Stuffy nose at night - what do you do?!

[OwainAtticus]

DS is STRUGGLING with the stuffy nose at night due to his first cold : - waking often because he can't breathe or nurse well and so thrashy and loud when he's sleeping that I'm not able to nod off much (we co-sleep). Any ideas here for things we can do to help clear him out? We have a humidifier in the room, and I've elevated the mattress a bit - I am also using the booger sucker and saline drops when it gets really bad, but he HATES IT and it ends up being more disruptive than helpful sometimes.

I just know someone here will have an idea for us!

TIA!

~OA

[BeagleMommy]

I am dealing with the same situation.

Someone is bound to have a great solution for this. . .

So far, I have tried Xlear nasal spray and it seems to have worked, but it has been less than an hour so I guess we'll see how well it works longer term. . .

[daniedb]

THe Xlear never worked with Henry, so I didn't try it on B. Simply Saline makes a hypertonic saline solution that I use with both boys, and I highly recommend it. It's like using a neti pot but without the need to stay in one place for it and not move your head, which is impossible for the kiddos. It's in a spray bottle that is really easy to use. It's a tad pricey for saline, but it's awesome. It actually draws the mucus out of the membranes and helps it move out of the nose, instead of simply soothing the membranes like regular saline.

When Hypertonic Saline is inhaled into the lungs, the body tries to dilute the strong salt concentration. The cells lining the airways are triggered to release water. This restores the layer of moisture lining the airways, which helps the mucus to clear the same way it does in healthy lungs. You could think of it as the lungs “flushing out” the stagnant, infected mucus.

Studies done during the mid 1990s showed that inhaling nebulised Hypertonic Saline temporarily increases the speed at which mucus is cleared from the lungs. Subsequent short-term trials showed that inhaling nebulised Hypertonic Saline on a regular basis (usually twice per day) improves lung function in people with cystic fibrosis (CF).

If you have a nebulizer, you could use it in that and make a homemade version of 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

[bugsma]

i posted a similar question a few days ago and was recommended vicks babyrub (either on baby, on mama while breastfeeding or on blankets) and it seems to help some. i do saline nose drops before nursing but no sucker, seems like they thin it out enough so he can swallow. ds seems to do better with the drops if i let them drip in instead of spraying- just a thought . . .

[arratt]

How about a hot/steam shower/bath before bed? I found that the steam really helps to clear a lot of the junk out.

[box_of_rain]

I don't know if you're nursing, but a few squirts/drops of mama's milk up the nose works wonders. Sounds strange, but it really does work!

[adamsfam07]

We have been dealing with this a lot lately ourselves. Caeden is now 6mo. old and over the last 3 months we have tried everything! I have never heard of the breast milk up the nose I may have to try that next time. We have been doing the saline drops, and humidifier and the baby vicks rub on his chest. Sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Mostly what works for us is if I go and sleep elevated on the couch and then hold him, while I don't get much sleep, he seems to be able to breathe much easier.

[cactustx]

we had congestion this week, too!

we used infant simply saline, it is a mist so it doesn't come flooding back out their nose. it is available at walgreens, etc..

our pedi advised against vicks...
i found this vapor rub, and used it on my 4.5 month old DS, and it worked amazingly!

http://www.northernessence.com/catalog.php?category=5

i also propped his head up when sleeping!

good luck

[ElliesMomma]

i'd second taking a hot shower. my dd had a congested nose for about the first six months. i take a hot shower with her every night and after i rinse her hair, boogers always come out in the shower. then if it was still congested i used the bulb aspirator to suck some more out, the steam made it good and loose.

[mkmama]

First off, my Ds has had a nasty cold, too, : and i this is the best article i've ever read on colds...
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081000.asp

I'll "third" the hot shower thing. i'll run it on boiling hot with the bathroom door closed, turn the water temp down and go in with DS and shower together. i do the nasal booger thing in the shower. Honestly, he used to hate the booger thing, but has gotten more used to it. he still doesn't like it but he doesn't push me away and i never hold him down, it works so well. After reading that article i realized its not good to let all that junk sit in there b/c bacteria can grow and it can turn into a sinus infection. So i do like the booger sucker. poor baby holds his flares his nose while whining a bit...a love hate relationship.

Also you can buy a plug in thing that has replacment vapor sticks for every night, it fills the room and is so so great. we love it, helps a lot.

Best of luck with your sick babes!