I love this site! I really appreciate all the wonderful advice I've received so far, and thought this may produce some info in addition to what our doctor's office has advised. Our 5 month old keeps getting a stuffy nose. He is in daycare, so I'm sure that's where a lot of the germs come from. Our doctor's office has advised keeping him upright as much as possible (drainage), using a cool mist humidifier, and exposing him to shower steam when we shower. Is there anything else we could try to help clear him up? He seems to get a little better and then the stuffiness comes back. He sounds like a little pig when he's drinking his milk! Other than the stuffiness, he seems ok--eating ok, sleeping ok (wakes up stuffy sometimes), good natured as normal. He had a 100 degree fever earlier in the week, but it only lasted a couple days and then he had an awful BM and seemed to feel much better after that. I just worry that this congestion doesn't seem to go away. We took him to the doctor a few weeks ago and they said his chest sounded ok. When should we be worried, or is this just normal for a young baby in daycare? I've often heard the first year is full of illness! (edit)By the way, we have also used the saline nose drops (Little Noses) and they haven't made any difference. He also doesn't have snot draining from his nose, so there's not much to get out with a suction bulb. The congestion seems to be deeper.
Try the saline spray/drops. They have one called Little Noses for children.
Although most cold medicines and decongestants for children say not to use until they are 4 years old, the Dr. Sears website still lists dosages of these products for younger kids, I believe starting at 6 months. It's listed under the medicine cabinet on his website. He only recommends doing it if it's really interferring with sleep and such, though.
I would say this is normal for all babies, regardless of daycare or not. My daughter doesn't go and she would get stuffy, in the fall. No other cold symptoms. You can try little noses but read the box first. Also, jsut a warning, do not put Vick's in a babie's nose. They even warn against it. It can cause suffocation. One thing you may want to try just to give him a little ease is the plug in vapor things. I think Sudafed makes one and Vicks makes the other. I use the Sudafed one for my kids. It works similarly to a Glade plugin.
Do you get sick in the winter? Do you have congestion or a runny nose? I'm going to guess you probably do, and you might just need to let things run its course. Just do your best to ease the symptoms and before long he'll be fine. I know it is tough when our babies are sick, but a little congestion is fairly normal among most babies (not just daycare ones!).
