I took my 16 month old son to the doctor the other day and the doctor (not his usual doctor) said that he has an upper respiratory infection. He hasn't been sleeping well due to coughing a lot and his nose is so stuffed up that he can hardly breathe. The doctor didn't give him anything or tell me anything I could do to help but I feel like there has to be something I can do to help him feel less miserable. What can I do for the cough? And what can I do for the stuffed up nose? Help please, I feel so bad for him being so miserable.
I bought Vick's Baby Rub and rubbed it on his feet than put on socks. I also rubbed it on his chest and back and then put a humidifier in his room. The first night we tried this he slept through the whole night and he had hardly any coughing. We also put saline drops in his nose. I'm still not sure how much those helped but the Vick's Baby Rub and the humidifier seemed to work wonders. I'm happy to say that he is now doing much better! Thanks everyone for the advice.
I rub Vick's Vapor rub on my kids' feet and then put socks on them. Also, run a vaporizor in the room. It usually helps my kids sleep better. I hope he feels better soon.
If it were me, I'd call the office back, have the nurse look at the chart and see if the diagnosis was for a bacterial infection or a viral infection. If it was bacterial, I'm surprised they didn't try something like amoxicillin to treat it.
If it's viral, unfortunately, you have to let time take its course.
Saline drops have been ineffective for my kids. A humidifier, especially a cool mist humidifier, will help dilate the bronchial system and make breathing easier.
As far as the cough goes, the American Academy of Pediatrics DOES NOT recommend cough/cold medications for children under 6 unless prescribed by a practitioner because of issues with overdosing and side effects.
Here's some information from their parenting website that may be helpful:
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/cond...
Ask for a nebulizer treatment. Helps to open up the lungs during a bad respiratory infection. Not sure how you feel about anitibotics, but my kids are also given zythromycin. Singular is what else they are given. At 16 months they have the singular in a powder form to put in their cereal or juice. At any rate, that doctor dropped the ball in my eyes. Go see someone else. Hugs to your little guy, and I hope that he feels better soon.
One more thing, get a cool air humidifier in his room as well.
Try elevating the head of his bed, a humidifier. I have been told that saline drops in the nose work, but you need to know how to do that correctly or you can cause more snot. I hope he feels better soon.
saline drops for the nose. Honey (1 tsp before bed) for the cough. Remarkably effective. Also, I like California Baby's Cold and Flu massage oil - basically homeopathic Vicks, but much gentler for babies' skin - also surprisingly effective. Good luck!
Medications, nebulizers, and Vicks are used to treat symptoms. (And I'd avoid use of medications, except for Tylenol to reduce fevers.)
To keep your child healthy overall, provide a more healthy environment, which includes:
* Daily exposure to sunlight (ahh the wonders of vitamin D)
* Fresh air - indoor air contains many more allergens and chemicals than outdoor air, as our kids are sequestered indoors notice how the cases of asthma are rising?
* Healthy diet made from real food. This means no cheerios, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese. Think veggies, fruit, meat, dairy.
Vitamin D drops as a nutritional supplement may also help. Ask your pediatrician.
Good luck!
Ok. Start spraying saline solution up his nose. You don't need to suck it out with the bulb. Also they make vapor rub for babies (helps breathing and coughing). That helped my daughter. Also put a humidifier in his room. Do all of these thing before bed and he should sleep better. We did this when my daughter had RSV.
Give him some hoeny for the cough.
A warm mist vaporizer will help with the congestion. If he will let you help him, a warm shower with lots of steam will also help him feel better.
elevate the head of his bed , and get one of those vicks plug in things and set itup in his room.
for the cough rub vicks on his chest and put a really warm ( as warm as he can stand it) clothe on his chest on top of the vicks, it will help him breath better and help clear up his chest. I use this on my asthmatic kiddo.
I agree with what has been mentioned. Elevate his crib matress with a folded blanket underneath, use a mentholated chest rub specifically for kids and rub a little on his chest before bed and nap (I've also heard you can rub it on his feet and cover them with socks and it is supposed to help). You can use a humidifier and definitely use the saline solution! You can also check out an all natural cough syrup made by Hylands- it coats the throat and helps calm the cough- I get it at Walmart and use it when my daughter gets a cold. Hope your little guy feels better soon!
My son suffers from upper respiratory infections every year, this year was really bad. You can use a humidifier to help with the cough, lift his head with multiple pillows when he sleeps, these are just a couple things that worked for us. We have had many nights where either me or dad sleep sitting up to minimize the coughing so at least our son can sleep. For the runny nose you can use a nasal spray, it helps clear out the sinuses and helps him to breath. If he does not get better or is getting worse see his regular doctor and request an oral steroid, it makes my son crazy wild but it works. We have been dealing with upper respiratory issues since my son was 6 months old and admitted into the hospital for RSV, he is now 3 and we have not had one winter/spring season with out an infection. I hope your son gets better, some kids are able to beat the infections in a couple days.
