Young children do a lot of things incomprehensible to parents. Moms and dads, in turn, do not always understand whether this behavior pattern is characteristic of the baby or if it is time to go to the doctor. For example, what if the baby sucks the lower lip? Leave him alone, giving you the opportunity to enjoy your favorite pastime? Or is it time to make an appointment with the doctor?
How to recognize a symptom?
Baby sucks lower lip. This behavior pattern can be noticed by every mother. The kid actively begins to capture the lower part of the lip, sucks it and licks it with his tongue. And he can do this both periodically throughout the day, and all day, including during wakefulness and sleep.
This is the norm.
Every young mother is worried about why the baby sucks her lower lip. First of all, the task of parents is to determine when he does this, what is the reason for this action. The absolute norm is if the baby begins to grab his lip when he feels hunger. This happens when he is still very young, unable to speak, with such a gesture he shows an adult that it’s time to eat. The absolute norm is if the baby sucks his lower lip when he is thirsty. His oral cavity begins to dry out, with such movements he tries to eliminate the feeling of discomfort.
These are teeth
If a 5-month-old baby sucks his lower lip, then this behavior may be due to teething. It is worth paying attention to the presence of concomitant symptoms, which include:
- increase in body temperature to 37.5-38 degrees;
- the appearance of obvious swelling in the gum;
- increased salivation;
- in many children, snot or nasal congestion appears along with teething.
If the baby behaves as usual, then you do not need to take any measures. You should be patient. As soon as the teeth come out, this habit will disappear in the baby. If the child is constantly acting up, it is necessary to relieve pain with a cooling gel or anesthetic.
It's stress
If a baby of 3 months sucks the lower lip, then this can also be considered normal. By this time, the baby is already getting used to feeding on breasts or a mixture from a bottle, so he repeats the familiar reflex.
Many pediatricians claim that if a baby sucks his lower lip at 3-4 months, this may be due to a feeling of fear and stress. If he is excommunicated, then in this way he tries to calm himself. But he ceases to do such actions immediately, as he finds himself in the hands of a caring parent.
It is worth noting that in children these habits go away on their own, they do not require any treatment and trips to a psychologist. Patience is worth it, in a few weeks the baby will forget about this habit.
This is not the norm.
But it is absolutely not the norm if the child sucks the lower lip at the age of 1 year. In this case, this behavior may signal a problem:
- Discomfort. Perhaps the child has something sore, such as a tooth, or stomatitis under the lip.
- Overstrain and severe stress. This behavior is characteristic of irritable and unbalanced people who, due to this habit, also seek to calm themselves.
- The most dangerous situation is when the child simultaneously licks his lips and freezes, strains, rolls his eyes, makes monotonous intermittent movements of the limbs. Perhaps this is due to diseases of a neurological nature.
Of course, it is worth observing the frequency of such behavior. If the child licked his lip once or does it after each meal, then this is not worth taking into account. But you need to beware if he does this constantly or acts on the lip so actively that puffiness or blood smudges appear on it.
What to do?
What to do if a big enough child sucks his lower lip. There are several reasons for this behavior. First of all, the parent must figure out what is the matter. This requires:
- Talk with him, find out the reason why he does just that.
- To trace, after which he begins to behave strangely, perhaps he does it every time after the parent punishes him.
- Inspect his mouth for stomatitis or teething. If as a result of the inspection white deposits were found, then it is worth treating the affected area with a special dental gel.
- Show the child to a specialist: psychologist or neurologist.
The way to solve the problem depends on the cause of its occurrence. But in no case should:
- Scold the child every time he performs this action;
- try to shame him.
In this case, the child may become even more withdrawn in himself or begin to do it on purpose to annoy the parent. But letting such a habit take its course is also not worth it, this can lead to the appearance of even more global problems.
Possible complications
As mentioned earlier, if a child sucks a lip in infancy, then this is absolutely normal, which will pass over time. But measures should be taken if the bad habit continues to persist at the age of one year or later.
If you do not eliminate it in time, then there is a risk of a number of complications, namely:
- Changing the structure of the upper teeth. Over time, they will begin to deform, bend towards the lower lip.
- A gap will appear between the upper and lower rows of teeth, which can be eliminated only with the help of surgical intervention or prolonged wearing of dental structures.
- Puffiness of the lower lip is formed, visually it will noticeably differ from the upper lip and, of course, will catch the eye of others. In the future, it will be quite difficult to get rid of such a cosmetic defect.
- With a strong omission of the problem, an incorrect bite will become so obvious that a gap will appear not only between the upper and lower teeth, but also between the lips.
- The risk of bacteria entering the oral cavity will increase, which can cause stomach pain, as well as diarrhea.
- As a result of constant sucking, saliva will be actively produced, due to its long contact with the skin, it will begin to irritate in the cheeks and chin.
In order to prevent the development of complications, it is worthwhile to pay attention to the child’s distinctive behavior, identify its cause, visit a competent specialist and adhere to the treatment measures prescribed by him.
Treatment
If the problem is neurological in nature, then the neurologist usually prescribes sedatives or anticonvulsants. If the problem is of a dental nature, the dentist may prescribe an anesthetic or antibacterial gel. But, if such behavior is not associated with the disease, but is a bad habit, then take care of how to wean the baby to suck her lower lip, the mother should, following psychological advice:
- First of all, you should show the child how ugly it looks from the outside. Perhaps he will see such a manner of behavior, he will not like how it looks, and he will try not to repeat these actions anymore.
- You can come up with a reward system, for example, if the child does not do this for one week, then the parent takes him to the amusement park. First, he will try not to suck his lip for the sake of interest, and then this habit will disappear.
- You can also brush your lips with something sharp, such as mustard or aloe juice. But do not overdo it with this component, as skin irritation or problems with the gastrointestinal tract may occur.
- If the child is 6 to 18 months old, then you can give him a dummy.
When a child is busy with his own affairs and at the same time constantly sucks his lip, then you should be wary, watch his further behavior. This can be a bad habit leading to various complications, or a symptom of a serious illness that requires immediate treatment.