For All The Ladies In The House - Mouth to Nose for Little Bao Bao
Lantian
September 10, 2007 at 04:59 PM posted in General DiscussionSNOTTY KIDS - Okay, I wonder if talking about really weird stuff is a good indicator of one's level of Chinese. Tonight I'm not sure if I should be proud or shocked about my conversation.
Somehow or another the conversation got around to this little bit of trivia. In China, it's quite common that when a little baby gets a cold and the sniffles in their nose, mom will help clear it out. How you ask? A little tissue? Nope.
A little bit of mom's mouth-to-baby's nose extraction. A mother's love they say.
Now my first reaction was shock, and a searching of my mental lexicon for the Chinese words for eye-dropper, plunger, heck I wasn't even sure what to call the little dohicky thing in English! I asserted this was how it was done in the good ol'USA. I drew pictures.
Upon reflection, however, it did seem a very practical kind of a thing. So then I thought, maybe I'm just a stupid guy and don't know anything. Don't answer that.
So my question to the ladies is, how do you get the snot out of little luv'bumpkin's nose anyhow? And maybe some dad's know too.
And Amber, Jenny, Connie, XiaXao, Aggie, I want opinions. Was someone just pulling my leg!???!!
(I bet this post does wonders for my depressed rankings, and it blasts the heck out of Jenny's bit of fascination with all things in the commode)
Kyle
September 13, 2007 at 06:51 AM
Maybe the western method isn't any better, but it's "safer" for the mediary of the procedure.
I've noticed through my few trips to the hospital here in China that things in general are generally less cautious than they are elsewhere. Doctors don't wear gloves as often, skin isn't cleaned properly before an injection, patients don't have to wear lead vests before x-rays, etc.
It just seems that those smaller-percentage risks aren't pro-actively managed.
Lantian
September 11, 2007 at 06:38 PM
Scottyb, I hope your wife is 她 and not 他, otherwise I might have to revisit that "That's Pat" lesson. :p
Hi Kyle,
Actually, I don't know if the "western" approach is any better. Upon reflection, it seems a pretty practical approach and I don't see any real downsides to it. I guess I can count you as one vote for "no way" though. :)
wei1xiao4
September 11, 2007 at 02:58 PM
See how much culture we learn on Chinesepod! Mothers will do anything to keep their children from suffering.
Kyle
September 11, 2007 at 12:59 PM
A buddy of mine was traveling in a very remote part of SE Asia a couple years ago and came across the same thing. Essentially, at the time removing the mucus from the child's nose was a matter of life or death.
Now, think back 100 years ago before modern medicine, people did the same thing for 2 reasons: a) because if was effective, b) they didn't know of a better method.
Today we have lots of gismos and machines to do all of that "gross" stuff for us, so, especially in the West, we don't come across these types of "procedures" really at all. However, in places where medicine is not so developed, or convenient, these more "primitive" techniques are more widely used.
TaiPan
September 11, 2007 at 03:07 AM
Are the mom's inhaling or exhaling? sucking it in or blowing it back?
wildyaks
September 11, 2007 at 02:14 AM
Mexico Bob,
..."in some primitive cultures". I take issue with your choice of words here. I live among a very civilized people group these days and they do exactly that - feeding their children by chewing their food and then giving it mouth to mouth.
However, the nose cleaning thing... no way! Never seen it done that way in any of the many places I traveled to over the years
tvan
September 11, 2007 at 01:43 AM
Never seen or heard of that. Sounds like one of those Calveras jumping frog stories...
MexicoBob
September 11, 2007 at 01:12 AM
Lantian,
You may already know this but for those that don't or hadn't thought about it, where do you think that kissing came from? It sprang by imitation from mothers feeding their children by chewing their food and then giving it to their children mouth to mouth. This is still done to this very day in some primitive cultures. In regards to snotty noses, Mom's little finger or a Q-tip are your modern day best bet. I'm sure that a lot of people will also remember their Mom smearing Vicks Vapo-Rub on their chest to help reduce the mucous in their nose when they went to sleep. Remember how cold it felt? Sniff, sniff...I really miss my Mom :(
henning
September 11, 2007 at 12:38 AM
Never seen that.
Long fingernails are the instrument of choice for lobotomy or related surgical procedures.
amber
September 11, 2007 at 12:34 AM
yes...eeeeeeeeew!
ok, this is definitely going to be on Dear Amber this week... if i don't throw up.
man2toe
September 10, 2007 at 09:01 PM
What an ingenious way of doing it! Think I will try it the next time the child has a cold.:)
or maybe not:)
trevelyan
September 10, 2007 at 05:39 PM
you should be shocked Lantian, shocked.
I think we all are....
Lantian
September 13, 2007 at 10:10 AMHi Kyle,
Just to drag this out longer.... actually I don't think a western method of using a little siphon (eyedropper) is any safer. Actually probably less so. In my chatting about this, I also first mentioned this, but they said, but what do you do with the little weeks old babies?!! They have such little noses.
I do think that using an eyedropper could accidentally poke the kid, especially if they are fussing and jerk their heads away. Also the eyedropper could get unsanitary if not really properly cleaned.
For the mom, it's not unsafe either, just like kissing...
Everybody wash their hands though!!! 哈哈
btw, I totally agree with all the other stuff you said though about the hospitals. Universal precautions seem unheard of here.