Hello Ladies,
Could somebody advise me how to clean toddler nose (3 years old) during his cold. The nasal aspirator cannot reach all his stuff because its too deep. I tried to teach him to blow on the candle, but it did not work either.
Ladies maybe I did not tell clearly he can breathe throughout his nose, his nose is not stuffy simply he has left over mucus from his cold and it seeps out instead of blowing all of it at once into the wipe.
I can use a neti pot on my 3 yr old daughter. Enough to get a lot of saline water up there & then she can blow it into the sink and blow her nose. I use it on my older son too now, he's 5, but I think I was still using the "nose sucker" on him too when he was 3! He would NOT blow his nose. He finally got the hang of it. I did use lots of saline drops & I would close one nostril off and just suck and suck until I got it all out. Good luck!
I taught my kids at 3 and 4 to blow their nose by blowing a tissue across the table with their noses. They thought it was hilarious.
Get some ocean spray, or the generic equivalent...you can use it as often as you like..it will help to loosen and thin the mucus so you can get it out easier. Also make sure that he is drinking lots and LOTS of water...not only does he need it to keep from getting dehydrated but it also works to thin the mucus and make it easier to deal with.
You could also try letting him sit in a steamy bathroom...and breathe in that steam, it should help a lot too.
I Wonder if you could help him understand how to blow his nose by having him blow through his mouth...and then let him feel as you blow air from your nose...and tell him it is the same idea as blowing through his mouth...just using his nose. I cannot remember what age my daughters became proficient at blowing their nose but it sure did make cold time a lot easier!!!
Mucinex for children is the best.
Saline, Boogie Wipes and run a humidifier in his room all night--that will help with the "crusties"!
It's a hard skill to teach. My daughter LOVED her nasal aspirator, and learned to blow her nose before she was 18 months. She just loved doing it. ?
Our son, hated the aspirator, didn't know how to blow his nose and didn't want to learn. He Hated nose blowing. He didn't "get it" until he was older... 3 or 4 maybe? Turns out he has allergies... so it was a skill he really needed too. But he still hated blowing or wiping with tissues until he was about 10. I would hand him a tissue and he would just refuse. He'd hold onto the tissue, but never blow.
I would just get a soft, warm, damp washcloth and wipe his nose with it a few times a day. And spend the extra $ for the tissues with lotion or aloe in them. It will help keep his little nose from getting so sore.
The best way is to give him a warm bath. Pour water over his head and have sputter a bit. The warm moist air helps soften the mucus and hopefully he will naturally blow out the rest when the water runs over his face.
