 room. Clean the vaporizer every day with bleach or Lysol.
- You can also steam up the bathroom shower and bring your child in there before bed.
A nasal wash can help remove mucus from your child's nose.
- You can buy a saline spray at a drugstore or make one at home. To make one, use 1 cup (240 milliliters) of warm water, 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) of salt, and a pinch of baking soda.
- Use gentle saline nasal sprays 3 to 4 times per day.
If your child has allergies:
- Your health care provider may also prescribe nasal sprays that treat allergy symptoms.
- Learn how to avoid triggers that make allergies worse.
Nasal sprays are not recommended for children under age 2. Don't use over-the-counter nasal sprays more often than 3 days on and 3 days off, unless told to by your provider.
You can buy cough and cold medicines without a prescription. They do not seem to be effective in children.
How do you treat congestion in babies? I'm Dr. Alan Greene and particularly when over-the-counter decongestants became clear they're not good for babies, parents have been wondering all the more how do you deal with it then? There are a few things. First of all, there's the bulb syringe which you probably went home from the hospital with. And it actually can be effective at helping to pull some of the mucous out - some of the viral load out as well of the nose. They're very easy to use. The trick is you just squeeze everything as much air as you can out of the bulb syringe to start, then gently push it as far as it will go up into the nose and release. Then it will pull both virus and mucous out. You can get more out if you put a few drops of saline nose drops in first. That'll help make it more difficult for the virus to reproduce. It'll help loosen things up so you can pull more out. They can act a bit as a natural decongestant as well. Do the nasal drops, wait maybe 10 minutes, and then do the bulb syringe. Other things that help - gravity can be your friend. All of us tend to be more congested when we're lying flat when our head is about the same level as our heart. And that's even more true for babies. They're more responsive to gravity. So if you're holding the baby upright against your shoulder with their head above their heart, they will naturally and quickly be less congested. Another thing that can be very helpful is a vaporizer. And the way that works a vaporizer humidifier by putting extra moisture in the air will help to thin the mucous so the mucous will draw that extra moisture in and will be thinner and easier to get out either by the bulb syringe, by sneezing, or just the baby's own mechanisms. So there are gentle and natural ways you can help relieve congestion in your young baby.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call the provider if your child has any of the following:
- A stuffy nose with swelling of the forehead, eyes, side of the nose, or cheek, or that occurs with blurred vision
- More throat pain, or white or yellow spots on the tonsils or other parts of the throat
- Discharge from the nose that has a bad smell, comes from only one side, or is a color other than white or yellow
- Cough that lasts longer than 10 days, or produces yellow-green or gray mucus
- Symptoms that last more than 3 weeks
- Nasal discharge with fever
What to Expect at Your Office Visit
Your child's provider may perform a physical exam that focuses on the ears, nose, throat, and airways.
Tests that may be done include:
- Allergy tests skin and blood tests
- Blood tests (such as CBC or blood differential)
- Sputum culture and throat culture
- X-rays of the sinuses and chest x-ray
- CT scan of the head
Lopez SMC, Williams JV. Rhinoviruses. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier;2020:chap 290.
McGann KA, Long SS. Respiratory tract symptom complexes. In: Long SS, Prober CG, Fischer M, eds. Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 21.
Milgrom H, Sicherer SH. Allergic rhinitis. In: Kli