8 Month Old Extremely Congested

I read a newspaper column which has health ideas. It said for children with congestion to put Vicks on the souls of their feet. In the olden days we used to put this on the chest. I tried this myself and my feet felt warmer and I had a little less congestion. Maybe one night's try might help.

N., grandma and empty nester in Linthicum

My daughter was pretty congested all the time for a while. I bought a venta air washer at Bed, Bath and Beyond. A little pricey, but it doesn't have to be cleaned as often (every 10 days to two weeks) and it did the trick.

I just want to comment on Doctors. Doctors do NOT know EVERYTHING. Over the years my children have been MIS diagnosed multiple times. It is very aggrevating. The biggest thing is DON'T quit. Change Dr's if you have to. It's just crazy how one Pediatrician will say one thing and then a different pediatrician will say something completely different. GOOD LUCK!

Lots of good suggestions, but I would add getting the Vicks baby rub and putting it on his chest (make sure it's the baby rub, not the regular---it has a pink lid). Also, if you can afford it, get the electric nasal aspirator by Bebe Sounds. You can find it at Target or Babies R Us for around $25-30. It is more than worth it, and you can use it for years to help when he's a toddler. Believe me, you'll be glad you did because babies/kids cannot effectively get mucous out of their nasal passages on their own (by blowing) for years.

This is going to sound crazy......and it did to me too at the time....but my daughter was preemie and sick...and when she was little and got sick and very congested I was so scared...her breathing wasn't good...and the doctors said to let it run its course...BUT our doula told me to pump and put breast milk in her nose....nad it worked! Strange....not sure how....but it did.
Good luck!

I am a mother of 4 my oldest being 20 and my youngest being 8. I know in the past they would tell me to run a hot shower to steam up the bathroom and then bring himn in there to breath it will loosen the congestion up. Good Luck!!!

Annie R

1. Cool mist and 2. Suction his nose!
Definitely get a cool mist humidifier as advised by others -- cool mist, not warm, because warm will heat up the room and the already feverish baby! Good brand is Holmes -- more expensive BUT tougher, lasts longer, and is more powerful (more mist, sooner) than some other brands.
Also, I don't think anyone mentioned suctioning your child's nose! Get an aspirator bulb at any drugstore (very cheap), squeeze the bulb, stick the end just a little way up his dear nostril and release the bulb to suck out mucus. The real trick for us was for me to insert the end in the nostril and then gently tilt it before suctioning, rather than letting it go in straight. This does take a little practice, and I know some parents go "Eeew, gross" but your kid can't blow his nose yet! It really will give him some temporary relief! Good luck!

It is scary and sometimes the only that helps is TLC. You may have tried all of what I'm about to suggest: 1. get a humidifier going right away 2. put him to sleep with his upper torso elevated (NOT with a pillow, but by putting a wedge/folded towel underneath one side of the mattress), 3. Try Vicks Baby Rub and see if that helps opening up air ways. Like your Dr. said, as long as he does have wet diapers, he is probably getting enough; nurse him more frequently than you usually would and stay in touch with the Doctor's office. Hopefully you have somebody nearby that could maybe come and help you in the afternoon or early morning (holding your son), while you "catch up" on some sleep! Good luck to you and your boy! ;)

So sorry your little guy is feeling bad. It's hard when they can't really tell you what is wrong. A couple of things to consider:

1. Are you using a nasal syringe to suction out his nose? Although the babies hate it, this is a great way to help him get rid of the excess mucous in his nose. It takes a little practice, but it does make a real difference.

2. Run a humidifier in the room he is in. Adding extra moisture to the air usually helps a cold. I used an old-fashioned vaporizer with eucalyptus drops for my children, but you have to be very careful with these as the warm water can promote bacterial growth so it has be cleaned quite often.

3. Several of the lotions available over the counter have some "soothing vapor" options. One even comes as a baby bath that you can use in warm bath water. Just as these scents help make adults feel better, the gentler versions have worked with my children.

If he isn't feeling better soon, contact your pediatrician again to ask for some additional advice.

Good luck.

Use saline to thin the secretions and a bulb syringe to suck them out gently. Do this several times a day and especially before naps/bed. Elevate his head with a baby wedge under his sheets (Target has them). It may not be a cold it could be allergies. Make sure your home is clean and do not open the windows. My son, now 7, went through this. Our doctor said that he was too young to develop allergies, but once we allergy proofed the house he was better. Then when he was older (around 3) they tested him and he is allergic to everything (pollen, dust, mold, weeds, grass, trees, etc.). Try the saline and call in back-up so you can catch a nap. Good Luck!

Have you tried a cool mist humidifier in his room and cleaning his nose out with a nasal aspirator?

Hi K.,

Do you use a vaporizer? Do you give the baby vitamins?

They have vit. c for infants that you can get in a health food store. They dissolve in the mouth.

Keep strong, the best is yet to come.

Good luck. D.

K.,

My daughter is going through that, too. I have been using saline drops in her nose, running a humidifier in her room 24/7, and in the evenings I give her a bath with J&J's soothing vapor bath. She seems to breath easier, even if it is just long enough to use the nasal aspirator and suck some snot out. I try to nurse her immediately after I clean out her nose, so that she is getting more food. The drops and nasal aspirator can be done several times a day. Hope these tips help you out.

You need to take him to the doctor or er is he's having trouble breathing. My son (when he was 4 months old) was having the same thing and it sounded like flem to me which made him also gag and choke. We took him to the doctor the next morning and he had RSV and had to have an immediate breathing treatment while we were in the office. Anything breathing related deserve immediate medical attention because with infants it can turn for the worse very rapidly. Please go see the doctor, its always better to be safe than sorry

Unfortunatly there isn't to much you can do. Our son had the RSV virus. Which is the virus from hell. It lasted about 2 months, but I thonk if he has a fever the doc should prescribe pennicillan. I know they hate doing it but fevers etc can cause worse damage I feel. Anyway since we didn't get a script at the time what we did was baths at night to help w/ the congestion and lots of saline drops. The saline helps break up & melt the phlem. plus tylenol, we had tylenol a few times throughout the day. It is horrible to know there isn't much you can do and you wake up only to peel away the drainage on his face from his nose. I also invested in a cool mist humidifier that I ran 24 hours.
Aside from that there isn't much that can be done.

I have read all your posts as I have a 7 month old with similar symptoms. He always gets a great night sleep after his chiropractic adjustment. Both of my boys have seen a chiropractor most of their lives. My 2 1/2 year old started at 3 months my 7 month old at birth. Give it a try. You wont know until you try. I can give recommendations for Hampton, Va area and also the Northern Neck if you are close to either area.

I found Echnicia in a liquid form to give little ones or you can take it yourself as you are breastfeeding. I may make some allergies worse if the runny nose isn't a cold. But if your like me you will try anything.
good luck
S.

Try steam, turn your shower on hot and let the bathroom steam up, then sit in there with him. You could even stand in the shower with him (so long as you don't let the water hit him). I used to do this with my son and it usually worked well. You can also do a little steam tent (bowl of hot/boiling water under a table, put a blanket over it, sit under with him). Just make sure he doesn't grab it. Good luck.

I have a 13 month old. When he was a little younger, he was congested alot in his chest, but he didn't have a cold (i.e. runny nose, coughing, etc). His symptoms weren't quite as bad as your son's symptoms, but I eventually took him to an allergist and found out he was allergic to several things (milk, wheat, soy and corn). Once I made sure he didn't get any of things in his system, the congestion cleared right up. the allergist said the congestion can be a sign of an allergy. So I would suggest that you have some tests done to find out if he allergic to certain things whether it be food or seasonal allergies.

Browsed thru all the suggestions and my preemie had rsv and still suffers from congestion frequently-going through a course of it with sporadic fevers now. Same thing as your son with the gagging and choking. Believe me-I know exactly how you feel, your worries, and frustration. These are not in order of importance or steps but are most of the things I can think of to help you off the top of my head and after skimming through others suggestions.

1. Like the breast milk for nasal drops idea-I'm going to try this one.

2. Give the Johnson's vapo baths to help clear breathing. Never used the vapo rub but believe in that one too. I have gotten an email about putting a generous amount on the bottoms of their feet and putting socks over them before they go to bed as well. Says it is more effective when placed in their area and absorbed through the skin.

3. Bulb sucker-bulb sucker-bulb sucker. Everyone is right about baby's can't blow their own nose and do it right before feeding. Your baby won't eat as much if it is a struggle for him to breath while doing so. I think people can over use this though also which could probably aggravate the nasal passages. So I try to minimize it to before feedings (as needed), first thing in morning and after bath in evening. Just try to keep it wiped often the rest of the day.

4. Breast feed more often-don't cut off your milk supply to him. It is still too important at his age and his main source of vitamins, mins. etc. Solid food feeding is merely for learning to eat table foods and not their source of nutrients right now.

Sippy cups: He may even be starting to teeth as my 9 month cut her bottom in at 8 months and the dr advised that teething makes it sore for them to suck so try sippy cups to get fluids in him. I took the stoppers out and hold the cup for her and this helps get some in her here and there to make me feel better when she doesn't seem to be taking in her norm from me or the bottle. Of course it is slow going but with help and patience I get about an ounce to 2 in her with a cup when I the anxieties over her intake. Make sure to put a bib on him or be ready to put in dry clothes cause upto half of what you put in the cup will end up down the front of him as once again he will be learning to do something new.

5. Tylenol/Motrin. UGH! don't O.D. your baby. You can alternate the two but only every 4 hours. NOT 2-3 like someone said. Your pediatrician will concur on that one as this is what mine advised. Make sure you are giving the proper dose for your son's weight-too little will not be effective of course and once again we do not want to O.D. I found this last go round that I wasn't giving her enough-She is growing so fast.

6. If your baby has not been tested for RSV, he should be and if you are not comfortable with your doctor seek another opinion. My daughter as mentioned had RSV but the congestion lingered much longer than the norm and her original doctor continued to be passive of it. I took her immediately to a new doctor upon our move and they found she had a sinus infection that was dripping down the back of her throat that was causing the nasty cough and congestion. It was treated and gone within 5 days on ammoxycillin (don't know if that is spelled right).

7. Crib wedge-keeps him elevated so may be able to get some better sleep at night.

8. The cool mist humidifier is a good suggestion also but has not been one of our techniques on account that our daughter is still in a pack-n-play in our room while we are going thru a moving nightmare. My husband thought this made him sick when I used it once during my pregnancy due to a sever sinus infection I got and couldn't/wouldn't take any drugs for.

Hi!

Call the doctor back and explain what's going on! Bug the living daylights out of him/her if you have to...always remember that YOU know your son better than ANY doctor. Have faith in your gut instinct! If something feels wrong, 99.9% of the time, it IS wrong!

God bless,
Pam

I went through this mess with my first son. Use a cool mist humidifier in his room, if you want to use a warm mist vaporizer, try the one made by vicks and use the vicks liquid stuff to open him up. Take him into a steamed up bathroom a couple of times a day for about 10 or 15 minutes, just make sure to not take him outside for a while afterwards. Use saline nose drops with the nasal apirator, tylenol and motrin can be rotated every 2 to 3 hours for fever (ex. 12:00 tylenol, 2 or 3:00 motrin), just make sure you keep track of which you are giving him, let him sleep up right either in a bouncy seat, baby carrier or carseat, and try the Baby Vapor bath in his bath at night. Before you go to bed at night, take a hot bath and drink a glass of warm tea or milk, I know it's hard, but this might help to relax you a bit to get a little rest. Let him sleep up right next to your bed, that way you'll atleast be able to lay down. I hope the little one gets to feeling better soon.

Yes,
If your son is eating solid food, take out ANY dairy. That will cause excess mucus. Also, I strongly reccommend chiropractic adjustments. I have a list of child friendly chiropractors in the area.

There are also homeopathic remedies that will help
Please feel free to email me if you are interested.
Peace,
L.

my son was so congested all the time...from about 5 months to 9 months old. finally, our pediatrician suggested that we try a soy-based formula (vs. the milk-based one that he was on). his congestion cleared up within days. turns out that he had a milk allergy. he's been on soy for months and is doing great. when the time comes, we are going to reintroduce mild slowly back in to his diet...so, maybe it's a milk allergy?

If he keeps it up I would take him back to the doctor. DOes he have an ear infection? Also, he could have bronchilitis, my oldest ahd that at 6 moths and it scared me but she got an inhaler type of thing/etc and she was better quickly

He sounds like he has allergies. My youngest was diagnosed very early with allergies and Dimatapp worked wonders on his congestion. I am surprised that your doctor has not picked up on this. The fever is because he is so congested. Also, try sitting in the bathroom with the shower running. The steam works wonders.

J. W

For congestion, I'd suggest a humidifier and to put a blanket underneath the crib mattress to elevate him a little. Otherwise, colds you generally just have to wait out.

If you think your son is struggling to breathe you need to contact your doctor again or go the the ER. My son had what we thought was a cold, but turned out to be croup. Croup can be dangerous. Fortunately, my son was able to cope through without a trip to the hospital or a dose of steroids. Basically it was sleepless nights, holding him upright to sleep, running a cool mist humidifier, suctioning out his nose contstantly and using nasal saline spray. If you can increase the frequency of nursing, but reduce the time. Nurse right after suctioning and saline. Good luck.

Have you tried using a humidifier in his room? But if he hasn't felt any better, then I would take him BACK to the doctor. Try the humidifier and see if he sleeps any better. I would also elevate his head a bit while he's sleep too.

Hello Mom,

What i found that helped my son everytime he had a cold, runny nose, cough, and etc was to give him some warm water(not too hot)mixed with honey. Also what would help, gently squeeze one of his nostrils and place your mouth over his and blow in his mouth with a lot of force of air. This will loosen the mucus in his chest and will come out his nose. Now the both of you might get mucus on both of you all face, but it's okay. Do this 2 -3 daily and he will be fine. Also i suggest purchasing and placing an air purifier in his sleeping area cutting it on low. Hope this helps your little man.

Set up a humidifier in his room.

Put Vicks Baby Rub on his chest before bed.

Put some folded towels under one end of his crib mattress so that he's sleeping on an incline, like he does on your chest.

I know all the doctors are advising to stay away from cold meds...that said, I have always given my now 2.5 and 4 year old cold meds JUST AT NIGHT to help them (and me!!) sleep. The warnings came out after they were over 2 years old, but the concern has been giving too much medicine, and I'm talking one dose before bedtime. A decongestant/expectorant like Robitussin has always provided relief for us.

Good luck!!

you can try a humidifier and the other thing that i found that worked with my daughter (although she hated it) is saline nasal drops followed by suctioning her nose. the saline breaks up the mucous so you can then get it out with the suction.

My second child became congested at 2wks and she is now 16 months old, and still suffers from nasal congestion, runny noses, cough. We've been to a bunch of doctors who all say pretty much the same thing. she's too little to have allergies (hayfever). I insisted the Dr who saw her at 6 months prescribed Zyrtec/Claritin. I'm an expert with a bulb syringe. I decided since this last bout of congestion that I'm going to request an referral to ENT. I've read that it could be enlarge adenoids. Lately she's been suffering from difficulty sleeping like your son. She snores really badly and then has a period where it seems like it she's struggling to breath and then a period where she does seem to be breathing. Ask for a second opinion.

K.;
The humidifier is a great way to naturally help your son loosen the congestion. It sounds more like a sinus issue than a cold though. My son went through the same thing when he was a baby. Depending on how your furniture is set up, try to place the humidifier on a piece of furniture not too far away from where he's sleeping. I had the Vicks humidifier and would put a pinch of salt in it. Another oil you can use is Eucalyptus oil (it's natural and works wonderfully on these types of symptoms). Since we breathe deeply when asleep, he will enhale the moist air more deeply. He will probably wake up coughing a lot more, but that is good. Hopefully, he'll spit up some of the mucus.
The saline spray is also a good idea. I believe one of the other mom's also suggested this. It helps to clean out the nasal area and keep him from feeling stuffy.
I know that during deperate times, I was able to give him a lttle Benadryl. Find out if this is okay for your son. Finally, give him some water. If he doesn't like it, try Pedialite.
A word of encouragement: As my son became older, I noticed these symptoms would develop at certain times of the year. At 2, I began giving him 1/2 of an Airborne pill diluted in water during the winter and whenever he began to feel ill. I believe it helped to alleviate the sinus issues he was having because now that he is 4, they are not as prevalent.

All the best,
C.R.

The cold will just have to run it's course, but for the symptoms, may I suggest that you ask your pharmacist for Neo-synephrine nasal drops. They work miracles. They almost instantly dry up a stuffy nose and clear all of it out (they even work on adults) They are safe for babies, (the hospital gave them to me for my son when he was three months old). The only down side is that you can only use them for three days in a row before you have to take a break of a few days because their sinuses can get so used to it they can experience rebound stuffiness if the drops are continued for too long (just like a rebound headache if you've been taking too much tylenol.) Just be careful to follow the directions the pharmacist gives you. They're over the counter, but you have to ask. I would also recommend first clearing out any boogies with saline drops and a bulb syringe before using the drops to give them a clear path to the sinuses where they can work their magic. Little boys hate to be ministered to like this, but eventually he'll learn that it really does make him feel better. Until then, just hold him down and do it, even if you have to get help with holding him down. It'll be worth it.

As for the rest of his symptoms, your son is old enough to be getting children's tylenol plus cold. My doctor told me my son could take it at 6 months, and he recommended the dosage. Ask your doctor. It'll help, I promise.

Good luck.