Help with Nebulizer

When my son was that age we would try to do the treatment when we was going to bed or taking a nap. When they are sleepy it is easier to hold them and keep the mask on. You might also try to play a movie and sit with her and tell her it is time for her to breath the steam. That might help. Good Luck

My son had to use one when he was small like that. We had to use the hand held tube and showed him how to help hold it and put it to his nose/mouth area to breath in. It helped and he got to the point of holding it himself and putting it in his mouth to breath it all in. Maybe you can try that and see if it helps, sometimes the mask scares smaller ones.

Don't put the mask on, put the mouth piece used for older kids on the end and just hold it right in front of her nose/mouth area.. That's what we had to do. My sons pedi was the one that told me about that handy little trick! We tried to put the mask on him first and like always he flipped out so we took the mask off and put on the mouth piece and he was so relieved to have the mask off he didn't care one bit about the "smoke" blowing in his face.

I agree we've never had success with the mask. Our son hates the mask. Just use the tubing and the big tub and put thetube in front of your child mouth. Our nurse told us this when we first got our nebulizer. Our child actually puts his mouth over the tube now.

I gave up on the mask. I just hold the babies ( had two that used them) in my lap, and blow the mist in their face. I sing, play, anything that will distract them while we do it. It seems like the mist will fascinate them, at least for a short time.
And I agree with the other lady, the crying will just make them breath it in deeper.

Hi M.,
I didn't read all the responses but I haven't seen anyone mention this. I do home d/care and one of the children on neb treatments had the neatest attachment. It was a pacifier instead of a mask. there was a hole on top of the pacifier that directed the medicine towards his nose as he sucked the pacifier.
If your child sucks a paci this would be perfect for you!
Ask your pulmonologist/doc about getting this.
Good Luck!
D.

All of my kids needed nebulizers and I never could keep the mask on and they would scream the whole time, etc. So, I started just holding them tight and keeping the mask on their face myself without the mask actually on their head. It didn't seem so bad. Once he get a little older it will be easier because you can distract them with a toy or something. Good luck, I know it is not easy.

My nurse told me to use it while my daughter slept. I put her in my arms start the machine with my foot and slowly put it to her face.

Hope this helps

The mask doesn't have to be on her face. If it is close enough so the mist blows on her face she will breathe it in. Both my kids fought it so bad and I so understand. We always put something on the TV to distract them and just point the steam to their faces. Does she watch any baby einstein or anything or maybe on of you can distract her with something else why you point the mist at her. Good luck.

do it when she sleeps!!!!! That worked for us when our DD had RSV! They tend to breath deep when they are completely asleep anyways which is good for getting the meds where they need to be!
Also, instead of the mask, maybe try the "pipe" and make it a game!!!!!!!! Any med is better than none and it is cheap enough (most are anyways) that if she only gets 30% she is getting good out of it! Put your thumb or a strip of tape not quite as wide as the pipe over the "exit" part of the pipe to keep more meds in and going towards her! Also/or, you could bend the exit end of the pipe back up towards her mouth/nose so she breathes that too!
These were suggestions given to us by our dr.! Our DD was exactly 2 when she got RSV and we had to do all of this on her AND our then 7 mos. old son as well!

BEST OF LUCK!

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L.

I had to use a nebulizer on my 29 day old baby last year when he got RSV. I never actually put it on him. I would just get him comfortable and hold the mask up to his face. If he moved, I was able to move my hand along with him. The doctors told me that it did not have to be on his face, just that the steam from the meds needed to go to his nose. They did this it this way at the pedi's office and at cooks er downtown, and directed me to do it that way at home also. Also, a couple weeks before, my then 15 month old son had to have a breathing treatment at the doctors office and they did it the same way- had me hold him where he was relaxed and hold the mask above his face aimed where the medicated vapors went straight to his nose.

It might be worth a try for you, since she probably just hates the mask on her face. Good Luck!

as long as they are breathing in the medicine, (smoke), there is no need to attach the mask to their face. YOu may even want to change attachments to the adult type so you can aim it better.

M., my brother and sister in law needed to use the nebulizer at bedtime only. It was always difficult until they rocked my nephew to sleep and then used it immediately. It may not be ideal, but it works for them this way. Good luck!

I don't have experience with a nebulizer, but some advice that worked for me with a nasal aspirator & my 6 mos old was to put them in front of a mirror and let them watch you do it (or put it on). She was totally fine with it then, even fascinated by it! Good Luck!

just use the tubing to blow it in her face. don't even try the mask. does that make sense? that is what we had to do until he was old enough to use the mask.

good luck!!

Hi M., we usually have the same problem with a 2y/o. Her doctor gave us a mask that looks like a duck. Makes it sometimes a little easie. I tell her come on lets go do your ducky!! But for the most part they fight you At least when there screaming you know its getting deep into there lungs!! Also when they sleep just hold the mist by there face and it will help as well. Also any thing or any one that can help to distract them while your doing it. Good luck mom Been there know its hard. D. S

I sat in an easy chair with baby on my lap. I wrapped one leg around his legs, one arm aroung his arm, and held the thing with the other arm. Singing loudly or putting in a favorite DVD also helped. I memeorized all the Baby Einstein videos. After a while, the baby just got used to the routine.

Hi M.:

I don't put the mask on my guy. There should be a different 'tip' you can put at the end of the tube. As long as you can get the steam into the baby's face, she will get what she needs.

I'm surprised your doc didn't show you!

Good luck! I hope she feels better soon!

We always did lots of singing & dancing...anything fun & distracting. We also started using a special chair...just a regular little rocking chair, but we only used it when we were doing breathing treatments so that made it "special" and "fun". We'd let our litle one sit & play with a favorite toy --- when he was older, we did the favorite movie thing. Also, if you can't get her to leave it alone, try a blow-by...not quite as concentrated as the mask, but still very effective & sometimes more so if you don't have to spend the whole time fighting her. Good luck!

I agree with using the wand and not the mask. When she gets a little older, you can get a "fun" dinosaur or teddy bear mask. TV also is a big help for us. We are pretty anti-TV (especially at under a year), but having it on as a distraction and a special treat was a big help when using the nebulizer at this age.

My son had to use it for a long time off and on from 6 months to 15 months old. My pedi said it was okay to just hold it under his nose and mouth while he sits in your lap or in a highchair. The highchair worked best because I could strap him in. But, I also just made sure I had toys for him to play w/ or a show on tv to keep him interested in something else. Just make sure the steam is getting into his nose and mouth. It worked for me!

M.,
It is reflexive for babies to fight things on their face or head. This is a life-saving mechanism that keeps them from danger. I know it is a bit of a hassle right now, but I would be worried about a baby who did NOT fight something on their face.

I didnt read the posts to see if anyone said this or not... but I had a 1lb preemie, so we had to do nebs ALL the time for about 2 years.

When he was a baby and was still taking a bottle, I did nebs at bottle time. If you are breastfeeding, I dont know if this would work as well since their noses are pressed against your body more. I pumped and he took a bottle because of weak suck.

But when feeding with a bottle they are so focused on eating they do not care about the nebulizer. So I would just use the blue tube attachment instead of the mask (which is totally ok, we never used the mask when he was a baby) and blow it up to his nose while he was eating.

If you are bfding, just try switching over to the tube, no kid likes the mask... let alone a baby. That might do the trick. Then you could talk to her or play with her while doing it.

When using the blue tube, make sure you plug the other end, the short end up with a cotton ball and tape. For some strange reason they do not come that way.

GL!

The other attachment to the nebulizer should be what you need to do the trick. Also, try sitting her in your lap while you give the treatment and read books to her. All you really have to do is get it close to the nose/mouth so they can breathe it in. And, at that age they usually want to put their mouth on it. That is actually a great way to make sure they get the medicine.

Good luck!

We had to start my little one on a nebulizer at almost 4 months. He is now 17 months and still fights but not as much and usually not for the whole time. Around 10-11 months was the worst, because he was aware and just didn't want to sit there, to be quite honest. I would try to rock and bounce and sing Old McDonald and other sing-songy type songs. It seemed to help. Other times it was just fight tooth and nail to keep it on him. I'm sorry I don't have any really good ideas, but maybe this will help a little. It should get better as yours gets older.

when the neb treatments were a daily use in our house, I would always put on a favorite show or movie of my daughters, she held the mask. I never strapped it on her just because of the fits and feeling confined.

It is OK if she cries, screams.....in fact the medicine works best when they cry like that. If you have to wrap yourself around her, then do it. Those treatments are so very important and do wonders. Maybe do a little bribery. Bribery is good for certain things- one being just this.

M.,
Try decorating the mask to look like your child's favorite animal, or make it a game. You want you baby to breath deap when you are using the nebulizer so making them laugh is a great idea. Use this time to do something your child really likes, like sing their favorite song. You could also get a medicalmask for yourself (they cost a few cents at any drug store). This way your child won't feel alone. You can even decorate your mask and play a game.
Hope this helps!

I must be the only one who actually got my son and daughter to wear the masks. Mine were around your child's age when they had to use it. I would prepare ahead of time and get a stack of books to read to them. I put my other kids in front of a show they enjoyed, sat in another room (our dining room), put the big stack of books on the table, then got the kid. They sat on my lap, played with the mask before the treatment, and then strapped it on. They hated it at first but as I began to read, they forgot it was there. It was only for 10-15 minutes and it worked for me.

The Pediatrician told us that our daughter did not have to wear the mask. We have the blowing inhaler attachment, and we just hold it in front of her face so she can breathe it in that way. She puts her mouth on it sometimes, too, because she thinks it is fun to blow the"smoke" out of it. Worth a try....

My daughter has asthma and the only way we could give her treatments to her is to hold her watch her favorite show or read her favorite book and hold the mask.... Don't try to use the stap and put it on your childs head they will be much more comfortable knowing you are holding it. Also try putting the machine as far away from you as the cord will allow so even cover it up with a blanket as long as you don't interfer with the flow of air in the machine so that it isn't so loud.
Good Luck

Does she have a trach? If not try holding her and singing to her or puting her on her side with a prop and letting her watch tv. Let her hold it, and let her check it out before and after. We made my 11 month old his own "set-up" with a corrugated tubing and the plastic ends, he likes to bang them together and feel that tubing, otherwise he takes the one that's attatched and turns it around to try to eat it or pull it off. Keep her hands busy, keep her otherwise occupied, find what makes her irritation melt away! I know it sounds all easy but it's not we've tried a million things, sometimes they just don't want to be bothered and it's best tio try again in a couple minutes when he's distracted/ or asleep!

I was able to keep my son calm with the dinosaur mask and letting him suck on his pacifier while he was doing the treatment. It doesn't interfere with his breathing, so he is still getting the meds through his nose, and he let me keep the mask on him. I also held him in my lap and let him watch tv at the same time. Anything that is comforting to them...good luck!

Hi M., my son has been using a nebulizer since he was 2 days old. Every doctor we went to when he was an infant said 2 things,

1. They do not have to wear the mask, just hold it near their face

2. Let them cry or scream, this only means they're breathing the steroids deeper into their lungs.

If your daughter is grabby like most 10 month olds you can give her a piece of the inhaler tube that you don't use to hold and play with, or let her hold the bottom of the tube while you hold the mask part, or teach her to hold her own mask and "smell" the pretty steam. You can also give her one of her treatments during nap time if the sound of the machine won't wake her up.

My son has used a nebulizer since he was 3 months old. He is 2 1/2 now. We have only just started using the mask with him. Before that we did blow-by. You take the mask off and hold the mister part directly under their mouth so that the medicine goes into either the mouth or nose. This was the method that his pedi recommended for his age at the time.
The other thing that we have always done is put on a favorite TV show to distract him and keep him somewhat still during the process.
Good luck!

Agree with the others - you'll never get her to wear the mask. Just use the wand and blow it in her face, it's easier and accomplishes the same thing. If you can do it while she's sleeping, it's even easier.