My Baby Girl Is Sick.

Ok, I too used to be a fan of Vicks, until the makers of Vicks came out recently with a report stating it is NOT to be used for kids. If you put even Baby Vicks on a child's chest, it can actually cause them to STOP BREATHING!!! You can look it up on the internet, there are several cases of kids being sent to the ER and almost dying from Vicks. I no longer use it, even on the feet. One remedy I have read a lot about and now use is honey just before bed. For kids (must be a year old) you give them 1/2 tsp. just before bed and don't let them drink anything afterward. It coats the throat and keeps them from coughing. For adults you can use 1 tsp. It has really worked for my 3 year-old. Most over the counter decongestants have been shown to be worthless for kids, so I recommend you get a prescription one from the pediatrician instead. My son has bromtane and it seems to really help him. Hope she feels better soon!

H.,
There are several things you could do to help. My son is two and has severe allergies, just like I do. I've found one of the best ways to deal with the congestion is to put a humidifier in his room and put baby vicks on his chest at bedtime. Try putting her in the shower with you too, that can help break up the congestion. Make sure it's hot enough to put off some steam, but not hot enough to burn her. When all else fails and there's a lot of coughing too, you can get kid's robutussin and give 1/4 tsp and that seems to work pretty well too. Hope this helps!
S.

I was told to give a child plenty of fluids

Hi H.,

I use natural anti-biotics/anti-virals from the health food store such as grapeseed extract (GSE). I put 1 drop of GSE is their juice twice a day and their colds clear up within a couple of days. GSE will clear up viral infections, fungal and bacterial.

Poor baby, One thing to do is get her in your smallest bathroom and close the door. Turn the shower on as hot as it will go and sit with her. She may cough up some stuff that seems as big as her head but it will help. As for the vicks scare, yes putting heavy vicks on an INFANTS chest and in and under their nose is not a good idea. Vicks is great, either use it in your vaporizer or get the vicks plug in . put is on the soles of her feet in socks or footie pajammas. No milk or eggs.(eggs fall into the "dairy" for mucus, gofigure) lots of liquids, popcicles,etc no cheese or other "thick" foods ibuprofen and tylenol back and forth every 2 hours will helps relieve her discomfort. watch for color change, wheezing(this is so slight you may need to put her up to your ear) good luck precious one. Also, at the healthfood store ask a certified person there about pediatric dose of betacarotene or vitamin A. A french medical study shows that it thins mucus. but I'm not sure how much or if You can give it to a toddler.

When my little one gets sick we plug in the small Vicks vaporizor and put it in her room. You can buy them at Wal-Mart or Walgreens. We have the smallest one that takes the strips with medicine on them. It works well to help keep her nose opened up while she sleeps. Also, a bath in Johnson's vapor bath during the day will help to break up the junk in her lungs. Milk will increase the amount of mucus your body makes, so see if you can substitute it with juice or water until she stops coughing. It won't hurt her to be a few days without. If her mucas gets green or doesn't get less in two or three days, take her to the doctor. Sometimes medicine with the homeopathic remedies is what's necessary.

J.

Dear H.,
Crummy to hear your little one is sick, its really hard with babies because they dont quite know why it is that they feel so awful. One trick that I have learned with time (4 kids) that might help in this situation is to put VICKS vapor rub on her feet than put socks or feetie jammies on her. This works wonders to help break up conjestion and works way better than putting it on their back and chest. Fair warning her nose will run bad afterwards. I put chapstick on my finger than rrub it on my daughters nosesto keep it from getting to sore. Another nice thing about the VICKS on their feet is that it works weel for and age newborn to 70, it is cheep and you don't have to take them to the dr where they are more likely to pick something else up. Hope she gets to feeling better!

Saline nasal spray and have her blow her nose if she will or use bulb syringe(nose sucker)

H.,

Natural "XanGo Juice" works wonders...just a little (1oz) seems to do the trick. I have FIVE children.
Good luck,
Rebecca

Little Noses Saline spray. They also have one that medicated for severe congestion. We love both of these. Our baby has had tons of sinus related problems and these help a lot.

As others have said, Vick's vapor rub does wonders. If it seems like it's too powerful when you rub it on her chest, you can try rubbing it on her feet. It is great at clearing congestion and getting rid of coughs - especially at night. I also use Pediacare Gentle Vapors. It is a small box that you plug into the wall and then insert a vapor-laden pad. It releases mentholated vapors into the room throughout the night. I have a child that has a terrible time with night time coughing when she is congested and the Vapor Plugs get her a great night's sleep.

During the day, you can also try saline nose drops. They are available at all pharmacies and are a great way to help clear the sinuses. While doctors are definitely recommending against it now, when mine were smaller (my youngest is 5, now) we used Sudafed - not Sudafed PE. If she is completely miserable, a small dose of that might help her get through the worst of it.

Good luck!

First of all: decongestants reduce the blood vessels in the sinus' and the nose so that air can pass in and out more freely. This also allows mucus more room to flow out because it opens the narrowed opening to each sinus cavity so mucus can drain out. I have had absolutely no results with Sudafed PE. It doesn't work for anyone I know. If you choose to use a decongestant call around to your local pharmacies and ask for liquid Sudafed. I can buy it at several independently owned in my town. WalMart and WalGreens do not carry it. I only use half a dose with all the kids and get great results. Many professional are saying meds for kids this age are bad for them so think carefully about choosing to use them.

When my g-kids get sick I use nasal spray and snot suckers. I purchase a new spray every time the get sick so I am not passing on old germs. First I use the spray in both nostrils then I wrap them up in a blanket so they can't fight me and suction out the mucus. I spray out the mucus on a paper towel then discard it. I wash the snot sucker in hot soapy water then rinse it in water with bleach added. I squeeze it and squirt out the bleach water several time. If the mucus is colored such as yellow or green call your health care professional to make an appointment. If it is clear you are probably okay to continue treating it yourself. Right after a bath or shower is a good time to remove the mucus too, the shower/bath steam will make the mucus softer and runny.

Here are a couple of links to sites that offer suggestions:

Parent Center is my favorite site when it come to kids.
http://www.parents.com/preschoolers/health/cold-cough-flu/

http://infant-toddler-health.suite101.com/article.cfm/nat...

http://www.avianweb.com/commoncold.html

Research seems to show most children get over colds in just a few days if they have medicine or not. There is no cure so it should be over in a couple of days anyway.

Keep the air humidified. I use a cool mist humidifier or when that wasn't available a pan of boiling water for a bit puts some moisture in the air. You can also run hot water in the shower while keeping the bathroom door shut to make a steam room. Of course the shower is not for the sweetie but you can hold her on your lap away from the water and be careful not to let her near the hot water...maybe read a book or play for 15 min. or so. When the bathroom gets steamy you can turn off the the water and just keep the door shut to hold the steam in the room for a bit. Someone told me once to put Vick's on the feet and put on socks before bed. Sometimes it helps..don't really know why! I have wrapped children well up to there neck on a cold night and taken them outside to relieve coughing and congestion. Different doctors have suggested this as well. If you have electric heat keeping moisture in the air helps prevent sore throats and such. Will pray for your little one to feel better soon.

Hi H., I have found the best comfort is Vicks on her feet and socks over the top. It really does eleviate the congestion and stuffiness. Use baby wipes on her nose instead of tissue and that will help with the nose blowing. Of course, the old Chicken soup stand-by has it's merits. It does have bronchial opening powers. Keep her supplied in juice and pretty mich anything she wants to eat. BUT, the Vicks does work miracles. Try it on yourself sometime when going to bed. Medications are a no no in my book. They do nothing but drain the wallet. Just make sure she is coughing enough phlegm so as not to contract pneumonia. Hope this helps.

N.

Try using Vicks baby rub and a humidifier. They both worked wonders when my kids are sick.

Give her low-sodium miso soup (the miso is good for the bacteria in her gut, which are very helpful to the immune system), yogurt with active cultures (kind of re-stocks the bacteria in the gut) (I highly recommend plain soy yogurt like Whole Soy - delicious - because dairy is really unhealthy).

Keep her off of all dairy foods and eggs. These foods increase the stuffiness. You'll notice a great difference within even about half a day!

Keep her sugar intake low, of course. Sugar suppresses the immune system pretty severely.

Get a humidifier in her room.

Don't give her decongestants. They just hold the stuffiness in. The stuffiness is what houses a lot of the bacteria or virus, which needs to run out of the body. Let those juices flow! Give her plenty of water, and the effect is the same: the girl can breathe :) (And, plenty of water is important, anyway.)

Showers and baths feel so good when we're sick; same with little ones.

Hope you get through it really quick!

L.

Vicks Baby Rub is awesome. They have some with lavendar in it that isn't as strong but still helps to open up their sinuses. Also, those Pediacare plug ins are good for night time. And make sure that she's propped up while sleeping. Sometimes, when my daughter gets colds like that, I sleep in the recliner with her so that she can rest a little better. Take her in the shower with you where it gets nice & steamy and then have her blow her nose really good to get all of the yucky out. Lots of liquids, water if you can. If not G2 Gatorade doesn't have as much sugar, try that. Or a little 7 Up works great too. The key is to get her to drink as much as possible to run the cold out of her system.

Other than that, lots of love & snuggling on the couch works well:) If it persists for more than a couple of days, I would take her to see a doctor to be sure that it isn't a sinus infection.

Hope she's feeling better soon.

they have taken meds for young children off the shelves, but they do still allow claritin syrup, zyrtec syrup and some pediatricians recommend benadryl. talk to yours and see what they recommend

Hi, H.!! I'm sorry your little one isn't feeling good! When my son gets that way, I put Vick's vaporub on the soles of his feet, then put him in socks. Johnson's Vapor bath really helps, too!! You can get saline drops for her nose at the pharmacy (OTC), or look online on how to make your own---it's really just saltwater!! Also, instead of baby wipes, they make "boogie wipes" which aren't as rough on her nose as regular baby wipes and have a saline solution on them. Good luck!! :)