3 Month Old Girl Has a Bad Cough

I hope she is feeling better. I would stay take her to the doctor, you never know and it's better to be safe then sorry. My son had a really nasty cough just before his 2nd birthday. We took him in and he was placed on a nebulizer and recieve breathing treatments. I hated it cause he used to scream and cry but the doctor said if he does he is still breathing it in deep. I used the nebulizer for almost a year later (on and off) my Son is very healthy now. he just had some troubles getting rid of the cold. But if we would have never taken him in it could have been worse. hope all is well.

Hi sweetie - A visit to the doctor will help out. Sometimes they can prescribe a little stronger medicine than what you can buy over the counter. They can also determine whether the cough is "chesty" or bronchial. Hang in there. The joy outweighs the concern.

I'm actually going through the same thing with my 3 1/2 month old right now. After talking to his doctor and the pharmacist, we're safely giving him Pediacare cough and decongestant. You can safely give him a half a dropper at this age, and depending on his weight can give him a whole dropper, but check with the pharmacist...you do have to get it from behind the counter, and they can look up the dosing by your childs weight and age. Also the infants drops tylenol if she's running a fever or seeems in pain, from a sore throat or just being achy, are safe, once again depening on weight either .4 or .8 on the dropper. Also just keep using the aspirator if her nose is runny, if it's stuffy, saline is perfectly fine to use. Keeping a humidifier next to her crib or your bed depending on where she's sleeping, will help keep things loose and help clear things up. Keep in mind that it takes a baby 1-2 days to get sick, 2-3 days of being sick and another 2-3 to get better. So it could be a week before you see any improvement. If after a week there's no improvement or she starts running a high fever, you should call your pediatrician. Hope this helps and she gets better soon!!

You could give her something like Little Colds and start at around .25 or .5 ML every 4-6 hrs. And see if that helps her. If you don't want to use OTC stuff you could try a vaporiser in her room while she sleeps. DR's recomend the cool mist ones but I have never had good luck with those so I stick the the ones that make steam. Have you been to the DR with her yet? Hope this helps-from one Military Mom to another!

S.

R.,
I personally would call your dr. The other moms who have responded have great ideas but in my experience with my youngest two children, a cough that concerns you could be any number of things. I know how scary it is to hear your little angel coughing and not know what to do about it. My little one spent two nights in the hospital for a cough only to be discharged with a nebulizer to use at home. I know military drs take their time when it comes to seeing someone, so I would call as soon as they open, maybe they can get you in sometime during that day. I would not let this go for much longer without getting it checked by her dr.
Good luck and I hope she feel better soon!

Hey R.,

I babysit and one of the boys (10m old) had a very bad cough. she took the baby to the doctor and the doctor gave her "baby cough med.(with a little dropper). He has been taking it since Sunday and the cold is pretty much gone.
Every doctor is different; some may sugguest just "Little Colds". Just Like every baby is different.

T. mother of 3

I know you probably don't want to take her to the dr. but it if she's had it for more than 2-3 days that's what you should do. They say any cough that babies get under 1 or 2 you need to take them in to be seen for it. I personally haven't found anything otc that any babies under 1 can take yet.

There are over the counter cough medicines that are good and you could ask the pharmacist what they would recommend for your little girl depending on age and the type of cough. Or your could go to the doctor and he can give you something to help her cough, and also help her sleep at night if it is bothering her. Usually cough syrup w/ codeine will do the trick.

Along with the mom who just posted below - there's a baby vapor bath, you can get this at Walmart usually - it's in the section w/ baby bath, shampoo. Blue/teal bottle - has a little eucalyptus and other soothing elements! I add it to water and splash it around it makes a light bubble bath. Another idea - a warm mist humidifier (Vicks, we actually just bought one for 14.99 at Walgreens)helps keep the nose from drying and helps w/ the coughs.

Last resort is a OTC safe baby med, Children's Benedryl, helps clear up the sinus that drips into the throat and causes irritation and cough; your pharmacist will tell you the allowed amount for your baby's weight, and your pediatrician should clear this for use as well! We've used this a bit this cold season w/ our 10 month old, and it seems to clear things up pretty quick! We prefer to use very little meds, but this does work!

If it is a cough with congestion, our pediatrician recommended a humidifier. We use the Vicks brand (bought at Target for about $40) in which you add the liquid vapo to the steam instead of rubbing it on. It has worked so well that we almost constantly use it and just add the vapo/menthol at night when someone has a cough or stuffiness.

Sometimes in these winter months with the air so dry, children cough just from being so dry. However, it is always best to ask your doctor and let him/her determine if the cough needs to be treated, especially when we are in the midst of Flu and RSV season.

R.,

I would recommend you taking her into the doctor ASAP. Your child is only 3months old. And I dont know how I can stress this but to the person recommending you give your 3month old benedryl DO NOT GIVE IT. Benedryl is a antihistamine. It is not to be used to treat a chronic cough like the one your child seems to have. Not to mention the are not many meds on the market OTC for 3 month olds. I do happen to have som medical knowledge so I would really recommend you taking your child into the doctor. Especially since your child is so young. There is a virus called RSV - respiratory synical virus. This is the time of year for it. So I strongly urge you to take your child in. It is a terrible virus for children and it strikes children mostly under the age of a year old. If you need more information or have more questions please feel free to contact me at ____@____.com I could remember my town email address i would give you that one since i am on duty tonight and i would probably get that one faster but i cant remember it.
I hope i have and can be of help for you.

Take care

K.

Dear R.,
The fact that your daughter is still so young and fragile, you probably want to go ahead & make that appointment. It might be nothing, but better safe than sorry, right?

Hi R.,

I used to rub Vicks vapor rub on my son chest before bedtime this help keep his chest warm and help him sleep without coughing so much. Also using a humilifier/vaporizer also helps in the child's room. If you haven't check with the doctor she may have allergies that induce the coughing with a cold. If she has alot of stuff animals in her room remove them and keep them a plastic bag for storage this too will eliminate the dust in the air. Good Luck and I hope she feels better.

I would take her to the doctor. Many OTC medicines are not made for babies that young. Most of the time doctors do not recommend giving babies OTC medicines. My daughter just got over a really nasty cold/upper resportory infection. He doctor to me its better for him to prescribe something to give to her. For babies are there really is motrin and tyonol which both do not really treat coughs.

Hi R.,

I am not one to run out and go to the Dr with every cold my kids get so I look at how they are feeling and the symptoms that they are having as my guide to whether he needs to go or not. If he has a temperature for over 3 days, the cough is producing phelm (green yucky stuff), the cough is hoarse sounding, you know the cough that make you hurt for her, or the nasal drip is green then I would go to the Dr. Otherwise I would treat her with OTC cough suppressants and children's motrin (motrin or tylenol work but motrin lasts about 6 hrs to tylenols 4). But basically use your instincts, is she still running around and the cough isn't bothering her or is she sleeping extra, running a fever and general disinterest in her usual routine. Good Luck to you and hope your little one gets better soon!!

Since your daughter is so young, I would suggest taking her in to see your pediatrician instead of trying over the counter meds. Good Luck!

Hi, I'm so sorry that your little one is sick. It's so heartbreaking, isn't it? My son got a cold when he was a month old. It was aweful, but the doctor recommended a drop or two of Little Noses. It is just for a decongestant, but it seemed to work on all his syptoms. He's a year old now and we haven't had a problem since. I would for sure call the doctor first! Good luck from one military mom to another one!
Y.

When my children have had colds as infants I was always told that they were too young for over the counter meds and to use a humidifier, saline nose drops and put them to sleep in a swing or something else where the head would be elevated. But, you should probably take her to the doctor to make sure it's nothing serious. I hope she's feeling better soon.

My 8 month just caught my 2 year olds nasty cold. He had the stuffy nose, runny nose and then developed a nasty cough. After about a day an half of the cough I took him to the dr and it turns out he has bronchitis(sp). Given that your daughter is so young I would take her to the doctor and they can give you some meds. On the non prescription approach, you could try the vapor plug/nightlight things they have now. I bought the pediacare one and it is working wonders along with the infant vicks vaporub. Good luck with your little lady. Hope she feels better soon.