My daughter has had a runny nose, congestion and deep cough for almost 3 months--she will be 6 months old in a few weeks. I have taken her to the pediatriation 3 times and every time they say "she has a cold--is she in daycare?" And when I say yes they basically brush me off. She used to sleep through the night and could self soothe by sucking her thumb (now she can't because her nose is too stuffed up). She has trouble with her bottles.
We have been using a humidifier in her room since this first began 3 months ago. My husband sets it up an hour before bedtime and it runs all night long. We put her in her swing so she is upright. I'm using little noses spray and using the bulb syringe. Please someone help us!!! We don't know what to do--we are getting 3 hours of sleep at night--she can only sleep if I am holding her upright. The doctors will not do anything for us and my little girl has bags under her eyes she is sooo tired. Please pass along any suggestions please. Symptoms: runny nose, congestion, cough. No fever Sometimes she coughs so hard she starts to gag. But the doctors don't care about this. I am so frustrated.
Thanks to both the quick answers. I'll try no humidifier. Hadn't thought of it as a potential problem. We do have small dogs but they are not allowed in her room. I may vacuum her room tonight. I hope she's not allergic to the dogs!!! I just started her on children's claritin--we tried it once before and I couldn't tell a difference but we were also traveling. All of this started when mine and my son's fall allergies began. But the dr. said at 3 months she was too young to have allergies. It just seems too coincidental but it has lingered on too long now. And, she's already had one ear infection during this period as well. Thanks again and I'll let you know how things go.
The humidifier could be the issue. My pediatrician is a two doctor operation and they disagree on humidifiers. One hates them because they are a breeding ground for bacteria and allergies. Maybe go a week without the humidifier and see if that makes any difference.
Then, if not, get a second opinion. ENT, Pulmonologist, allergist???
Are you sure it's a cold or could she possibly have allergies? If there are a mess of stuffed animals in her room, remove them for a few nights. Also, what about pets? Do you have any--especially long haired? They can be incredibly hard on a wee one's immune system :(
I would try for the allergies, but maybe also try a new ped?
Not to sound funny but if you feel like the pediatrician is blowing you off maybe consider going elsewhere. I think I would. You should never feel like your baby's doc is not listening or caring.
Sometimes food sensitivities can cause a lot of congestion. Maybe she developed one?
runny nose:
Can be due to colds, sure... but its the Sinuses... being blocked up or inflamed... thus causing the person breathing problems because of the blockage or congestion.
Cough: can be due to post-nasal drip... or a chest condition... mucous or otherwise. Or both chest and nasal issues.
Congestion: can be due to either, chest or nasal congestion... or both. Usually due to mucous build-up... or inflamed airways...
Cough & Gagging: because of either post-nasal drip... and the mucous accumulates in the throat especially when sleeping... thus, gagging occurs because a baby cannot literally spit-out, their mucous.
GO AND see, a different Pediatrician. get a 2nd opinion... on how to help your baby.
all the best,
Susan
both of my son's and the rest of our family in the house have been through this since september so i ask my doc about it again at my youngest 1yo appt. and he sort of did the same thing. but i ask about seeing an ear nose and throat specialist and an allergy specialist too and he told me to wait until we get our first frost or really cold weather and then if it didnt clear up he would refer me. so i say just be presistant and get a second opinion if you want too.
I know a baby who was diagnosed with asthma, and who had symptoms like your daughter. I would ask doctor about it.
First of all, I'm so sorry this baby is going through this & the parents too. It is so hard when our babies are sick isn't it?
Secondly, the doctor works for YOU. Be persistent, FIRM and let them know daycare or no daycare, 3 months of this is too long. We have our grandson with us right now, along with Mama that is having some surgery. He is almost 9 months old and has had runny, stopped up nose for about a week, however, no cough. He too has trouble drinking from the bottle. I do not use a humidifier but a vaporizer. I don't know if that's what you meant, but we use the Vick's Vaporizer that puts steam into the room, not cool mist. We pour in the Vick's Vaporsteam liquid stuff you also buy at the store (it's not in the box) and the whole room smells like Vick's Vaporub, we love it. You have to put in about a pinch or two of salt sometimes to get it going, but the instructions are in the box.
Also, Vick's now makes a Baby Rub for babies 3 months and older. It says to rub on chest, back and neck and that seems to have helped him too. Also sitting in a steamy bathroom before bedtime might help. We use to do this when the kids got a croupy cough (we have 5 kids). We would just sit on the toilet (lid down of course) or if we had room a bean bag chair or other chair, close the door and let the shower run on hot filling the room with steam until the hot water ran out. It's not much fun for Mom and Dad but it sure helped them.
You're doing good with the saline & nose bulb. They hate it but it's a good way to keep her nose cleared out.
You might also see if she might be having a food allergy. Have you introduced something new lately that you could pull back on a while & see if that makes a difference?
And if you can't get your doctor to listen to you, change doctors. I've had to do that too.
Best of luck to you. I know you're all exhausted.
