My baby is almost seven months old and he is having a little cold these days, no fever, no cough, just nosal congestion. This makes him not eat/sleep well. Any mom here have any suggestions or tips that can help him out? I really appreciate your help!!!
Baby's nosal congestion
- 主题发起人 miamia
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清之福
新手上路
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- 2003-08-19
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Helping Young Children with Nasal Congestion
Babies and young children with colds and associated nasal congestion/secretions have a particularly hard time breathing, as they are "obligate nose breathers." In other words, they don't really know how to breathe through their mouth if their nose is blocked. As they get older, they learn to mouth-breath, and therefore become less uncomfortable when their nose is congested. Another important fact is that most younger children do not know how to blow their nose.
Treatment
As a general rule, cough and or decongestant syrups or preparations should not be readily given to children younger than two years of age because of their associated potential side effects. On the other hand, if a young child is uncomfortable, we want to help. Most of the time we can help out by using some simple techniques, and by avoiding medications.
Here are some practical tips on how to handle a young child's nasal congestion and secretions during a cold:
Make sure there is adequate humidity in the child's room.
Ensure that the child is drinking enough. The ill child will probably drink less per feed than usual, but will drink more frequently.
Try to help clear the secretions in the nose. Salt water drops like Salinex are helpful, but only if used properly. Just putting a few drops into the nose will not clear out the secretions. What I recommend is to put in the saltwater drops, and a minute or two later use a nasal pump to help suck out and clear the secretions. In this way we sort of help the child "blow" or clean out her nose. This is an important point, because the drops will not directly help clear the secretions. In fact, what they do is help to loosen the dry secretions so that the nasal suction pump can get rid of them. Trying to suck out dry secretions with the nasal pump is not very effective. If, after these steps a child is still uncomfortable, parents should discuss the next step with their doctor.
As children get older, two things happen: One, the nasal passages get bigger and are less easily blocked, and two, children eventually learn to blow their nose on their own. Encouraging them to learn to do this as early as possible is helpful. Often, a child may learn to blow her nose by imitating a parent who is blowing her nose. Older children who understand the concept of blowing up a balloon or blowing into a straw can be instructed to blow in the same way through their nose. By practicing this, they will eventually learn to blow their nose on their own.
Babies and young children with colds and associated nasal congestion/secretions have a particularly hard time breathing, as they are "obligate nose breathers." In other words, they don't really know how to breathe through their mouth if their nose is blocked. As they get older, they learn to mouth-breath, and therefore become less uncomfortable when their nose is congested. Another important fact is that most younger children do not know how to blow their nose.
Treatment
As a general rule, cough and or decongestant syrups or preparations should not be readily given to children younger than two years of age because of their associated potential side effects. On the other hand, if a young child is uncomfortable, we want to help. Most of the time we can help out by using some simple techniques, and by avoiding medications.
Here are some practical tips on how to handle a young child's nasal congestion and secretions during a cold:
Make sure there is adequate humidity in the child's room.
Ensure that the child is drinking enough. The ill child will probably drink less per feed than usual, but will drink more frequently.
Try to help clear the secretions in the nose. Salt water drops like Salinex are helpful, but only if used properly. Just putting a few drops into the nose will not clear out the secretions. What I recommend is to put in the saltwater drops, and a minute or two later use a nasal pump to help suck out and clear the secretions. In this way we sort of help the child "blow" or clean out her nose. This is an important point, because the drops will not directly help clear the secretions. In fact, what they do is help to loosen the dry secretions so that the nasal suction pump can get rid of them. Trying to suck out dry secretions with the nasal pump is not very effective. If, after these steps a child is still uncomfortable, parents should discuss the next step with their doctor.
As children get older, two things happen: One, the nasal passages get bigger and are less easily blocked, and two, children eventually learn to blow their nose on their own. Encouraging them to learn to do this as early as possible is helpful. Often, a child may learn to blow her nose by imitating a parent who is blowing her nose. Older children who understand the concept of blowing up a balloon or blowing into a straw can be instructed to blow in the same way through their nose. By practicing this, they will eventually learn to blow their nose on their own.
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