Sick Baby - Fort Worth,TX

Hi Ashley,
Congested nose, chest or both?

Chest: maybe try a steamy bathroom or wrap him in a blanket and get him out in the cool night air (these are standard remedies for croup. If his cough sounds like a seal's bark, he's got croup). It also works for a regular cough, though, sometimes.

Nose: honey, when my babes were tiny, and they had lots of dry, crusted snot in their noses, I'd take a swab, dip it in baby oil or lotion, and *very gently* clear their outer nostrils (do not go digging!!).

Good luck, and hope you both get some sleep!
t

Hi A.,

When our now 5 month old daughter was 2 weeks old, she had excess mucus & was experiencing some labored breathing but no other symptoms. I took her to the ER to be tested for RSV but that, FLU, bloodwork, xray for pneumonia were all negative. We've been dealing with excess mucus up until a few weeks ago...

Through lots of troubleshooting and misdiagnosis we've now determined that her excess mucus and sinus issues were all being caused by acid reflux. I'm not saying your son has acid reflux but knowing you said he has no other symptoms, I wanted to share our experience.

Here are some things you can be doing if you're not already doing them:
Keep him comfortable
Pat his back with a cupped hand on either side of his backbone to help break up mucus
Suction the mucus to help clear his airways
Eliminate dairy from your diet(if you are nursing) and his if he has a milk protein formula
Use a cool mist humidifier in his room
Keep him upright to help with draining; elivate his mattress (I usually sleep with mine on my chest at times like this)
Put some baby vicks behind his ears, on his chest and feet

If this is an ongoing thing, I would research acid reflux. I didn't believe our daughter had acid reflux and was extremely bothered when the ped prescribed zantac as the first course of action. After some research we know now that the acid reflux/GERD symptoms caused the excess mucus/cold like symptoms we were seeing at 2 weeks and the past couple months.

Best of luck to you,
Peace,
J.

Milk and/or other delayed food allergies could be the culprit. Have your baby tested for those allergies, it could alleviate the mucus and stuffiness, as well as promote better health.

sounds like he may need some breathing treatments (albuterol and/or pulmicourt)....ask your physician if this is an option.

put a humidifier in the room for the baby , vacuum and dust everything in the room where the baby is going to be and if the baby doesnt sound better the next day, take them in to the doctor.
K. h.

I would recommend calling your pediatrician to be safe. The congestion isn't as big of a deal, but the fast breathing is not normal. He's a very young baby, and I'd personally want to err on the side of caution. They'll let you know if they want you to bring him in, or they may recommend a humidifier, saline drops, etc.

My recommendation would be to call the doctor. My daughter would get like that and end up having ear infections. She was 4 months old when she first got like that and she was almost a year old before she ever got a fever - so it was hard to know when she was sick other than the congestion and fussiness.

If you dont' want to go to the ER or feel it's not that urgent then I suggest you get some humidity in the house. I put a pot of water on the stove and turn the fire very low. If you have humidifiers get them on too. Give the baby a warm water bath, heated water make the congestion more runny and it will help him get it out easier. When he's out and dressed then place him on your arm with his crotch in the fold of you arm and his head in your hand. Tip him down slightly and you can pat him gently on his back with a rounded, cupped hand. NOT HARD. Gently.

You can use a snot sucker to get the excess mucus out, if you don't know how to use one then look it up on howto.com or parentcenter.com or babycenter.com. I loved using mine right after the bath because the snot was very easy to get out then. I would bundle the child up in the towel and put their head in the crook of my arm, use those fingers to hold the nose just right, I would hold one nostril closed with my left hand and suctioned out the other, I used one hand (R) to squeeze and suction, then squeeze the snot out on tissue. His head needs to be rather still so you won't damage his tender area's in his nose. I am weird, I know, but I get great satisfaction when the use of the snot sucker gets lots of goo out because I know that's one step closer to the kids getting well.

If he gets sicker then take him to the closest ER, they can give him meds or a breathing treatment to help open up his lungs.

Breathing fast can be a sign he isn't getting enough oxygen. I would call the pedi immediately or go to an after hours clinic.

could be RSV. call your dr and talk to them. better safe.

Try the easiest thing first - clear his little baby nasal passages with some nasal spray and get the boogies out with a suction ball or tweezers. If the heavy breathing persiss, go see a doctor!