Baby Congestion

Updated on January 30, 2007
A.W. asks from Sedalia, MO
18 answers

My son is 5 months old and his nose has been congested for about 1 1/2 weeks. I suction and give him saline drops but nothing loosens it up. I thought it might be a symptom of teething but I read that it isn't that a runny nose is. He doesn't have a fever or a cough so I was wondering if it is anything i should be concerned about or if I should just give it more time?

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So What Happened?

I took my son to the doctor this morning and thank god i did because he has a viral infection and it was starting to spread to his lungs. They can't really give antibiotics for viral infections so he gave us some triaminic cold and allergy and they want to see him in a week. Oh, and he's 15 lbs. now that is triple his birth weight!!!!!

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J.E.

answers from St. Louis on

Go see the doctor. RSV is a very common virus and this is a bad time of year for it, and it can get out of control easily. Most children have it sevearl times by the time they're 3, but you have to treat the sysptons. My nephew is 3 months old and was having similar symptons. He was very congested and not getting better, he didn't have a fever either. He did start wheezing a little. The gave him abuterol to give him through a nebulizer. It's the same type of thing they give people who are having asthma attacks, it helps to open up their airways and also loosens up the congestion so you can suck it out.

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J.

answers from Springfield on

with a bay dont let the fever get to high if it is at 100 degrees and you cant get it down take the baby to the emergency room there brains dont take to fevers very long but i would keep a eye on it. What i do is if i have to ask then i know i have to do something the worst that can happen if you take him in is the doctor tells you you are a worry wart but better that then not at all right but he does sound ok i would just keep an eye on the fever and not let it get to high at a long period of time.

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D.P.

answers from Chattanooga on

use a humidifier at night. I have to do this with my dd at teh moment since she's bene this way all week and its helped TONS. and juice and water, no formula

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R.K.

answers from Rockford on

I would give it more time. Make sure he doesn't get a fever because the doctors say fever in babies under 6 months is usually not a good thing! If it starts to really worry you then just call the doc's office and ask to speak to his nurse. They can tell you if you should be seen or not. :)

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G.N.

answers from St. Louis on

try sitting in a bathroom and run the tub with all hot water get the bathroom all steamed up and just sit in the bathroom with him see if that loosens it up. My son get the same way. They make tylenol cold not sure what age is to be given you may want to call your peditrician and get his advice on what to give him for the congestion, I had to get medicine for my son, cant remember what age he was when he first had the congestion, he may have been that age or a couple of months older.

Hope that helps

G.

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M.L.

answers from Rockford on

Take him to the doctor or call your doctor's office to find out if there is anything u can do to help with the congestion. He might have allergies or try putting baby vicks on him and putting a humidifier in his room maybe the air is too dry.

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S.B.

answers from Tulsa on

a humidifier might help too. If you don't have one put him in a bouncey seat or something in the bathroom with a hot shower running the humidity from the shower might help.My daughter has the same problem.

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B.H.

answers from Kansas City on

One word...Humidify!. It gets so dry in the winter and that can cause congestion. Adding moisture to the air will help.

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B.H.

answers from St. Louis on

My son is two months old and is going through the same thing. The doctor gave me some saline drops and said when you are suctioning the nose close up the oposite side you are suctioning. That will keep the stuff in there from going from side to side and will actually get stuff out. She also told me not to worry about putting the suction bulb too far in the nose b/c it will stop before it gets too far. So put it up in there and have at it. This advise has really helped with my son.

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M.R.

answers from Charlottesville on

I would get a cool mist humidifier, if you haven't already. They help with an assortment of things, especially in the winter. Running the heat can cause congestion, not to mention dry babies out. You want to make sure you get a cool mist one, not a warm mist one because the warm ones tend to breed bacteria. In addition to that, I would put a little bit of baby vapor cream on his chest. Johnson makes a good one. I believe you can use it for babies 4 mos and up. If it doesn't clear up soon, I would definitely go see a doctor.

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S.M.

answers from Kansas City on

i like to you baby vics and vapor bath it's in a green bottle at walmart..you put it in their bath water and it works great!!

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A.W.

answers from Oklahoma City on

try some infant tylenol plus cold. use that i'd sayno more than twice a day... (morning and before bed) andse the humidifier at night. keep suctioning. it'll get better

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C.B.

answers from Kansas City on

They have baby Vicks now and they have stuff you can put in their bath that has vapor stuff in it. I would try that but take him in on Monday if he isn't better to make sure he isn't getting a sinus infection or anything from the stuffyness. Best of wishes. C.

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J.M.

answers from St. Louis on

Baby Vicks works great is you rub just a little under your son's nose (plus it doesn't have a really strong odor). You can also rub it on his chest if you feel it is necessary. My son would lean his head forward for me to put the Vicks under his nose when he was congested. Best of luck, I know that this congestion is aggravating for him and you.
J.

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H.B.

answers from Joplin on

I see that a lot of moms have suggested using a humidifier, i have one running every night in my girls room through the winter because the heater does really dry out the air. The vics baby rub and the johnsons vapor bath or also great, a warm bath and a little vics rub on the chest before bed worked wonders for me. I have also tried sitting in the bathroom with the door shut and a hot shower running and this seemed to help too. When I had trouble getting anything sucked out of their noses a nurse suggested saline drops too, which my daughter hated, but they did seem to help. Also I know in the winter when its not nice out i stay cooped up in the house and dont get the babies out much but i think a little bit of fresh air goes along way too. And if you are worried by all means call your pediatrician thats what they are there for and if nothing else it will give you some peace of mind. I know its hard when the little ones cant breathe, best of luck to you and hope your little guy gets to feeling better soon.

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B.P.

answers from Charleston on

Hi, my name is B.. I have two boys, 3 1/2 & 2. My youngest started having constant congestion around 5-6 months old and was fussing at his face all the time, wiping his nose and eyes...took him to the doctor and based on his symptoms, we determined it was probably allergies and tried him on zyrtec, a prescription allergy medicine. It worked great! As he's gotten older we've had to increase the dose, but once we determine the right dosage, it works just as good as it did at first! Hope this helps some!

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J.B.

answers from St. Louis on

Hi A.-

Every time my son (who is now 8 1/2 mo old) gets in a tooth he gets very congested as well as has a runny nose. He even gets a lot of stuff sitting in his chest. I might call his pediatrician.

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D.G.

answers from St. Louis on

My daughter went thru the same thing - and also numerous ear infections. She was diagnosed with RSV so make sure you get your sone checked out as soon as possible because it isn't always a simple cold.

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