My Infant Has Major "Gunk" Again, What Can I Do?

I have 3 girls ages 1,2 and 5. Their doctor told me I could use the pedia care products and give them 1/4 to 1/2 the dose when they were that little. Try the pedia care... it works.

There is this stuff called Simply Saline. It is a while metal container and has a small squirt nozzel. You lean the baby over the sink on the side that you are "flushing" and depress the nozzel which gently sprays a tiny stream of saline up the nose and it drains right back out along with the gunk. It is great because you don't have to use the bulb (which I hate too!!). They still don't like it, but my kiddos tolerate it over the bulb, and you get more out with it than you possibly can with the bulb. It doesn't cost much either, only a couple of dollars.

To deal with the existing snot: Look into using a Neti Pot (NeilMed company - or others?)

To be proactive/preventive: Look into possible allergies

Oh my goodness I have a solution to help with the gunk....at least to help your kiddos breath and get the gunk out of their noses....you will never go back to a bulb syringe again! Check out www.nosefrida.com. It is the most effective nose cleaning "thing" out there. It was developed in Sweden and now has hit the US. Don't try an electronic syringe or anything like that, get a Nose Frida!!! It was the only thing that helped my 3 month old get some relief from his "gunk" and I still use it on my 2.5 year old! Let them know at Nose Frida that M. sent you! :)

H.!

There are a couple of dr recomended things yet you can do, though you are really doing a lot of what can be done already!

-YOU CAN GIVE HIM MUCINEX (or the same ingredient in a store brand formula)! Our pedi put my son on it around 7 mos old and other nurses have told me the same. JUST MAKE SURE IT IS THE SIMPLE FORMULA AND NOT A COMBO FORMULA (Mucinex Cold, Mucinex Cough, etc)! I really don't remember how much we could give him but it was also every 4 hours just like giving it for older children. Maybe look at the regular admin amount for older children and start with a very small percentage of that dose. Our pedi told us to do this because mucos harbors bacteria and that bacteria then grow and cause infections. If there is no or very little mucos, or at least if it is very thin, there is very little to no places for the bacteria to harbor and grow as it needs warm, moist, and non-running places (thick mucos does not runn but thin mucos does, as it is supposed to) to grow.
-Put vicks on his feet and cover with socks! You said you used vicks already so just add this to it. the heat from the feet make it vaporize better and longer
-make sure the humidity in your house and especially in his bedroom is around 45-50%; ideal for winter house humidty and since it is so dry in Texas, it is un-likely that your humidity is at that level.
-Add to his warm bath routine: WHENEVER YOU OR HUBBY OR OTHER PERSON TAKE A SHOWER, CLOSE THE BATHROOM DOOR AND HAVE HIM READ OR PLAY IN THE BATHROOM. This creates a "steam room." He will breath that steam in and it will help loosen his congestion.
-Add vitamin C to his diet and other immune builders: Pro-biotics (esp. after an anti-biotic) Omega 3s, daily vitamin/mineral supplement
-If he starts to have a cough, DO NOT give him any cough suppresent unless the cough is painfull or keeping him up at night. Coughes are our natural way of breaking up the gunk and getting it out of our body. Cough suppresents cause sleepiness and have many things in them that can be harmful to little children unless dr. prescribed and also keep the coughing at bay, thus keeping coughs from doing their job.

I know that you are frustrated that the dr won't give you antiobiotics, BUT REALLY HE IS DOING YOU A FAVOR!!!!!!!!!!! They won't do any good if there is no infection present and they then CAN do more harm than good! The more often your child(ren) have antibiotics, the more likely they are to either #1) become "immune" to the anti-biotic's abiltiy to work, #2) raise the risk of possible allergy to that antiobiotic and others that are simular AND/OR #3) break down the natural immune system of the body!

Try to treat the problems that can cause an infection PRIOR to them causing and infection! THAT REALLY IS THE BEST METHOD FOR THE CHILD'S BODY, AS HARD AS IT CAN BE ON YOU!

Hope this helps!

Vicks VapoRub Linked to Infant Breathing Problems
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009...

plus, antibiotics will not help in this case, as he is just congested, or it is probably viral. your dr is doing the right thing.

This is sooo frustrating. My youngest has this problem. The first thing is to drain the gunk. Use ENTSOL instead of regular saline. It gets farther up into the nostril and its medical grade. Double check with the pharmacist to make sure its not a problem for a 9 month old, but I don't think it is. Then get a good decongestant. I would suggest Rescon gg it is a broncho-decongestant and works on the broncho tubes and eustation tubes so you get the ear relief. DO NOT USE BENADRYL it will only make you gunky. Talk to your doctor also about using Astelin to help with nasal spraying and gunk build-up.

Good luck. Using an albuterol inhaler will help the breathing issues until you can get the snot under control. The snot is an evil thing and it takes a heck of a fight.

What you're describing sounds exactly like what I dealt with all last winter with my youngest (of 3). He was sick with gunk of varying degrees from September through May. Nothing seemed to help. I did everything you're doing - good job by the way, you're doing a LOT to help him already.

This year, I've been using homeopathic medicines designed for babies and young children and taking him to see a chiropractor. Sounds goofy, but I was ready to try anything that might help if I was sure it wouldn't hurt. The chiropractor has made a HUGE improvement in his overall health. He still gets the gunk, but only rarely, and it clears up in a couple of days to a week max. We see Dr. Melissa Shelton in Frisco. She sees a lot of kids and is terriffic.

Go to Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocer or whichever health food place is close to you when you have some time to chat. Ask someone who works with the homeopathy stuff to help you decide what to try. Probiotic powder is good, omega-3's are really important (avocados are good for a 9 month old, or add flax oil to his cereal). I'm also trying Elderberry syrup right now which has natural anti-viral properties. Hyland's Earache Tablets have helped a lot. Since the chiropractor has been looking in his ears every time he's snotty, she has seen lots of redness I never would have gone to the doctor for. She can adjust his ears to drain any fluid as it begins to accumulate, then I give the earache tablets for 2 days, and his ears are back to normal. I think this has been really helpful for him. After 3 rounds of antibiotics last year (ear infections and pneumonia), this year he has had none. Part of that is just age, but I have to believe a lot of it is the chiropractic care plus the homeopathy. I use this stuff on myself too, and find it very effective.

Getting my son into a bedroom with hard floors instead of carpet and adding an allergen-barrier mattress cover to his crib really helped a lot too.

Good luck.
S.
SAHM of 3

I totally second the nose frida. It seems gross and if you explain it to someone they will think you are nuts but it TOTALLY works and he doesn't even mind it. You will be grossed out when you see how much snot you can suck out. Lots of saline and nose frida. I would buy stock in the company if I could.

Something that we did with our kids when they were babies is to treat infections with garlic, which is a natural antibiotic. You can buy the garlic gel tabs and poke a hole in one, squeeze it onto the sole of their feet and rub it in. Put some socks on and it will absorb into their body. Do the same thing for the other foot. Or, if they are getting an ear infection, squeeze a gel tab in their ears (use half in one ear and half in the other)and put cotton in their ears. They may smell like garlic for a bit, but it really works.

Here is what we do. During all this congestion and mess coming at your little one, it can be rough. We had the doctor get us a breathing machine with medicine scripts. We use Pulmicort (a cortisonal steroid) and Xopenex (which is probably what is in your inhaler). When our son starts coughing and gets congested we start breathing treatments. Now let me clarify, these treatments are not because he has issues breathing, the wonderful side effects of these medicines is that it helps to break up the mucous. After a couple of days, the junk is really coming out and the cough starts to clear up. We do 4 treatments for four days (pulmicort and Xopenex morning and night, and the xopenex by itself twice during the day). The we do three treatments a day for four days, and so on. Sometimes we have to do the treatments (4 times a day) for five days, it just depends on how quickly he is getting better. Hope this helps.

H.,

I have to agree with your pedi on this one. If your pedi thinks it's a virus, you're already doing all the right things. An antibiotic will do nothing for it but completely knock out his immune system and cause the virus to last longer. A fever is a good thing. It means the body is raising it's temp so the virus is no longer able to replicate in his body. Also, he's not eating because his body needs it's energy to get rid of the virus, not to digest. I would also recommended that if you're still breastfeeding for you to get off all dairy. Dairy causes an increase in mucus production, because, frankly we're are allergic to cow's milk when it is pastuerized and homogenized (a calf would die if given this kind of milk!). If he's on formula, I would switch to a goat's milk formula that Dr. Sear's (the guru of pedi's) recommends. Here's the link to info and recipe: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032400.asp
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032401.asp
(Use only the brown rice syrup, not any other carb suggested)
Also, get all your kids on at least 2000 I.U's of Vitamin D3. It's the most potent vitamin for combating this crazy weather and all the gunk that comes with it. A good probiotic for the older kids is Jarrow's Yum Yum Dophilus and there is a powdered form that your infant can use and put it right in with the goat's milk. A probiotic keeps the gut healthy and in turn, keeps the immune system healthy. And last, but definitely not least, is Omega-3's. I like nordic naturals for kids. It has a great flavor and if you get the liquid you can put it in applesauce and such. But, most kids like the tiny "pearls" (what my son calls them) as well. Omega's feed every cell in the body and it has even been shown that they are crucial in treating and preventing lung issues. (Large doses have been shown to reverse symptoms of cystic fibrosis!) Keep doing the therapies you're currently doing, they will help him feel more comfortable. But, adding in these steps will assure that the next bug that comes around either will never hit them or will be easier for them to combat. God Bless!

1) if you're breastfeeding, nurse nurse nurse! if not, try to use a formula like Nutramigen to help your baby avoid dairy
2) help him get as much sleep as possible and try to avoid stress-inducing situations for him whenever possible
3) give him pinches of sodium ascorbate* throughout the day, when he wakes in the morning, and before he goes to bed at night
4) saline spray in the nose whenever the air feels dry or you're in a heated environment
5) hold him in a steamy bathroom for about 10-20 minutes, 2-3 times per day

This has helped us avoid the dr,'s office for respiratory issues...Hopefully "the routine" can help your little one too!

*Sodium Ascorbate is a powdered, buffered, bioavailable form of vitamin C suitable for therapeutic dosing; you can find it at most health food stores, Central Market, Whole Foods, etc. Other sodium salts are NOT the same (calcium ascorbate, for example), nor is ascorbic acid. SA SA SA SA SA SA SA!! ;D

HTH!

I have an 8mo old who gets gunky also. We took him to our doctor in December and was told our little guy has allergies. I have them and so does my daughter. We were told to give him 1/2 oz. of dimetapp. He weighed 20lbs at the time of the "prescription". This in conjunction with a warm mist humidifier, suction bulb and saline spray helped him to clear out. I don't know the weight of your baby, but the dose may have to be adjusted for weight. I'd check with your Dr. of course. Good luck!

the "gunk" could just be congestion from teething which also explains the fever and loss of appetite.
i know... doctors always so no fever with teething but i know that my kids and almost all my friends' kids get fever when teething.
what i'm saying is, it may not be allergies for your baby yet. it could just be more teething.
if it is more teething, well, you know to just treat the symptoms and try to make baby as comfortable as possible.
good luck!
susan

Does your doctor know you are using the Vicks stuff? You should do a google search. There have been a lot of studies recently that state that the vicks causes inflamation in the lining of the nose and causes you to produce more mucus. Causing even more problems! Also, the bulb syringe works but I find it quicker to use the battery operated nose sucker I found at Babies R us. It plays music so it helps them stay slightly calmer. Make sure you use alcohol to clean it and then rinse under hot water, otherwise you will reinfect them. My daughter had RSV a few weeks ago. It is hard to watch them go through this. I found a great humidifier from Sears that really seemed to help her alot. The heat in the house causes them to get even stuffier, so the constant moisture from the humidifer helps them. I hope this helps and hope your little one gets better soon!

Cara

my son gets this all the time...I even took him to an ENT to check for allergies. I use Little Noses Decongestion (it is in the orange box) I have to ask for it at Target at the Pharmacy but I have seen it at other places on a shelf. Like saline drops but it has a decongestion in it. I also use a humidifier and run it all day in his room with the door shut so it makes the room moist for his naps/bedtime. I run that while he is sick and even when he is well just to keep things clear.

Well, it sounds like you have a good pedi as you don't want a doctor to pre prescribe you antibiotics. Sometimes it is over prescribed. My husband took antibiotics for week for an "assumed" case of strep throat. Went back to the doctor and he had the flu the entire time. He took antibiotics for no reason.

Anyway, agree with Cara regarding the Vicks stuff. Just read that as well. Also, my 6 month old had gunk and it went away finally after saline wash and aspirating all day long everyday. Make sure you do it before every bottle feeding several times a day.

Anway, good luck!! I hate this season... sick season!

Weather changes wreak havoc on sinuses. May be an allergy thing going on. You are doing everything right I think. Maybe you can go to Whole foods and look into homeopathic remedies for babies with allergies. Just a thought.

Hi H., For babies from newborn till they can swallow a tablet you can use a clove of garlic. Just crush it slightly to get the fumes moving and put a sock on the babies foot and wrap the clove of garlic in a piecs of cloth and put another sock on the foot so that the baby doesn't kick of the sock at night. Thake it off in the morning when the baby wakes up and after a couple of nights of this the congestion should disappear. For older children give them garlic tablets or capsules when they start the sniffles or get a sore throat and give them one when they complain of a sore throat or the sniffles begin and then give them another one before they go to bed and the first thing when they wake the next day. Then cut it back to just one in the morning and at night before they go to bed. I take 2 garlic tablets every morning and I haven't had a cold for a couple of years as its a natural antibotic. When I have a sore throat or sniffles coming on I take 4 garlic tablets when I get home and another 4 when I go to bed and cut it back to 2 in the morning and 2 at lunch time and then 2 before I go to bed. Ed

I don't have any new advice just wanted to encourage you a bit. He will get better soon so hang in there! My 10 month old daughter had surgery in December for her sinus'. She had been on antibiotics (we've tried sooooo many!!) for 6 months straight! ..and it didn't help a bit. The surgery worked great for about 3 weeks but it is back again full-force! I am out of idea's too. I am really hoping that this spring and summer brings good change for her and your son. Good luck!!

ohh and if you find anything that works, please send it my way : )

This goes along with the suggestion of the "Simply Saline", but this homemade recipe was actually given to me by our pediatrician for my daughter. You hold your son over the sink, squirt it in one nostril and it will come out of the other nostril and mouth (along with all the gunk). He will probably cough, scream, and cry. Mine hated it, but it worked wonders. My husband even ended up using it, and it helped him as well.

Hypertonic Nasal Saline Irrigation

Benefits:
1. It helps clean mucus, crust, and other debris from the nasal passages.
2. It decongests the nose. The high salt content pulls fluids out of the nasal membranes which shrinks them and improves nasal airflow and allows sinus drainage.
3. It improves nasal drainage. The cleansing of the nasal membranes improves ciliary beating so that normal mucus is transported better from the sinuses through the nose and into the throat.

Recipe for Hypertonic Saline for home use:
1 quart warm water
2 heaping tsp of Sea Salt (found in all grocery stores) or Kosher salt
1 tsp of baking soda

Either refrigerate extra or make up new solution weekly.

The nose should be irrigated 2-3 times per day with a bulb syringe or nasal irrigator. Older children and adults can "sniff" it up from their cupped palm of the hand also. Stand over a sink and irrigate one side until you or the child spit out the overflow.

Not much else you can do for a baby -- saline, bulb thing, humidifier. Careful not to do the bulb thing too much -- it can cause a nose bleed. I would say limit dairy, but how much dairy is a 9 month old consuming?
You can probably give allergy meds -- just ask the doctor. Zyrtec, claritin, benadryl might help some.
Definitely try to push extra fluids -- pedialyte or water.

As far as a doc not prescribing antibiotics -- that's a good thing. I don't know the exact statistic, but something like 80 percent of what kids get is all viral, which antibiotics won't help. A doctor friend once told me a good rule of thumb is "Vague = viral" -- if symptoms are vague, it's likely a virus causing them. Bacterial infections usually have a very specific course.

Hi H.,

I know it's miserable when they don't feel good. I use Benadryl Allergy kids & give my 9 m/o twin boys this when they're croopy. My Dr said it was ok. My boys weigh around 20 lbs each so I give them 1ml, 3-4 x's a day. I know it's medicine, but at least not antibiotics. My boys have never been on antibiotics. Hope this helps...lemme know! Have a good week

blessings,

S.

H., I am a mom of 2 and work from home. There is a great Supplement both for children and adults that you can give them and keep them healthy. My daughter has been on it for the last 9 years and hardly gets sick. It is safe and effective. let me know if you are interested and would like more information.

Have a Blessed day!

A.

Hello H.,

do you use regular formula for your infant? maybe he needs a milk-free formula. and also you need to figure out what he's allergic to. try not to use sprays and candles in the house. and find more environment/people friendly cleaners. it could be a combination of things that might be affecting him. He's so little that there isn't much to give him yet. so avoidance of allergens in important. BTW, milk promotes buildup of gunk in the nose/sinuses. ~C.~

Hi H.,

All 3 of my kiddos had terrible seasonal allergies from birth with tons of ear infections until we go the allergies/drainage under control. Once we got the allergies under control they had very little problems. My son's pedi gave us a great little book he put together that his office gives to new parents (my kids are now 10, 7, 7). Your 9 month old can take the following Benedryl 1/2-3/4 teaspoon every 6 hours as needed and also the PediaCare Cough-Cold formula Liquid if he is 18 pounds he can take 1/2 teaspoon every 4-6 hours. He also said that kids 6 months and older can take Robitussin DM or Triaminic Nite Light.

Also, for your 7 year old, my kids lifesaver for this crazy allergy season is the Walmart Suphedrine (you have to get it at the pharmacy, but no prescription is needed). Give him/her one pill every 5 hours until she is draining and not stopped up. They are tiny red pills that need to be swallowed, but the pills are very tiny and go down easily. It unclogs the ears and the head, etc. Good luck!

Unfortunately Bulb syringing with LOTS of saline is the only way to go. Antibiotics although can be helpful now will cause your child to become immune later on in life, which is not good! Make sure you ask your doctor how to syringe your babies nose properly as most parents do it wrong.i know i was....my son (7months at the time) was diagnosed with RSV and had to take a trip to Childrens where they used suction to get all the gunk out of his little head! Also Keep him indoors even if he looks better and is acting better i would keep him indoors for a couple extra days, I know it can be hard especially when you have to get stuff done like groceries and such. oh and make sure to cuddle him loads!

I would stop using Vicks. Vicks vapor rub will cause more congestion in infants. It acts as an irritant and swells their sinuses and breathing passages. It was recently on the news to not use in children under 2. I wouldn't use it in the steam vaporizer either for the same reason. Hope this helps.