What Are You Supposed To Do When Your Little One Is Congested?

Your baby’s first cold. It’s a miserable milestone for any first time parent, or any parent for that matter. But it’s one we all have to face, especially coming into winter, so it’s best to be prepared.

The main problem with colds is that it restricts breathing. Your baby’s cute little button nose has extremely tiny nasal passages, which they can’t blow on their own, and if these get clogged, then your baby has to make a constant effort to breathe.

A congested nose can cause other discomforts for your baby too. For instance, they might refuse to eat or drink because the act makes breathing more laborious, it can also disrupt babies’ sleep, waking them through the night with a stuffy nose and restricted breathing. Sometimes they let out tiny snorts every time they inhale or exhale because of the effort, which can be a distressing for the parent as well.

Ear, nose and throat surgeon Dr Larry Kalish says babies are obligate nasal breathers, which means they only breathe through their nose.

“The airflow through the nose is important as it warms and humidifies the air making it easier for us to extract oxygen. As we grow, nasal airflow is important in stimulating mid-facial growth. An ongoing blocked nose in a child or infant can affect more than just their sleep and feeding; it can potentially lead to problems like the underdevelopment of the mid-face or sleep apnoea.” says Dr Larry Kalish.

What Can You Use?

As a loving and caring parent, you can help your baby overcome the discomfort of a sniffly nose using natural baby cold remedies instead of antibiotics.

A gentle saline solution is available form chemists, which loosens and thins mucus to help clear a blocked nose and moisturise dry nasal passages to allow your child to breathe easier, naturally.

Some baby ones come with a handy nasal aspirator, which is genius for helping clear your baby’s blocked nose. To use the applicator is simple, since babies cannot clear their noses as we do, the suctioning effect of the aspirator has the same effect as blowing to clear mucus congestion.

Other solutions are to keep your baby hydrated, let him breathe in warm air to open those inflamed nasal passages and lots of cuddles, of course.

Top Tips for a Snuffly Nose

Here are top tips to help new parents ease the suffering of their littlest snuffling noses this winter:

1) Raise your baby’s head in bed.
Just as with some adults, newborns and infants can find it easier to breathe and sleep when suffering a blocked nose by lying slightly elevated.

2) Ensure your baby drinks fluids.
Encourage your baby to drink plenty of fluids, such as water, breast or formula milk. Having a cold means your baby loses fluid easily, so fluids prevent dehydration.

3) Use an infant saline spray or nasal drops, and aspirator.
Use the gentle saline solution to help loosen and thin mucus to help clear your baby’s blocked nose and moisturise dry nasal passages. The special aspirator helps you to remove nasal mucus so your baby can breathe easier, naturally.

4) Add moisture to the air in the infant’s main room.
Increasing the level of humidity in the infant’s room can help moisturise dry nasal passages before bed. This can be done with a cool-mist vapourizer, a humidifier or by simply holding your infant in a steam-filled bathroom. (It is important to avoid putting too much moisture in the room; and if using a vaporizer or humidifier, it is important to clean the machine each day).

5) Gentle eye compresses can help relieve infant discomfort experienced during a cold.
A weak saline solution can be used as both a gentle warm or cool compress to cleanse the delicate area around your little one’s eyes, softly wiping away crusting and sticky residue between the littlest eyes and eyelashes.