16 Month Old W/ a cold...what Can I Do?

what you have been doing is great....put baby ambesol on the tooth that is coming in...sorry if I spelled that wrong. :-) and tylenol about 30 minutes prior to bedtime. Also try freezie pops that cools and helps numb the gums... :-) good luck!!!

When my baby got a cold, I put a little Vic Vapo Rub on the inside of his shirt, and if he was totally asleep, I'd dab a tiny bit right under his nose.

Since the whole cold medicine issue, I've been putting Vick's Vaporub on the soles of my little ones' feet when they get sick. It calms a cough, but just makes them feel better all over.

Hi N.,
My little guy(8m.), my daughter(almost3) and I are just getting over a very bad cold, also.... My pool little guy was so stuffed up that he could barely even nurse. I did give him a little infant tylenol at night and propped up pillows for the head for him and his sister to sleep on so that they could breathe better.. I also rubbed a little bit of vix on their chests to help with breathing. If it turns to a cough you can give a small bit of honey to help with the pleghm. I couldn't do this for my son but did for my daughter and I know that it should be o.k. since your son is over one. Oh! I also ran a humidifier.. Good luck and hang in there, he'll get better:-)

Melissa

Put kids vicks vapo-rub on the bottom of his feet and the put some socks or footed pajamas on. When my DS (now 25 1/2 months) had a cold last winter, I too didn't really know what I could do for him. I had a few people suggest this and it worked fairly well.

M.

I always gave my kids tylenol or motrin so they were not so achy, alternating them every 4 hours. No Milk during this time as it causes more mucus. You can give baths with the johnsons soothing bath(I forget the name exactly), for colds. If still uncomfortable he should sleep upright or with his head elevated. My oldest was before all the worry about what cold medicines do for kids under two, and I always gave him the childrens motrin with cold medicine. WORKED like a charm. I really don't think there is anything wrong with the cold medicine as long as it is not used too often. Like only right before bed, for only 2-3 nights in a row.

We use the Sudafed Vapor plugs---they work wonders, and are less messy than putting Vicks on your baby's chest or feet. The Vapor plugs have the Vicks scent that lasts all night, and keeps your child from getting stuffed up.

I was going to say exactly what Kristi M. just wrote! Try those things =)

My 4 month old has a bad cold (stuffy nose, sneezes coughs) and last night I went to Target and bought 1) American red Cross nostril suction, 2) baby saline nose drops, 3) PediaCare Gentle Vapors - and this morning she was much, much clearer - we saw a smile for the first time in days!

Our pediatrician always suggested saline spray/drops for the nose. I remember the name of the brand is either the "little noses" brand or the generic version of it. A humidifier also helps, as well as a pillow for elevation to cause good nasal drainage. Of course, keeping his immune system strong while he's fighting a cold is important too so any sugars like juice or candy or ice cream is out. They do make zinc suckers which you can find at Wal Mart in the kids pharmacy section. I also like the Children's Vics Vapo Rub trick where you schmear it all over their feet, and put on a fresh clean pair of socks. It is an aromatherapy I know my girls benefit from getting.

They always told me with a cold to do the humidifier, saline drops in the nose and suck it out well before putting them down to bed. I would keep up on the pain medicine too. Ibuprofen seems to work better than Tylenol for my daughter. Also, if everything else fails maybe benadryl would help sleep and with the runny nose and sneezing.

I know you already received alot of responses, I just wanted to add one more thing...give your child ibuprofen in the evening before going to bed. The ibuprofen lasts longer (up to 8 hours) than tylenol/acetominaphen (4 hours) so they get a better sleep!

Hylands Teething Tablets are great for teething and the cold that accompanies it. They can be found at all health food or vitamin stores as well as on-line.

Keep in mind that Vicks is a petroleum product. Do you want your baby's lungs exposed to petroleum? Look for non-petroleum vapor products for a healthier baby.

Hi N.,
I'd keep giving the tylenol. I also try the shower with the kids. Now that my son is older though the heat seems to make his symptoms worse. Cooler air helps his breathing more now. Our doc said each person is different with that. I also use vicks on the chest and if there is a cough i put it on their feet. I have no idea why it works as a cough suppresant that way but it does for us. Just make sure you put socks on him. Plently of liquids too (not milk). My son liked lemon tea (the no caffiene kind) too. It feels so good if the throat is a little scratchy. Of course my daughter won't touch it! You could give him some chicken noodle soup (it really does have some healing properties) just cut up the noodles and you can put the broth into a sippy cup. Good luck. Hope tonight goes better for you. We're dealing with the same things here...school was in session for 4 days so of course they had to catch a cold!

I just went through the same thing with my 18 mo old and she was cutting 6 teeth at that time. I used those Vicks vapor devices where it has individual Vicks packages. That helped a lot. Lots of baths. She did not want to eat obviously so I made her a lot of smoothies which she loved. Also, lots of cuddles and hugs. I also introduced a pillow in her crib to keep her head up a little to help wiht the breathing and coughing.

My 7 month little boy has a cold just like that with a cough, but he is not cutting teeth just yet. I took him to the doctor and she gave me a prescriptin for Rondec-DM Drops dispensed as C-Phen DM Drops and nasal saline to keep his nose moist. They seem to be working. He is feeling better today and has only been on the drops for 4 doses. Hope this helps but you may need to go to the doctor to get the prescription

Put a humidifier in his bedroom

Take him in the bathroom to sit, after running the shower on the hottest setting to sit in the hot steam.

Put vicks vapor rub on his back or feet, works great!

Go easy on milk, give him more water,juice

Propping my kids up is always a must - we are dealing with colds right now ourselves. For my son who is still in his crib I put a blanket under the top of his mattress. My daughter I stack pillows to prop her - the other thing that works wonders for my kids is warm apple juice - our pediatrician recommended it - I water it down quite a bit because I don't like giving them all that sugar but it works. It helps to loosen up the mucus that is a given with colds. If he starts coughing a lot you can try a spoonful of honey as well - it helps to coat the throat and ease the nighttime coughing. I also do lots of warm baths - it certainly helps to loosen everything up. Good luck - D.

Dear N.,

You give him hylands cold meds. It's homeopathic and works wonders. That's what I give my 4 yr old son & 7 month old daughter. You can get them @ Wal-Mart & babies r us has them as well.

B. F

I heard that dropping a few drops of breast milk in the nose will help since there are antibodies in breast milk.

Otherwise you can try a humidifier.

Do you have a bulb suction? Those always work getting the stuff out.

For teething you can buy homeopathic remedies I have found work well for my little one.

I have 3 things to add to all of these great suggestions - Vicks makes a lotion with the same stuff as the vapor rubs - just less mess - doesn't work quite as well - but it's not as messy. Great for during the day when they are all over, touching everything. Also they have a Vapor Bubble Bath (green bottle I think it's made by J&J?)- that always helped my son - we'd use it during his bath right before bed, shutting the bathroom door and steaming up the bathroom at the same time. Made it easier for him to fall asleep at night. I've also been told, if possible, elevate one end of their bed (a board under the mattress works great) and try to keep their head at that end (if possible!) - it will help to keep the crud from pooling in their sinuses.

Good Luck!

Run a humidifier in his room. If you haven't bought one yet, the vicks one with the vapor is awesome. Motrin can be given every 6 hours and I find as far as the body aches associated with a cold, works much better than tylenol and seems to make my son a bit drowsy if I give it to him before bed. If there is a way you can elevate his crib mattress, perhaps by puttting a pillow under the head of the crib mattress, this will help him breathe better. Overall, try to keep the house on the cool side....it's healthier for kids to be cool at night and helps them sleep better (contrary to many who believe you have to overdress/kept child warm). Good luck and I hope he feels better soon.
One more thing that I remembered that is recommended for colds is a teaspoon of honey (as long as no allergy) can be given as a natural way to relieve cough.
D.

I am not big on giving my son medicine either so when he has a cold I put Baby Vicks on his back, chest,and on the sides of his neck, and also on the bottoms of his feet with a pair of socks. I also swear by Little Noses Saline spray for his nose - about 5 times a day, especially before bed. He is usually able to kick a cold within 2-3 days doing this every night.

Vitamin C for the cold...there are a couple options at the co-ops. Camilia for the teething. If you are not familiar it is a homeopathic from Boiron. It works wonders. Also at the co-op.

How about a warm bath, and some vicks on the chest to ease his stuffy nose. I'd also keep a pocket of tissues at hand for the runny nose and sneezing. Rest, rest, rest. At night, I'd prop up the head end of the crib on some books to keep his head elevated so that his nose can drain at night. Put a humidifier in his room to liquify the blockage and that may help. Hope this helps.

We always ran a hot steam vaporizer and put the Vick's vaporub for babies on our son's chest. It seemed to help with the coughing at night... Good luck!

Run a humidifier in his room, and clean his nose frequently with saline drops and the bulb syringe. If he is having a lot of tooth pain try advil or motrin for the gum pain, it lasts longer and it helps with the swelling. Good luck!

Try some saline spray for his nose before bed. It will help with the stuffy nose.

I also have a 16 month old. I hope he's feeling better. I echo what others have said - my mom used to put Vicks on the bottoms of our feet and I swear it worked every time - under socks! Good luck.

When our son is stuffy, we put a humidifier/vaporizer with a little Vicks in his room and it seems to help him sleep better. Good luck!