? How to get the maximum benefit from air baths At what temperature to start taking air baths.

Air baths for children are one of the procedures aimed at increasing the immunity of children. This is a type of hardening that can be used literally from birth. For many parents, the word “hardening” is associated with difficult tasks such as watering a child cold water, so not everyone decides to start hardening their child, especially from birth. Air baths are very effective method establish thermoregulation of the baby and strengthen protective functions his body, while it is performed easily and does not involve much risk. So, let’s remember on this page “Popular about health” what are air baths for a newborn baby, how to do them correctly? What do they include?

The principle of the effect of air procedures on a newborn

How does air hardening actually happen? When the baby has not yet been born, he is completely protected by the placenta, nothing threatens him - neither drafts, nor viruses, he constantly remains in the same temperature regime. After birth, his thermoregulation system and immune system are not yet fully developed. Exposure to air will help awaken the body's defense mechanisms and improve the thermoregulation system. If you leave your baby undressed for a short time every day, his body will begin to develop the ability to respond correctly to changes in temperature. If a newborn is constantly wrapped warmly from the first days of life, then most of the protective mechanisms laid down by nature will simply atrophy and will not develop. Eventually it will grow.

Air baths for children - how to do them?

The concept of air procedures for newborns and older children includes not only keeping them naked for some time at room temperature. Air hardening also involves other methods of exposure:

Ventilate the room 3-4 times a day;
Daily walks at any time of the year (includes both sleep and wakefulness).

How to properly ventilate a room?

In order for the air in the room to completely change, it is necessary to create a draft, and, of course, the newborn is taken out of the room. In the cold season, ventilation duration should be at least 10 minutes. You need to open the window at least three times during the day. When the air in the room is renewed and the temperature drops by 1-2 degrees, the child is brought into the room, but is not insulated, but is left in the same clothes. Otherwise, the therapeutic effect will not be achieved.

Walks

Walking outside also refers to air hardening. It is allowed to walk with a newborn baby starting from the age of two weeks. It is correct to accustom your baby to walks gradually. First, the baby is taken outside for 15-20 minutes or 5-7 minutes in winter (if the thermometer has not dropped below -5 degrees and there is no wind). Daily time spent on fresh air gradually increase. Dress the baby according to the weather, do not wrap him too tightly so that he does not sweat, because overheating is dangerous for newborns.

In good weather, it is recommended to walk for at least 2-3 hours a day (in summer), in winter - 1 hour. Children sleep very well outdoors, especially if they feel comfortable. It is advisable to adjust the walking time so that the baby is outside both during sleep and while awake. In the summer it won’t be difficult to do this - you can go for a walk whenever you want.

Leaving a newborn without a diaper

An important part of hardening procedures is to leave the baby naked for adoption. air baths. How to do this correctly? The room temperature should be within reasonable limits - not lower than 18 degrees. This procedure is not performed after bathing, otherwise the baby will catch a cold. It is important that the baby is healthy and in good location spirit. First, the baby is undressed and allowed to lie naked for three minutes in the morning and evening. They do this for several days. Then the time is gradually increased to 5 minutes, and ultimately extended to 15 minutes. It’s great if during the procedure you do some gymnastics with your newborn to slightly increase blood circulation.

What happens to a baby when he is left naked for a while? His body absorbs more oxygen, the thermoregulation system improves, and the baby calms down. As pediatricians note, children fall asleep much better and sleep more soundly after taking air baths, their appetite and mood improve.

Regularity of procedures is the key to good health

The most important rule of hardening is regularity. If you try to accustom your newborn to coolness every day, the effect will be achieved. Second, no less important rule– gradual decrease in air temperature and increase in the duration of the procedure. And the third rule - be observant, check if the baby is cold. The first sign that he is cold is the appearance of goose bumps, the so-called “goose bumps”. If the skin has turned pale, then it’s definitely worth stopping air baths for newborns.

Conclusion

If you decide to harden your newborn baby, then start with air baths - it is not at all difficult, but effective. Gradually accustoming the child to cool, fresh air will make it possible in the future

Air baths are a type of aerotherapy (air treatment), which consists of dosed exposure to air on a naked body, protected from direct solar radiation.
Life human body can be thought of as metabolism, and metabolism is only possible in the presence of oxygen. Healing power fresh air lies in its richness in oxygen, light ions, phytoncides and other substances beneficial to the body. In addition, one of the main factors affecting humans is air temperature. Air gap between the body and clothing usually has constant temperature about 27-28°C and, as soon as the human body is freed from clothing, heat transfer immediately becomes more intense, and the skin begins to breathe fully.
Expose your body to air baths whenever possible. It's very simple and affordable way expose your skin to the beneficial effects of oxygen.
At the same time, metabolism improves, as well as the tone of the muscular and nervous systems, the body's thermoregulation systems are trained, the emotional background calms and normalizes, increased excitability decreases, appetite and sleep improve, mood rises and vigor is added. Blood pressure normalizes, blood flow accelerates, heart function and respiratory system activity improves. The protective capabilities increase and the body hardens, reducing the risk of diseases. The tone, color and structure of the skin improve. Besides everything else, breathing in clean fresh air is in itself an incomparable joy and pleasure.
Unfortunately, the specifics of the modern lifestyle are such that most of us spend a huge amount of time in artificially created atmospheres, being influenced by both heating devices with their drying effect, and air conditioners. To top it all off, constantly wearing clothes does not allow the body to breathe fully, depriving the skin required quantity oxygen from outside. Therefore, whenever possible, try to get rid of clothes and take an air bath. After all, staying outdoors has practically no contraindications.
It is best to take air baths on outdoors and you need to start in the warm season, in the summer. During the cold season, start taking air baths at home in a pre-ventilated area. As you harden, this procedure can be transferred outside.
Optimal time for taking air baths - in the morning before or after a light breakfast or in the evening before dinner. If you want to take an air bath during the day, then you need to do it an hour or two after lunch.
Take off everything you can, leave only a minimum of clothing - a swimsuit, a top with shorts. This will be a partial air bath. It will give a partial effect. It is much better, if the situation allows, to remain completely naked. You should undress quickly so that the air bath immediately affects the entire surface of the naked body and causes a quick energetic reaction from the body.
Now sit down (preferably in a sun lounger in the shade of trees or under an awning) and just relax or read. If you don’t have time, then combine taking an air bath with doing the necessary household chores.
An air bath should be enjoyable. The main thing here is not time, but well-being. Its duration depends on the air temperature and the state of human health. For healthy person optimal temperature air - 15-20 degrees. Weak people should start with three minutes. For hardening, it is enough to increase the duration of the bath by 5-10 minutes from time to time. Average duration of air bath at comfortable temperature air - half an hour. Take air baths as often as possible during the day. Experts believe that a person should remain naked for at least 2 hours a day.
Regular air baths in the fresh air improve the tone, color and structure of the skin. Whenever possible, try to take off your clothes and allow fresh air to flow over your body.
You should not allow a feeling of chilliness or the appearance of “goose bumps”. If you feel yourself getting cold, immediately get dressed and do some exercise. In order not to be afraid of freezing, it is good to combine air baths with walking, running, gymnastic exercises, sports games. In this case, the air bath will be accompanied by muscular work and deep breathing.
Of course, the best air baths are where there are no industrial enterprises near the sea forest or in the mountains. The ionized air of green areas is enriched with phytoncides - volatile ethereal compounds produced by plants. In addition to the beneficial effect on the pulmonary system, phytoncides heal the heart and blood vessels, improve metabolism and tissue respiration, and have antimicrobial properties. Sea air, completely free of dust and saturated negative ions, salts and ozone, enhances the absorption of ozone by the body, increases hemoglobin levels and the number of red blood cells, stimulates mental and physical performance, improves sleep and appetite, and activates the immune system.
Of course, air procedures are not limited to staying outdoors during the warm season. There are many hardening procedures that accustom a person to cold air. Don't wear clothes that are too warm and expose your skin often. Sleep with the window open.
At home, try to wear clothes made from natural fibers. Fabrics made from natural fibers keep us warm in the winter and, conversely, cool the body in the hot summer, while synthetics are in disharmony with the temperature environment and has the opposite effect.
If the weather is good, it is necessary to keep the windows open around the clock. In rainy or cold weather, ventilate the room at least three times a day. If you have the opportunity to rest, sleep, eat outside, try to do so.

Air baths ">

The sun and air are the best cosmetologists.

Air baths are one of the methods of hardening (air hardening), when freely moving air acts on a partially or completely naked body. The healing power of fresh air lies in its richness in oxygen, light ions, phytoncides and other substances beneficial to the body. The main factor affecting humans is air temperature. The air layer between the body and clothing usually has a constant temperature of about 27-28°C, and as soon as the human body is freed from clothing, heat transfer immediately becomes more intense. By irritating the nerve endings of the skin, air improves breathing and oxygen saturation of the blood, and its movement reflexively enhances the processes of heat generation and heat transfer. This increases the intensity oxidative processes and metabolism, as well as the tone of the muscular and nervous systems, the body’s thermoregulation systems are trained, appetite and sleep are improved, and the mood is lifted. Blood pressure normalizes, blood flow accelerates, and the activity of the respiratory system noticeably improves.

You should start taking air baths in a pre-ventilated room. Then, as they harden, they are taken outdoors. You should undress quickly so that the air bath immediately affects the entire surface of the naked body and causes a quick energetic reaction from the body. You should not allow a feeling of chilliness or the appearance of “goose bumps”. In this case, it is recommended to do some vigorous physical exercises, go for a run. Air procedures are the first step to

The fact is that the layer of air between clothing and our skin usually has a constant temperature of 27-28°C. As soon as we get rid of clothes, the intensity of heat transfer and heat generation increases.

At the same time, metabolic processes, blood oxygen saturation, muscle tone and nervous system, breathing improves. In addition, blood pressure normalizes, sleep, appetite and even mood improve.

How to take air baths: step-by-step instructions

The optimal time to start air baths is summer period, and in the morning hours.
This can be done indoors with the windows open, or outdoors if there is no wind.
Suitable air temperature for beginners is from 22°C. At first, 10-15 minutes is enough, then add 10-20 minutes every day, bringing it up to two hours.
After this, you can gradually reduce the temperature. Air baths can be warm (more than 22 degrees), cool (17-20 degrees) and cold (less than 16 degrees).
It is preferable to take an air bath while moving, and remove clothes quickly. If you feel chilly, get dressed.
Sweating should not be allowed during an air bath.
Try combining an air bath with gymnastics or barefoot walking.
After the air bath, put on clothes a little warmer than you usually wear in this weather, and lie down on a hard surface with a cushion under your head.
In addition to morning baths, you can arrange these procedures before dinner.
Ideal if you can take air baths by the sea, in the mountains or near a forest. The air there is enriched with phytoncides - volatile compounds with antimicrobial properties. They are also beneficial for the lungs, heart, blood vessels and metabolism. On the coast, ozone is better absorbed, due to which the level of hemoglobin increases, the immune system is strengthened, and performance is stimulated.
If it is cold outside, there is precipitation or fog, as well as strong wind, air baths are transferred indoors to avoid getting sick.

Air baths are recommended for infants, but they should be carried out taking into account the difference between children's thermoregulation and adults. To ensure that your child tolerates air baths well, accustom him to fresh and cool air. Do not wrap your baby up either at home or on the street. Ventilate the room more often, make sure that the temperature does not exceed 19-20°C. Walk with him as much as possible.

People with poor health should start air baths for three minutes a day.

The duration of the bath course is usually a month, then a three-day break, and again a month of procedures, and so on up to three months. But if you have liver or other diseases internal organs, it is recommended to extend the treatment.

Air procedures are only the first step towards hardening. Having mastered them, you can safely move on to water ones.

The benefits of air hardening for the baby’s body

Hardening is not a treatment method, it is a preventive action, but if you adhere to this method of combating various colds, then parents can safely expect that their children will have high endurance and a strong immune system.

The specificity of the method of hardening a baby from a very early age with air procedures leads to the development by the body of a stable protective factor in relation to various types harmful bacteria and infections.

Method of air procedures for newborns: how and for how long to harden?

Experts advise that before carrying out hardening procedures for infants, you should familiarize yourself with the basic principles of their effect on the child’s body. Before starting the course, doctors advise you to Special attention on the following factors:

Individual characteristics and approach.
Sequence of procedures.
Systematic implementation with a gradual increase in impact factors.
Mixing general principles hardening with local ones.
Gradual adaptation to new types of loads during hardening of newborns with air baths.

Airing the apartment

The beginning of the hardening course for newborns is the ventilation of the rooms in which they are located. If the baby has no inhibitions individual character, regardless of the season, the room should be systematically ventilated. If it is too cold outside (from -100C), you only need to use the window, opening it for 15-20 minutes, monitoring the air temperature in the room. Experts advise ventilating rooms in the following format:

For newborns whose doctors have declared them to be absolutely healthy, ventilation of the premises should be carried out 3-4 times a day with an increase in procedures up to 7-9 times.
For children who have minor health problems, ventilation is performed 2-3 times a day. After the child’s health is fully restored, the number of procedures increases.
For infants who have colds that threaten to become chronic, hardening is carried out in a gentle manner: at the time of ventilation, the baby is taken out of the room, and returned when the window (window) is closed. In the future, the number of procedures is gradually increased and with obvious improvements, they are brought to the standards that apply to healthy children.

In all cases, initially, during ventilation, the temperature drop in the room where the newborn is located should not fall by more than 3-4 degrees. Later, if the baby responds well to the technique, the premises are ventilated for a longer period.

Babies who begin this type of hardening from birth have virtually no problems with hypothermia in the future. When entering nurseries, kindergartens, schools and other children's institutions, where special attention is paid to ventilation, hardened children suffer from colds much less often than the category of children who are usually called “greenhouse children”.

Indoor naked air baths

Gradually, moving on to other procedures with the help of which the child’s body is hardened, specialists pay special attention to air baths, when the baby is completely undressed and allowed to remain in this position for some time. What are the benefits of such procedures and why this particular method of hardening is recommended for infants from the very first days after birth:

The baby becomes less susceptible to infections and colds.
Thermoregulation in children who are hardened by taking naked air baths is noticeably improved: children do not become capricious when the temperature changes, their behavior is calm, after the procedures the child remains active, but at the same time his sleep is calm.
The baby's skin has better protection in relation to lesions of the dermis and diseases that bother babies during this period: prickly heat, diaper dermatitis and others.
Children are calm and not noticeable in their behavior nervous breakdowns, they are more active in development.
Children have a good appetite.

Initially, naked hardening comes down to briefly undressing a newborn at the time of changing diapers. As a rule, 2-4 minutes is enough for the child to get used to such procedures within a week. Further, the child can be undressed more often, played with him, and performed gymnastic exercises to develop the muscular and skeletal system. After the first three months, the duration of procedures can be increased to 15 minutes, with the room temperature lowered to 18-200C.

Winter walks

Babies born in the summer are allowed to walk in the fresh air almost from the first days of birth. The main condition for mothers is the correct selection of clothes, ensuring that the newborn is not too hot, but at the same time, he is not exposed to drafts.

In non-frosty winters, when the temperature drop does not exceed -50C, already in the 2nd week of life, mothers can take their babies outside for short walks in the fresh air. The first winter walks should take place in places where there are no strong drafts, accumulations of dust and other aggressive factors, for a period of no more than 15 minutes. Gradually increasing the time spent outside, already in the first 3 months of life, the baby can be in the fresh air from 30 to 50 minutes.

Walks in the fresh air should gradually increase in length of stay: for 6-month-old infants, 2-3 outings per day from 1 to 1.5 hours is the norm. During walks, mothers should provide their children with a comfortable stay in the fresh air: choose the right clothes, if necessary, use a blanket and other things so that the child does not freeze, but at the same time he does not feel too hot.

How can you determine that a newborn has the right set of warm clothes and that he benefits from walks in the fresh air:

The child is not capricious and actively reacts to toys suspended in the stroller.
The baby quickly falls asleep, his breathing is even.
After returning from a walk, all the baby’s things are dry, the baby’s skin is not sweaty and at the same time pink.

The question: how long can you walk with a baby is quite difficult to answer. If during sleep a child develops a bluish color under the eyes and on the cheeks, the nose becomes cold, the child constantly tosses and turns - all the signs of hypothermia are on the face.

Sleeping in the fresh air

The most useful moment of walking in the fresh air for a baby is napping. That is why, for the first months of the baby’s life, parents are recommended to buy strollers of a format in which the baby can feel comfortable while sleeping during walks.

Young mothers often ask children's doctors the question: why does the child spin around indoors during sleep, often roll over, and during walks falls asleep almost instantly and at the same time, his breathing is even, his complexion is pink, and the newborn himself is active and cheerful after such a rest. Fresh air, especially if walks are carried out in places where there is no dust, no loud noise, for example in a park, gardens, squares, it is very beneficial for the body. At the moment of sleep, the baby is fully rested: his breathing is even and at the same time the child practically does not react to extraneous sounds. If opportunities for walking are limited, experts recommend using balconies and loggias, putting the baby to bed for a nap, opening one of the windows completely, while making sure there are no drafts. In this case, the walking procedure should be regular and at approximately the same time.

Contraindications for taking air baths for infants

Despite all the advantages of air baths, there are a number of contraindications that temporarily or completely prohibit such procedures.

The presence of elevated temperature during the acute stage of colds.
Negative reaction of the baby.
Infectious diseases.
Deterioration of the baby's health: loss of weight, loss of appetite.
Availability gene diseases which have become chronic.
Prematurity.

If positive changes occur in the baby’s body with age, then only after specialists give permission can you gradually accustom the baby to the change temperature regime by hardening method.