Congestion - Little Elm,TX

Amber's right. Holding the opposite nostril shut while suctioning really helps. My daughter was a preemie in the NICU for 2 and a half months and back in the hospital at 8 months with upper respiratory infection and asthma. This was how they taught us to suction her nose.

Put several drops of nasal saline solution in the problem nostril. Hold other nostril closed and suction problem nostril. You will have to do this a couple of times in each nostril...especially just before bedtime.

Like some of the other moms, I usually have the most success suctioning my daughter's nose when I hold one nostril shut as I suction the other one. If the mucus is really thick, use the saline drops first to thin it out and make it easier to suction.

Hey - My dd was born in July and having the same problem as of this morning!! - I just joined today and it was great to get all those tips!

I am finding that she is also wanting to nurse round the clock since it is hard for her to breathe while eating. Any tips for getting her to nurse longer?

I think I saw you say in a reply that you are breastfeeding? My son had a similar issue couple of things that helped.
1) Cutting Dairy out until the congestion cleared up (dairy seems to effect grown ups mucus, and when your breastfeeding that gets passed on.. helped with mine anyways)

2) Sit your child up as much as possible.. be it in your lap, a bouncey chair, a swing whatever it will help natural drainage.

3) Steam might work for you, Id be careful with washcloth.. standing in the bathroom while you run a hot shower (not with ya'll in it) might help.. but I found with myself and my son that dry air seems to help more then moist air.. maybe go outside for a lil bit and let nature help.. plus the sun is a great source of vitamen D just be careful not to stay outside too long sunburn/or heat stroak bad. :)

I have had that same problem with both mine. Mine are also both sick right now and I have been doing that since last Thursday. I know it is frustrating at first and I get to be the mean Mommy because my hubby refuses to do that.

So, the bulb syringe-best thing to do as hard as it is. I use the little noses also. I have found that if I soak a q-tip with little noses and gently rub it in the nostril first, but not too far, just around the front to get the dried up and sticy stuff off first I have better luck. Then I get a really hot washcloth, but not to where it will burn them, and hold it loosly around there mouth and nose and let them breath in the steam. Next, I sit on the floor and lay them between my legs (sounds silly, but their head against my crouch area) put their arms under my legs and suction with little noses and bulb syringe.

I use the vicks cool mist humidifier and johnson and johnson soothing vapor body wash and lotion when they are sick. If you use a little of the body wash with the wet washcloth that works even better. And as bad as they feel and we know it will comfort them, we will not let them use a passifier when they are sick. From experience, it takes them longer to get better.

I had the same problem with the wimpy hospital syringe. It just didn't have enough suction to get the mucus out, so my dd's pediatrician gave us one they use in the office. IT WAS A MAMMOTH BULB SYRINGE! The diameter was probably 2 1/2 times that of the one the hospital gave us, or the ones you can buy at the baby stores. It really did the trick on the first time, so I didn't have to torture her with repeated attempts, and I had to do it fewer times per day. Ask the doctor, or better yet, THE NURSE, to give you one of their syringes. Tell them what a terrible time you are having, and they should offer one up. (Be sure to squeeze the air all the way out before getting close to his nose-that could be ugly with such a big one.)

I also bought a cool mist humidifier and ran it whenever she was in her room. I bought the one that looks like a penguin and it was quiet enough that she and I didn't notice it at night. That REALLY helped thin the mucus out, so suctioning was easier when/if necessary at all.

Best wishes!

Hi C
I was very worried about my daughter whe nshe was tha tlittle she was always congested and I thought goodness I know I do not like to be congested I a msure she is unhappy. So I tryed the nose drop and she hated me doing that so I wouls taker her intot he bathroom and steam her..this also relaxed her and she had a good night sleep. I did this at least three times as day. My daughter now is twoi and I still use thsi remedy at night for her. Also there is some infant baby rub. Check with your dr the age that is recommened. Itsnot the strong Vicks one. I believe its by Johnson & Johnson......hope this helps :) peaec & blessings

Keep doing the saline as often as the doc said, put a humidifier in his room (cool mist) and just try to keep him upright as much as possible. Instead of laying him on his back to play, keep him in a bouncy seat, swing or infant carrier. He could even sleep in the seat or carrier. I did this with mine when they were congested and it seemed to help.

this isn't the most politically correct answer, but it's what I've used on my 4 little ones. For "blockage" that won't go with a syringe, A cotton swab (Q-Tip) just inside the front of the nostril, or for mucous that is , how shall I say, "thicker or stickier", the curled end of a bobby pin can help get it out.

Of course, not sticking it in too far, not scraping too hard, etc.

When Congestion is severe and baths/steam showers have not worked, we've also used buffered Hypertonic saline nasal spray. It works like a charm to clean it out and is drug and preservative free. I got ours at entsolwash.com.

Good luck!

One thing that I do that really helps is to hold the nostril that I am not suctioning closed with my finger in order to really get the mucus out of each nostril. I have always had success with the hospital syringes and the little noses, but Debi is right, you have to be a little more "aggressive" than you might think. Have you ever noticed how the suction the babies after they are born??!! You dont have to be quite that rough, but the mucus can be pretty far down there :( Good luck!!

My daughter had RSV when she was 6 months old and lots of congestion with it. If you think the congestion is also down in the lungs then try what we did. I'll try to explain what we did but I may need to send you a picture so you can see. We swaddled her snuggly then laid her face down and head down along our legs. You'll need to sit on the edge of the couch with your legs straight out in front of you, sort of making a ramp with your legs from the floor to the couch/chair. Lay your child face down, head down along the "ramp". Then cup your hand and pound on your baby's back. You do have to pound with some force. We did this following a breathing treatment however for you I would use saline drops first. My daughter had mucous literally draining from her nose after doing this. It was amazing! You may want to check with your pediatrician because your child is much younger than mine was. If you want to see a picture of how we positioned her just let me know your email address and I'll send you one.

Reflux can masquerade as congestion in tiny babies. If the 'congestion' seems to come and go, and be worse at some times, or if the saline and suction doesn't help, you might want to consider it. Does your baby grunt in his sleep a lot? Does he spit up a lot? Is he fussy a lot? There are lots of other symptoms, but these are often the most obvious ones. If it's true congestion, try pressing in and closing the nostril that isn't being suctioned. The baby will hate this, but it gets a good suction. If it's true congestion, another thing you can do is steam a few times a day. In your smallest bathroom, turn the shower on all hot and let the bathroom get steamy. Then stand in there with your baby for 5 minutes. This is especially helpful before a feed since it clears up the passages.

Hope this helps,
L. Stipe
Nanny for Newborns.com
Parenting Coach, Newborn Specialist, and Infant Sleep Trainer

What I do is I'll take the baby into the shower with me and let the steam open things up.

i went through the exact same thing with my baby..frustrating ..but i think the steam works best...as well as the shower.with the bulb...make sure that you compress the bulb before you put it so it can suck the mucous once you place in the nostril. but my experience says no matter what these are all symptomatic and it gets better by itself in 10 -15 days. as long as the congestion has not gone to the lungs.be patient(easier to say ).i know its frustrating to see small babies suffer with congestion ,dont worry it will get better as the days go by.

Here comes the mean nurse with her advise again....

The bulb syringe they gave you in the hospital is wonderful. You have to be very agressive tho- and yes, occassionally a baby will have some bloody mucus from using the saline and syringe. That is b/c the membranes in the nose are already tender when baby is congested.

You can make your own nose drops by mixing: 1 qt h2o 2-3tsp sea salt 1tsp baking soda.

Make sure you don't suction more than 5-6 X a day. The steam suggestions are great!

Feel free to e-mail me w/ any other questions!
D.

I second the shower thing - it has always worked great for me. We take a shower together, and I either suction their nose while we're in there, or right after we get out (or both). As for syringes - you might just look around at the store. They come in various shapes and sizes, so you might fine one that works bettwer for you. We have one that's made by The First Years that tapers a little more at the tip. Also, it opens up so you can clean out the inside, which is nice.

Babys R Us has one that looks like a regualr syringe then gets narrow to really get in there without hurting their noises. Have you tried the Little Colds and Congestions. It works great but says not to use with the little nose decongestion nose drops all together.