 more targeted, but shouldn't be used more than 3 days in a row. Antihistamines may reduce the amount of mucus in your nose. But these medicines don't treat the problem, just the symptoms. You can also try gentler solutions, like a Neti pot, saline irrigation, saline nasal drops, using a vaporizer or humidifier when you sleep, and drinking plenty of fluids such as hot tea or chicken soup. A stuffy nose will usually go away in about a week. But if it doesn't, or you get congested at certain times of year or when you're around pets or smokers, your doctor can help you find out if you have allergies and get you the right treatment to make any allergies less of an annoyance.
Most of the time, nasal congestion in older children and adolescents is not serious by itself, but can cause other problems.
When nasal stuffiness is just on one side, the child may have inserted something into the nose.
Nasal congestion can interfere with the ears, hearing, and speech development. Congestion that is very bad may interfere with sleep.
The mucous drainage may plug up the eustachian tube between the nose and the ear, causing an ear infection and pain. The mucous drip may also plug the sinus passages, causing sinus infection and pain.
A stuffy or runny nose may be caused by:
- Common cold
- Sinus infection
The congestion typically goes away by itself within a week.
Congestion also can be caused by:
- Hay fever or other allergies
- Use of some nasal sprays or drops bought without a prescription for more than 3 days (may make nasal stuffiness worse)
- Nasal polyps, sac-like growths of inflamed tissue lining the nose or sinuses
- Vasomotor rhinitis
- Small objects in the nostril
Tips to help infants and younger children include:
- Raise the head of your child's bed. Put a pillow underneath the head of the mattress. Or, place books or boards under the legs at the head of the bed.
- Older children may drink extra fluids, but those fluids should be sugar-free.
- You can try a cool-mist vaporizer, but avoid putting too much moisture in the 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 i