OT Little ones & colds

[princessmom29]

Yes, I have heard of that. We do our own little protocol. We put the saline on a Q-Tip and gently place at opening and inside the very beginning part of nose. We don't do it everyday either, but we do see a big improvement as our kids struggle to clear out their noses. We don't do the Neti Pots or anything like that with the kids.

Thanks, Tiger

good idea, but that didi little to no good in my personal experince with DD. The congestion extended to far into her sinus passages. I tried this method with little to no success. When she has a sinus infection she would be so plugged she couldn't breathe through her nose at all.

 

[Tiger926]

good idea, but that didi little to no good in my personal experince with DD. The congestion extended to far into her sinus passages. I tried this method with little to no success. When she has a sinus infection she would be so plugged she couldn't breathe through her nose at all.

BTDT by whole life! I feel badly for your DD as it's painful. I am allergic to most antibiotics too, so I can't really take any meds, so it's very difficult in that respect as well. So far, we are good with this method, as well as warm showers and humidifier. We also have an HVAC system, electronic air cleaner and Swordfish on our furnace, and this all seems to help as well.

Good luck to your DD, Tiger

 

[PigletsMommy]

Just a second vote for the vapor plugs, 8 yo dd cannot take any cough suppresants due to her CF and the plug has been a lifesaver for us since it first came out. It truly does make a big difference! Glad you're taking her back to the Dr..you want to make sure it doesn't go into pneumonia.

Thanks. I'm going to pick some up tomorrow. I think vicks helps but I do not like to put it on her. She is so little I'm afraid she will try to eat it, even tho the package says its save for babies. I've never heard of vapor plugs before....Thanks!

This is exactly why I suggested not using the saline drops unless your doctor told you to use them. Some doctors have the concern princessmom just explained. Our pediatrician has always recommended the saline drops, but I don't know what everyone's pediatrician recommends. Also, some doctors don't like infants and young toddlers to be given saline drops all day for extended periods of time due that they may aspirate the mixture of mucos and saline into their lungs causing bronchitis or pneumonia. I'm not sure what the op's pediatrician's beliefs are that is why I suggested she only use the saline drops if her ped. recommended it. And yes, zyrtec is safe for a 13 month old to take. Delsym may be safe, depending on the size of the child. If the op's DD is tiny like my DD, then she probably can't take it. But the average sized 13 month old can have Delsym. It is usually only recommended for a child this young if the coughing is keeping her from sleeping. This is why I suggested the op ask her doctor first before administering the meds.

I only use saline drops once a day, possibly twice when she was really stuffed up and wasnt sneezing at all. Usually first thing in the morning because that was when her nose was the worst.


Well now I'm a little confused and a little upset with myself. I wish I had gotten her in sooner. He said she has an ear infection and bronchitis. I was shocked. I had tons of both as a child and remember coughing so hard and crying constantly because my ear hurt. She mainly coughs at night and I have never noticed any problem with her ear. No pulling at it or anything. No temp! He gave her a breathing treatment right there in the office. Called in prescription for antibiotics and some steroids. He also wants us to go tomorrow for a chest xray, as a precaution to check for asthma. I am not sure how I feel about that. She seems so little for xrays and as a "precaution"... He is a really good dr and I trust his judgement but ... my baby having xrays scares me

From now on I will know to trust my instincts and get her in as soon as I feel it.

 

[deva]

Poor baby! When my kids have bad coughs at night I put vicks all over their feet and then put socks on them while they sleep. They stop coughing with 10 minutes, I swear. When someone told me about this, I was skeptical, but it really works. Hope she feels better soon.

I had always heard this and thought it was odd. Then the nurse from the ped's office told me to do it when DD 2 had a cough that just wouldn't quit! I'll admit I tried it. Not sure if it was the Vicks that helped or something else, but I'd probably do it again. I also use the triaminic strips for a cough. They melt right on the tongue and it is the same as a dose of cough syrup. Check with your doctor first since your daughter is young.

 

[pipersmom]

Thanks. I'm going to pick some up tomorrow. I think vicks helps but I do not like to put it on her. She is so little I'm afraid she will try to eat it, even tho the package says its save for babies. I've never heard of vapor plugs before....Thanks!


Well now I'm a little confused and a little upset with myself. I wish I had gotten her in sooner. He said she has an ear infection and bronchitis. I was shocked. I had tons of both as a child and remember coughing so hard and crying constantly because my ear hurt. She mainly coughs at night and I have never noticed any problem with her ear. No pulling at it or anything. No temp! He gave her a breathing treatment right there in the office. Called in prescription for antibiotics and some steroids. He also wants us to go tomorrow for a chest xray, as a precaution to check for asthma. I am not sure how I feel about that. She seems so little for xrays and as a "precaution"... He is a really good dr and I trust his judgement but ... my baby having xrays scares me

From now on I will know to trust my instincts and get her in as soon as I feel it.

I think most people have a tendency to absolutely trust their Drs, so please don't blame yourself, you did the right thing getting her in when you had doubts. Never be afraid to follow your instincts, you are always going to know YOUR child better than a Dr ever will! The other thing is that every baby/child reacts differently to being ill. DD rarely shows any "mood" type symptoms, even when she has pneumonia and is on oxygen! She is just a positive/happy child. Your baby could well be the same way.

Don't even stress about the x-rays, I understand it's a scary thing to a new mom, but if there is asthma or another issue, it's best to know now. More than likely it's nothing, and 99% of the x-ray techs we've come across (and we're talking prob over 100 here) are great and very understanding when it comes to babies and kids.

Hang in there!

 

[MommytoaSweetie]

Thanks. I'm going to pick some up tomorrow. I think vicks helps but I do not like to put it on her. She is so little I'm afraid she will try to eat it, even tho the package says its save for babies. I've never heard of vapor plugs before....Thanks!



I only use saline drops once a day, possibly twice when she was really stuffed up and wasnt sneezing at all. Usually first thing in the morning because that was when her nose was the worst.


Well now I'm a little confused and a little upset with myself. I wish I had gotten her in sooner. He said she has an ear infection and bronchitis. I was shocked. I had tons of both as a child and remember coughing so hard and crying constantly because my ear hurt. She mainly coughs at night and I have never noticed any problem with her ear. No pulling at it or anything. No temp! He gave her a breathing treatment right there in the office. Called in prescription for antibiotics and some steroids. He also wants us to go tomorrow for a chest xray, as a precaution to check for asthma. I am not sure how I feel about that. She seems so little for xrays and as a "precaution"... He is a really good dr and I trust his judgement but ... my baby having xrays scares me

From now on I will know to trust my instincts and get her in as soon as I feel it.

I'm glad you got some more help from the doctor! Don't feel bad about not knowing - sometimes you just CAN'T know! Both of our girls have been sick for the past two months, although I'm pretty certain that this is the first week since the beginning of October that coughs seem to be gone (poor DD2 is cutting teeth of course, but we certainly can't prevent that! ). Anyway, DD2 went from Chicken Pox (she is still too young for the vaccine) to a cold that wouldn't go away to finding out she had a double ear infection (we did NOT know and were taking both girls in for their coughs, but she got an antibiotic for the ear infections), to Hand, Foot, & Mouth Disease, to bronchiolitis and still uncleared ear infections (she went on a Nebulizer and a different antibiotic) to now finally clear. Her big sister caught the same cold after the chicken pox exposure (our whole family did) and ended up with pneumonia followed by bronchiolitis, too (she got an antibiotic and nebulizer treatments, too). Whew! We just thought they had bad colds until we finally took them in, but there was no way to know they'd get worse like that (DH and I both had bronchitis, too).

It may be helpful to know that this season is just REALLY bad for colds and illnesses!! Seriously, we have so many family friends who are constantly going into their doctors with new issues. And with kids, it just sucks because there ISN'T much you can do! It sounds like you're doing great, though!

We do the Baby Vicks on the chest, humidifier, boogie sucker (we only use saline if it's dry and we can't get the boogies out but they're affecting breathing), and one of those Waterless Vaporizer things (we use the Triaminic version because it's not a plug, it's just batteries so we can put it anywhere, but we can't find the pads for it easily so we use the PediaCare pads instead... be aware, though, those things EAT through AAA batteries! We stock up on them when they're on sale because it's totally worth it, though ). I hope you guys feel better soon! We're hoping to maybe be done with it all for a little while - ideally we're getting it out of our systems now so maybe we'll be feeling better for Christmas and holiday celebrations.

 

[mjkacmom]

My twins were diagnosed with RAD when they were babies, which is pretty much viral induced asthma. It went away for a couple of years, but it's back (I think they just had a couple of healthy years). It's not a problem - I give them breathing treatments when they get colds, or the inhaler, and my pediatrician gave me a prescription for orapred (steroids) to fill, and I just give them to the kids if they get really bad for a few days (steroids can really change their behavior, so it's a last resort, but they really work well). Hope she's feeling better soon!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Have you tried slanting the mattress to help with the drainage overnight?

When DS had colds we would put 1-2 blankets UNDER his mattress to raise his head up a bit. Seemed to work for us with the saline and booger sucker.