What to do for cold congestion in a 9 mo old?

[lkmiscnet]

My poor DS caught my DH's cold and now is sneezing and his coughs sounds very congested. His nose is congested and runny too. He isn't acting sick and so far his sleep hasn't been affected, so hopefully those are the only symptoms. I can't imagine it's easy for him to breath though.

I already have a steam vaporizer in his room at night. I also tried steaming our bathroom with a hot shower today, but it didn't work too well. The hot water ran out before it got steamy enough. He will not let me near him with the hospital aspirator. I even bought one of those battery powered ones today and it was worthless. Barely any suction, not to mention an uncooperative patient.

Any other suggestions on how to make him more comfortable?

[wiggles06]

I just bought this awesome snot remover called NoseFrida. Here is the link: http://www.nosefrida.com/ It works great since you don't put it inside. They sell them on ebay for about $18 free shipping. Also I use eucalyptus oil with the humidifier. Put few drops and have it on all night, which should let your LO breathe better.

At the pharmacy you can find this saline solution for kids that you spray inside the nose. My LO hated it but it really worked.

Lastly, you can get some homeopathic cold medicine from a local health food store too. Just make sure you check for age limits.

[lkmiscnet]

I have heard of Nosefrieda, but didn't think I would be able to use it with our DS. He fights me even when I try to wipe below his nose with a tissue when it's drippy. He puts his hands up in front of his face and when I try to hold them down, he moves his head wildly from side to side so there is no way to even get near his nose. Oh, and he screams hysterically and gets all worked up, so I figure it's just not worth it to upset him that much, but it bothers me that he is stuffed up and he won't let me help him so he can breath easier, especially at night.

I even bought one of those battery powered nasal aspirators, which was useless because the suction didn't seem like much, and I can't get it near his nose anyway...

Thanks for the suggestion about the eucalyptus oil, etc.. I'll have to get that.

[FiveLittleMonkeys]

My DS had a bad cold last week, too, and was terribly congested. He hates to have his nose sucked out as well and acts a lot like you describe your DS when I come near him with the aspirator.

I finally had to lay him down on the floor, kneel over him, kind of pinning his arms gently with my legs, use my left hand to hold his forehead and my right hand to maneuver the aspirator. I felt AWFUL, but his nose was so stuffed up he couldn't breathe. He'd cry to nurse, latch on, wouldn't be able to breathe and come off to cry. After several minutes of that, I had to do something.

It worked. I'm a big meanie mom, and I felt bad, but it worked to get his nose clear. He was so visibly relieved when he was able to nurse, though!

I hope your little guy feels better soon. There are some nasty bugs going around right now.