Hey Moms! My 9 Month old daughter has had a congestion problem pretty much since she was born. The poor thing cannot breathe when she drinks a bottle and loses a lot of sleep at night too. I'm constantly spraying saline in her nose and sucking it out with the blue bulb thingy, and of course she HATES it! The mucus is very thick and sometimes white or yellowish green. Sometimes she will clear up for a day or two but it always comes back. I have a humidifier next to her bed, I've even tried elevating her at night or letting her sleep in her swing just so she can breathe to sleep. I've talked to her doctor about this several times and I bring it up and EVERY well child exam. First the Doc said that she may just have small nasal passages and that she should grow out of this, then we thought it might be allergies so she put her on Zyrtec once a day (doesn't seem to help at all) and at the most recent appointment she told me that she had enlarged tonsils which could be preventing her sinuses from draining. I'm started to get very frustrated! In my opinion this is a serious matter since it affects her abillity to live and function. And her doctor just doesn't seem to get it or even want to do anything about it. I feel like she's just telling me things to "shut me up".
So my questions are: Has anyone else experienced this? If so what did you find that helped? Should I get a second opinion? Could it really be just allergies? Will she grow out of it? Am I making a big deal over nothing? Please any advice is appreciated!
** I see that some moms have responded with the possibility that this could be a milk allergy. I just want to add that my daughter drinks soy formula and has since she was 3 weeks old. The only dairy she gets is in cheese and occasionally yogurt.
you need to go to a lung specialist or allergist or some type of specialty.. even a throat dr. Like Ear, nose throat specialist.. they may be able to help you. They ahve to clear this up .. so that it doesn;t affect her breathing and her lungs.. good luck.
I have heard of this kind of thing as a milk allergy also, but an ENT would probably be a good place to start. I've never had a child with a milk allergy so I don't know how it would show up. Seems like there might have been other symptoms before now? Maybe not. But you are right to keep asking questions, and if your current doctor is out of answers, find someone else who might have a different perspective.
See an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor or an allergist. When I was dealing with sinus issues, I quickly found out I wasn't going to get much info from an internist. The ENT and allergist will have more information about how to treat your daughter.
I would try going to an ENT. I had concerns with my oldest when he was around 15mo or so...he seemed to ALWAYS have sinus infections. I just wasn't satisfied with my pediatrician's answers so I went to the ear, nose, and throat professional. My pedi did not refer me, I went on my own. The ENT was great!!! I was so glad I did it. He has much more knowledge since it is his specialty and was able to explain things to me so I understood what was going on and put my son on a light nose spray and it worked like a charm...much better than zyretc.
I'd get the opinion of another doctor. If her nasal drainage is discolored (vs. clear), that's usually sign of an infection. Unless you're giving her Zyrtec-D (D for decongestant), I'm guessing it's not having much of an effect.
As for swollen tonsils - they are part of the lymphatic system and enlarge when they're fighting off an infection generally.
I'd really encourage you to see another pediatrician and get a different opinion. Not to say yours is wrong, but it can't hurt.
Or, if you can see a specialist without a referral, I'd make an appointment with an ENT (otolaryngologist, Ear Nose Throat specialist) ASAP
It probably is some sort of food allergy . I agree with the ENT and Allergist suggestiion. For the time being try changing her to a soy formula , tell the pediatricion you are doing it of course.
Thick mucus is not always an indication of infection either. Also Zyrtec doesn't work for everyone. Talk to your pediatrician and suggest a benadryl and Pepcid combination to dry up her secretions until you can get a more deffinitive answer. Yes Pepcid is an acid reducer but ( too long and complicated to explain here) also works for the Beta side of allergic reactions .
Good Luck
If it is a milk allergy, you have to eliminate everything that is made from milk, like the cheese and yogurt. An allergist can do a patch test and determine if she is sensitive to dust mites or other things. At 9 months old, she's probably too young to have her tonsils/adenoids out.
Honestly it sounds like a milk allergy which Zyrtec would do absolutely nothing for. I would suggest removing all milk from her diet and seeing if that helps.
