Six-month-old with Cough

Hi! Try rubbing Vicks ( you can use the baby one if you prefer) on the soles of his feet and cover with clean socks. Also apply it on the chest and back.I always do(did) this with my children when they are ill and it works like a charm:) I'm a mother of four(19,16,13 and 4). Best wishes!

Dear A.,
The nebulizer treatments are to break up the mucus,help him breath easier, and prevent it from turning into pneunomia. My daughter used the treatments from 3 months on everytime she got a cold until about a year ago (she is 6 1/2 now). It is kind of a catch 22 though because the treatments can cause diaherra which isn't any fun for them or you either. I don't know a lot about natural treatments other than let him take a shower with you. Turn the water full hot for about 5- 10 min. with doors closed, to build up steam. Then turn it to a comfortable temperature for him and just let him play for as long as he or you wants. The steam will open up his airways. I had one of those blow up tubs that I would put at the end of our master shower and they could play in their own water and get the benifit of the steam. Delysem is a really good cough suppresent for at night. It still breaks the mucus up, but the cough will not keep him up at night. It can be used anytime, but generally you want them to cough during the day to get it out as soon as possible. Hope this helps!
E.

Hi A.! My 19 month old had a double ear infection for over 3 months. Her Pedi gave her three rounds of antibiotics and none of them worked. Every time she was on them she had horrible diarrhea which led to a yeast infection and then another ear infection. I can't tell you how difficult and frustrating this was. I finally said no more and started researching holistic remedies online. I put her on pro-biotics which began to rebuild her immune system. I gave her two drops of oil of oregano in her milk everyday. Oil of oregano is a "natural antibiotic". I also put olive oil/garlic drops in her ears. I saw my baby comfortable for the first time in three months after using these products instead of the drugs recommended by the Pedi. We did still end up getting her tubes put in her ears because this had gone on for so long, but I feel that I would have been able to stop the infection if I would have started these natural products earlier. We live in Florida where everyone has seasonal allergies, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is why she developed the infection to begin with. I did take her off of dairy until we get to the bottom of things. We had her surgery last week and she seems to be doing much better.
I hope this helps. My advise is to get to the bottom of it before it gets worse. Be careful of all of the antibiotics.
I wish you and your child the best!
J.

I use a product for coughs called "Umkca cold care", it keeps the cough from going into the chest and turning into pneumonia or brochitus. My son had Pneumonia 3 times in year and this worked wonders. You can pick it up at the health food store, I go to Rollin Oats in St. Pete. Also, I would take him to Rebecca Lord, she is in Safety Harbor and she is a naturapath who utilizes many modalities such as homeopathy, chinese medicine, kinesiology, Reiki, acupuncture, chiropracty, etc. I like her because it is a sort of "one stop shopping", she is able to pinpoint quickly and easily the cause of illness and recommend the best remedy for an individual. She is awesome. Here is her number: ###-###-####

I would also take out any cow's milk products and wheat products from your diet if you are nursing and from the babies diet if you aren't. Both of these products cause more mucus production and are highly allergic for young children as they have not developed the digestive enzymes to break them down yet. Also, remove corn products from the diet as it can lead to the infection going into the lungs. I would take garlic tablets or eat foods rich in garlic, as this will help fight infection.

Here's to your sweet babies health and quick recovery!
A. Norris
www.naturallyliving-clearskies.blogspot.com

My Mom had me give the girls warm baths when they had coughs. Also set up a vaporizor. You don't need anything but water in it. Lots of times ear infections and coughs are caused from dry air in the room. Milk can increase his coughing. Water and juice are better until the cough gets better. If you nurse, his ear infections can be caused from laying on his side while nursing. I know this from experience. Good Luck

Try putting a little Vicks Vaporub on his feet at night with socks. It should help with the cough, sinus, irratability. And it just plain makes em feel good. I think he is too young for chest/back application as it may burn. But the foot can take it! Good luck!

Vic's Vapor Rub on the feet at night with socks.

Coughs never go away quickly no matter how old you are and what medicine you are taking. Many things would not be safe for a baby but a little bit of honey might help calm it down a little. I have used this even for myself and it often helps. This will be safe to give your little boy.

Hi Amanada,

I am a mom to 2 children, 1 girl 9 & a boy almost a year old. My son has had croup now going on almost 2 weeks. Unfortunately, he had caught it from my girlfriends daughter who just started going to daycare about 2 months ago. I don't know if you had ever heard of croup before, but its the most horrible sounding cough ever. The drs had recommeneded (besides medicine), a hot steam shower, a cold mist humidifier. Both of them had worked. I also found a homeopathic cough syrup (all natural) at CVS called Cough Syrup with Honey & that actually helped as well (you might want to consult your physician or ask the pharmacist if ok for anyone under a year). Since my son is just shy by 2 wks of a year, it was ok. But these are some suggestions you might want to try. Good Luck.

A.

My then little one (now 15 year old) had a bad cough when he was little too... I would take him to the closest Childrens Hospital ER... If the nebulizor treatments are not working he may need more. I spent a week with mine in the hospital after months of ER visits with nebulizor treatments and come to find out he is was DEATHLY ALLERGIC TO OUR CAT! I wouldn't take him. That is just my opinion. I will pray for him and you.

Peace and Blessings,
K. J.

One of my coworkers had the same issue with her infant. Her baby had been in and out of the hopsital for about 3 weeks with the same problems. Different treatments were tried but nothing worked. I was telling my mother-in-law about it and she gave me an old Mexican remedy. She said since babies can't cough up the phelm that congests the chest they need to be able to poop it out. Oregano Tea helps the babies to do this. It breaks down the phlem and they poop it out. Boil about a tablespoon of oregano in about 3 cups of water until the liquid is a medium brown. Strain it and add honey to sweeten. Give the baby about 4 oz two times a day before a feeding. Try this for about 3 days. You should see a difference. You can use this treatment for longer than 3 days if needed. I tried it with my kids also and it worked. I hope it works for you.

My daughter just went thru a week and a half with a horrible cough. We did the breathing treatments Thursday to Sunday and by Monday the cough was completely gone! The other thing that really helped her was a Vicks Cool Mist Humidifier. It was a total lifesaver!

We have chronic lung issues in my home, with both my babies. The nebulizer is not a miracle cure for ending the cough. What it is doing is open the airways to help them breathe easier. Keep up the treatments, what can happen if you don't is that his airways can become to constricted, which lowers his blood oxygen level. The cough will go away in time, I promise.

I took my 3-1/2 month old son to a chiropractic internist (kind of like a holistic medical doctor) about a month and a half ago for a general baby check which was free. I wanted her to do kinesiology (muscle testing) to determine the health of my son and whether the formula I was giving him was the most beneficial for him. She said he was healthy at the time and gave me probiotics and fish oil just to keep everything working well. Shortly thereafter, he seemed to come down with a cold and congestion. Since I also was experiencing symptoms, I assumed that it was a cold. After his cough was continuing for over 2 weeks, I took him to the ped. and she recommended antibiotics due to the length of the symptoms. I have done the vaporizer or humidifier every night. Nothing alleviated the symptoms. I took him to a different chiropractic internist and she said the congestion was caused by Candida (a type of yeast) due to the antibiotics and gave me homeopathic drops for this. So far, there has been no relief from this, but I also haven't been consistent giving him the drops.
I called the original chiropractic internist and she said the probiotics may have caused a detoxifying effect and to stop giving them for now. Still no relief!
Anyway, I took him to the ped. and she thinks it may be acid reflux, so we are trying Enfamil A.R. to see if there is any change. His oxygen levels are 100%, he's gaining weight well and eating well, so she's not concerned about it being lung related, therefore, no breathing treatments.

I do believe he is having a problem with Candida also and will be reintroducing the probiotics and homeopathic within a day or two. Probiotics in the right amount should help with reflux also.

I hope this wasn't rambling too much! Please private message me if you have any questions.
Good luck!