Baby cough :( what to do?

[Snapdragon]

I have had this really bad cough/ chest cold for over a week now. Apparently it is going around where I live. It is quite intense! So much so that I just finally took some niquil- while I tend towards the natural remedies- I needed something serious to get through this day! So my 11 month old had caught it too :( He has had it about 3 days. At first he had sporadic coughing but today he is coughing more frequently and big runny nose.  Also, I woke up with a super strong sore throat and ds has been whining/fussing all morning and I think he has a sore throat too. Obviously I am not gonna give him niquil! I just sent dh to the natural foods store to see if they have any gentle remedies to give babies- specifically for the sore throat/cough. I guess I could give him some baby tylenol if he really won't setlle- any more natural gentle I ideas? I was going to do nothing and ride it out- but I think it is really bothering him today. We have a humidifier but it seems to be broken! It is a nice kind of fancy one but it won't work! I guess I could go to the store and get one of those basic vaporizors, but our place isn't super dry. any other ideas?

[neonalee]

My DS has had congestion since October and the nasal drip is what is causing him to cough.  He's had several doc visits and even seen an ENT.  He just has a lot of thick mucus and can't get it out himself.  So we do humidifier (I love the crane penguin one), saline nasal squirts several times a day, and use the Nose Freida on him when needed.  He also spends as much time on his tummy or standing as possible to help with drainage.  Not sure if any of that is helpful to you, and I don't know much about sore throats.  Good luck!

[organicmom3]

Our naturopath physician recommends hydrotherapy for fevers and cold symtpoms, etc. in adults and babies!  We did do this once with our ds and while it didn't cure all symptoms right away, we did note a big difference.

soak the feet in very warm water (as warm as you feel is tolerable without being in any danger of course) for several minutes, till the feet at least are pink.... then place cold wet socks that have been in very cold water and wrung out on the feet.  Cover this with wool socks (or very very heavy cotton) and allow to stay on through sleeping time. 

What happens is the body, through the circulatory system, sends warmth to the feet and improves ciruclation and gives a boost to the immune system.  I tried it myself first....while it felt strange, it was not uncomfortable at all like you would think it might be....having the feet warm to begin with does not allow the feet to feel all that cold when you put on the cold wet socks.  We did this several times through the day and night for about a day or two.

I know it sounds strange, but if you have ever read about temperature affecting the circulatory system/blood flow/immune system, it really does make sense.

[Snapdragon]

thx for the replies. We actually did this weird thing I read about- a little bit of vicks vapo rub on the soles of the feet and then cover with socks. I tried it on myself first and it was pretty subtle. I don't know if it worked but baby and I seem to be a little more on the mend today. He only coughed a few times today- yesterday was our peak. So here's hoping we are getting over it! I still feel yucky but much better than yesterday too.