How to Treat Your Baby's Cold

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By 1wahm
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Treat Your Baby's Cold

Having an infant with a cold can be a miserable and stressful experience. Fortunately, there are several things that you can do at home to help your baby feel better.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Saline nasal drops
Humidifier
Bulb suction
Rectal thermometer

Step 1

First, give no meds. The FDA has recently changed its guidelines to include no over the counter cough and cold medicines for children under 4 years of age. This is especially true for infants. These medicines are ineffective and dangerous. The company that makes Vicks VapoRub recently advised that their product not be used on children under 2 and never under a child's nose. The good news is that homecare is even better than medication.
Step 2

For nasal congestion it is generally considered safe to use saline nasal drops and bulb suction. Saline and suction will go a long way in helping your baby to sleep and breathe better. For smaller infants you will want to put just one drop of saline in each nostril and then suction it out. This will keep your baby from choking on the saline. You can repeat if you need to and do this several times daily. It helps to use saline and suction before breastfeeding or bottles and before bedtime.
Step 3

Use a humidifier in the room your baby sleeps in. Dry air irritates nasal passages and makes congestion worse. It can also aggravate a cough. A humidifier keeps moisture in the air. Make sure that you change the filter in your humidifier on a regular basis.
Step 4

Let your baby sleep elevated. You can do this by letting your baby sleep in a carrier or swing. You can also put something under one end of your baby's crib to make one side higher. Never put anything in the crib with your baby or underneath your baby to elevate him. Any item in your baby's crib puts him at a higher risk for SIDS. You can also sleep in a recliner with your baby propped on your chest.