Flying with a sick toddler...HELP

[Amanda1]

We are flying in less than 48 hours from Europe to Vancouver, a very long trip with 3 stops.

The flight here was great,no problems for my 16 month old.

The problem is that he has a pretty bad cold right now, stuffy nose, cough and a fever last night.

Does anyone have any ideas, either to make the trip with a sick baby better or how to get him better in the next day and a half?

I am currently giving him homeopathic cold meds that have helped before and trying to give him manuka honey and echinacia (sp?)

I dont think changing the flight is an option, we cant afford the huge fees involved and really need to get home.

Thanks for the ideas!!!!

[dejagerw]

I would take him to the doctor. If he's got a cold, he could also have an ear infection. That would be extremely painful to fly with. If it's a bad one, it could result in a ruptured ear drum. I'm not saying don't fly, but I'd get him checked out by a doctor first. Plus, the Dr. could prescribe something, if necessary.

[goldenwillow]

I second the check of the ears if available.  Also... could grab some olive oil/garlic/calendula/mullein mixture (at most herbalist and/or co op stores - very common) and that should help a ton. The echinecea is good, but would be better in the beginning of the cold. 

Also...  http://www.hylands.com/products/earachedrops.php

I hope your LO does well. 

Edited to add...

A hot compress would be helpful during the flight as well. 

[Amanda1]

Thank you both for your replies. I got him into the Dr (had to call the emergency dr in the small village) and he did have a bit of an ear infection so he put him on antibiotics (which i hate but worth it since we were flying).

To make a long long story short he and I both ended up getting a flu on top of the cold, so it pretty much sucked...he puked all over me many times on the 27 hour trip and was pretty miserable feeling. All we could do was give him tylenol and nurse and sleep  lots.

But we made it and are settled back in at home now, feeling mostly better!

So thank you again for your help