Nasal congestion in the first month of life — ‘the sniffles’ — looks like a minor problem. Everyone gets occasional sniffles with a cold or allergy flare.
Yet, new research says that nasal congestion in a one month old is an important signal — even if it’s not serious enough to cause a breathing problem. The medical term used for this condition is ‘neonatal rhinitis’.
Rarely, nasal congestion (without any other airway problem) can cause breathing difficulty in a young infant. No pediatric doctor would dismiss this — breathing problems can be life threatening when extreme, or even when mild, can cause difficulties with feeding and weight gain.
Here’s the part that can be missed: even mild sniffles, if they cause parents to be concerned, requires an intervention. If parents report nasal congestion, they are right to be concerned — however, until recently, it was not well known as to why.
A paper led by Matthew Perzanowski shows that nasal congestion, doubles the risk for asthma by age three.
As a doctor, communicating the risk can be challenging. New parents who often have considerable stress. Many people prefer not to know their risk level, unless the benefit is clear cut. For example, genetic testing is easy and cheap — but most people don’t pursue genetic testing except for special circumstances.
Yet I lean towards communicating the risk right away. Asthma is common, can cause problems within a year or two, and is treatable.
I aim to reassure parents by educating them on symptoms, getting a good plan in place in case we see breathing problems in the future.