18 Month Old Baby with Severe Nasal Congestion

If you've tried saline drops, humidifier and the green bulb sucker thing from the hospital, call the dr and make an appointment.
In the meantime, how about a warm bath in the bathroom so the trapped warmth/steam can help. Make sure water is warm not hot.
Give infant teething medicine for relief like infant tylenol.
Try propping her up a little in her bed like putting her crib/cradle up on a small step in your/her room.

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Do you have a neubulizer? Squirt some saline in there and have her breath in the saline steam - you might have to hold the mask up for her. Then, run the shower hot and sit in the bathroom w/the door closed w/her. Or use some Johnson and Johnson menthol bath w.steamy water and have her sit in it for a while. That shoulf loosen things up.

Poor baby, I hope she feels better.

would she wear one of those nasal strips on her nose that pulls the nostrils open a bit? vicks on the bottoms of the feet. If your child isnt a picky eater, I'd try a little bit of spicy food, that always makes my nose run :)

wow, alot of things could be going on... have you taken her to the doctor? if she if stuffy and running a fever for that long then you need to have her checked out sooner than later. my 18 month old went thru something similar last week. she had been sick for about a week and i just thought it was a cold or teething, but it wouldnt get better and started affecting her breathing... so i too her to the doctor and she had walking pneumonia and had to be on steroids and antibiotic for awhile, so have her checked out...... also, it helps to give them honey on a spoon or put them in the bathroom when it is hot and steamy..... good luck and god bless......

Hi T.:

My boy who is about four used to have nasal congestion during his first year. For me, saline spray (not the drop) did the magic. My neighbor doctor suggested it and it really works. Spray her nose 2-3 times a day for couple of weeks. It may loosen the mucous stuck in her nose and clear the passage. I was worried about the pressure from the spray, but it does no harm. You can spray gentlely.

I just want to share this with you. Good luck.

D.

My son has colds all the time so I really sympathize. Here is my hardcore strategy: first a long shower with mommy or daddy. Get her face really wet if you can. After the shower do the saline drops followed a few minutes later by the "snot sucker" nasal aspirator. Nothing else works as well. After that you could also give some ibuprofen which is an anti-inflammatory and pain killer. This will help her get the healing sleep she needs. Keep going with the humidifier but skip the vicks. It can irritate their airways and cause a cough.
I also encourage you to take her to the pediatrician. But even if she is diagnosed with a sinus infection and gets antibiotics you will still be helping her body clean out with the treatment above. Hope you both get some good sleep soon

Btw, the snot sucker is also sold under the more polite name of "nose frida". Whatever it's called it works!!

It's worth a trip the the doctor. Whenever my kids had a fever with congestion it was always an ear infection (although a sinus or chest infection is possible too). The doctor may be able to give her a prescription decongestant and/or an antibiotic if needed. When a child is getting better and then starts getting worse then a secondary infection is a likely cause. Also, the is an Over the counter children's decongestant nose drop on the market. I used it on my 2 year old daughter this winter. It may say age 2 and up on the box but you could check with the doctor if it is okay to use it. My children's doctor said is was okay to use an over the counter decongestant for my toddler at a smaller dose.

Oh, we've been there, so sorry you're living it right now. Given your description, I'd get into the pedi to check for a sinus infection. In the meantime, keep doing the saline and humidifier. My daughter was 6 mos when we started taking her into the shower with us and that seemed to help her the most....long steamy shower. Have you tried Vick's vapo rub or in the humidifier? There is also a homeopathic nasal decongestant drops by Little Tummies that seems to help. Warm/moist washcloth on her checks. And warm tea...my daughter's fave is Sleepy Time Tea. Positive thoughts.

Could be a sinus infection. My son got them starting at 12 months on.

It's probably a sinus infection, ear infection, etc usually when they are on the mend and start running a fever and feeling bad it's time to see the dr to rule out any type of secondary infection that could require antibiotics if she's still like this in the morning call for an appt. At that age I found the only thing that helped was saline spray and the Johnson and Johnson vapor bath it helped his sinuses drain. My youngest went two years with sinus infections from sept- may