10 Month Old with a Suffy Nose, Phlegmy Cough & Double Ear Infection

I also agree that it may be allergies. They were at the root of my son's ear infections for several seasons before we figured it out. Before you get tubes...treat the allergies. It is the season for them, after all.

I'm going to suggest taking him to a chiropractor.

My son use to get so many ear infections! He was on antibiotics daily just for the prevention of the ear infections.. he would still get them then we would have to use a stronger antibiotics before he became immune to antibiotics by his first birthday!

They were going to put tubes in his ears. I was fine with it until I started asking questions. I asked if the tubes would prevent him from getting the ear infections. I was told no. The only purpose of the tubes was to drain the infection into his stomach and let it pass out of body instead of being trapped in the ear canal. Well I didn't like the idea of an infection being drained into his stomach.

My grandma suggested taking him to a chiropractor. I thought she was crazy taking a baby that little to a chiropractor!! But after him having an ear infection that wouldn't completely go away for a month and a half I gave it a shot. They adjusted his neck. It was very gentle! It didn't bother him at all and actually afterwords he was all smiles. He did have to go back a week later to have his neck adjusted again. That was the last time I had to take him in. He is almost 16 and he hasn't had a single ear infection since.

As the chiropractor explained it to me was this... as babies come out of the birth canal their heads get tilted weird and it can pinch the ear drainage tubes. Also with babies learning to sit up and roll over, with all of the falls they have it can move the neck out of place and also pinch the drainage tubes. With the drainage tubes being pinched that is what is causing the bacteria to get trapped and then leads to an ear infection.

The doctor told me that is no way of preventing it.. the chiropractor had an actual response as to why they can get them. Also after seeing a chiropractor it boosts the immune system and helps the body heal all over with out medicine.

With my other 4 kids if/ when they would get an ear infection I would take them to the chiropractor to get adjusted. I never once have had to give my younger kids antibiotics for an ear infection and their ears were always clear of infection when I would take them back for their rechecks.

Good luck! I hope this helps and your little one feels better soon.

It's so scary when they get phlegmy, chest congestion can get dangerous. I always heard that milk and formula don't help when it comes to phlegm, if you can substitute a non dairy formula for a time it may help.
I think I would take him back to the doc TODAY with your concerns because generally the antibiotics usually work within 24 hours.
He might have allergies. Do you have pets?
There are many things that it could be, it's time for you to be a little more stern with your pediatrician and let her know how worried and concerned you are. Lack of sleep is not good for either of you either and exacerbates the problem.

Poor little guy! It's always bad to see a little one sick.

He and I have something in common - icky stuff settles in our ears first. I can always tell when I'm going to have a cold - my ears stuff up first. Probably, whatever is causing the ear infection is also causing the head congestion, it just hit his ears first. So the mucus was already there, it just started forming in the ears before the rest of the head. The antibiotics unfortunately won't help with the mucus - but he got them, because bacteria love to swim in that mucus, and it's hard for antibodies to get into it, but antibiotics can, so there you go. Same reason you get antibiotics for a sinus infection. The antibiotics won't help with the mucus itself, though.

I would double-check with the doctor about the chest congestion. But for comfort, maybe try propping up his head when he sleeps - just put a rolled-up beach towel or a pillow UNDER his mattress. It should help with the coughing a little, and it will definately make his head congestion more comfortable. Also, maybe try - when he gets a coughing fit, hold him with y'alls heads in the freezer for a minute. The shock of cold air will help the inflammation in his lungs briefly - just long enough for him to go back to sleep, hopefully. Also, you can set up a humidifier or hold him in a steamy bathroom - he is having to breathe through his mouth right now, and the mouth is not as good at humidifying the air as the nose is, so his lungs are dealing with dry air as well as the other junk. This will give them one less thing to fight with.

Being well-hydrated will help with the phlegm (and the mucus in his head). If he is poorly hydrated, milk will make the phlegm and mucus thicker. But I'm willing to bet that with the coughing and the sinus drainage, he isn't wanting to drink a lot, because his throat is raw. Try warming a little bit of apple juice - it feels good on a raw throat if it's warm. Don't rely on it for hydrating him (too much sugar) - but it'll help convince him to drink something.

I hope this has helped a little bit, and that he's feeling better soon! Hang in there, mama!

Ah poor baby and poor you.
I also recommend allergy testing.
My son was getting lots of infections,stuffy nose and phlegm as a baby.
Turned out he was allergic to dairy,wheat ,apples ,harsh cleaning products and perfumes.
The difference to him was fantastic after making some changes.
Its worth a try to get an allergy test done.
Best of luck
B. k