Hello Everyone,
I'm sure this is a common question but I wanted to ask. My 6 1/2 mo old son has the common cold. I'm still breastfeeding and after he eats he has to cough badly. He usually ends up vomiting because there is flem stuck in his throat. My main question is: How can I get rid of that flem, quickly. He isn't dehydrated and he's not vomiting the whole meal up. I have tried saline drops through the nose. His nose is also very stuffy. Can anyone help me with a good remedy that has helped them?
Thank you very much!
If you are not already using a humidifier then that is a good start. Also with him being 6 months old you can get the pediatric vapor plug ins. They are in the pharmacy and work great.
steam him in the bathroom or over the sink then suck the flem out with the hateful sucker outter thing, mix eucalyptus essential oil with jojoba or any oil and put it on his chest and feet. these are things we've done. you need to do it a few times a day. it's wonderful you're breastfeeding...powerful stuff! good luck!
I know one of the posters mentioned that there could be Vicks side effects, but for my daughter it did seem to help if I put some on her feet and then put her socks or PJs on. Don't recall exactly why it works, but I have read a few articles suggesting it. We did get the baby Vicks versus the regular stuff. My daughter seems to have a cold every month or two, so we have a humidifier in her room all of the time which seems to help as well. Nothing will make the cold 100% better, but hopefully at least make breathing manageable!
probably the best thing is to stick with the saline drops and a nasal aspirator. becasue he is so young, he can't blow his nose yet, the saline will thin the mucus out helping using the aspirator. it isnt fun, but will get the job done. keeping his nose as clear as possible will help the phlegm from moving down into his throat. its a pain and tough to constantly do, but alot better than having to medicate him. using a cool mist humidifier near his crib at night should help too as suggested. i wouldnt use vicks because it has been proven to be harmful in some instances, but i would use a quality eucalyptus oil in a diffuser in his room too if you can afford/find one. i know this helps us during the cold/flu season.
A humidifier in his room will help a lot. Otherwise, there's not much else to do for a common cold. (It just needs to run its course, just try to make him as comfortable as possible....) It is great that you are still breastfeeding! (I know it can be a challenge nursing a baby with a stuffy nose).
Some moms I know use baby vicks vapor rub, although my physician husband said they have found vicks sometimes makes the irritation worse. Good luck!
Hi S.,
Since your son is to young I will suggest you take him to the doctor. If he is vomiting he is not keeping to much breastmilk and he can get dehydrated. Once he gets bigger and eating solid foods you can given him home chicken soup, my daughters loves it. Good luck.
hey there,
i know how hard itv is to see ur son suffering..........trust me i have two kids one is 3.6 yrs old and one is 1.6 yrs old..so whenever they have cold i dont give them curd related items.........avoid chilled food..try giving him spicy soups like tomato or vegetable soup with lots of pepper.........u can try this also.....boil a glass of milk along with 1/2 tsp of pepper powder......cool it and give to him daily morning empty stomach..........it works really............u can also give warm milk mixed with a bit of turmeric........all these home remedies were told from my grand mother and i follow them as they really work. and also vicks vapour balm which u can apply on nose chest back neck....daily night.
i hope it may help u
bye
Can you find a way to feed him so he is sitting up rather than laying down across you lap? Or pump for a few days so he can eat from the bottle sitting up. Also, water is better when they are sick. You can pump and freeze breast milk and give mostly water to drink for a couple days. It will not hurt him. When my oldest was 4 months he had rotovirus and my doctor told me to only give water and pedialite until he stopped vomitting. It was several days, but was fine.
there isn't really any medicine that you can give at this age. I bought one of those pedicare plug in vapor things for my boys. it works good for them when they're stuffed up.
I got this remedy from my midwife, but haven't used it yet. I probably should. Anyway, you can squirt breast milk in his nose because it is the perfect salinity. I suppose the saline drops would seem easier, but I've heard that breast milk is very powerful for healing. My only problem is that I haven't quite mastered the art of hand expressing my milk. If you would like to read up more on the subject, check out this link: http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...
Hi S.,
Another mom just asked a similar question, but she has a 2 year old!
There isn't much you can give a baby that is 6 months old.... I would run a vaporizer 24/7 near the baby. You could also run your shower real hot and and shut the door and let the bathroom get all steamy like a sauna, and then sit in there for a few minutes.
The saline is good--keep up with the saline.
The person who suggested putting drips of breastmilk in their nose and then using the aspirator as well was right - I would do the nose drops (whether saline or breastmilk) and aspirate the nose, right before the feeding, then the mucous would be much less likely to run down the throat. Maybe give him a break or two in the feeding to sit up and cough/catch his breath better? If he sounds stuffy again, suck his nose out again before starting to feed again.
A vicks vaporizer (warm mist) is what we use when our little one is stuffy, it has the liquid you put in the water to make the mentholatum smell - we do put it across the room from her bed, so there is no chance of her getting a steam burn, and we only use about 1/2 of the amount of the smelly stuff that is listed on the bottle - it is plenty strong at that. We have also used the Johnson's Baby Vapor bath (in a hot steamy bathroom) and Johnson's Baby vapor cream on her when she is really bad. Even when she is not stuffed up, we use a cool mist humudifier in her room in the dry winter months, seems to help keep her from getting stuffy.
Good Luck - warmer weather is coming soon!
Jess
this sounds silly. but put some baby Viks on his feet then put his socks on before he goes down for his nap. it WORKS!
even for adults.
my baby boy has a strong gag reflex too and would vomit after eating a lot with his cough. it goes away as they get older.
