6 1/2 month old is sick... suggestions?

Question

My daughter has her first cold. :( She is coughing, congested, has a runny nose off and on and has had a few fevers. Her doctor said to keep giving her tylenol and make sure she is getting enough fluids. Is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable or help the cold go away faster? OTC infant medicines? Do they make baby vapo rub? Any suggestions are welcome, thanks!

Answer 1

I would get a vaporizer on her, also there is vapor bath bubbles stuff by Johnson and Johnson. You put it in the tub and use it to wash her. It helps open her airways better than vapor rub alone. Also if you do the rub itself put it on a bib so it does not irritate her skin! I would do that after the vapor tub! Good luck hon!

One of your answers said to let the fever burn, DO NOT DO THAT! My son had a febrile siezure when I took someones advice to do that. They said it would burn off the virus that was making him ill.. but he ended up being rushed to the ER by ambulance because of a siezure.. Get the temp down! Do not take any chances! Learn from my mistakes! Don't put your baby at risk. I felt like the worst mom in the world! Please do not do that!

Answer 2

I am a mom of 2 (a 4 year old and an 8 month old) and I happen to be a pharmacist!!! to answer your question, there is nothing you can do to make a cold go away faster. But, you can make her more comfortable in the meantime. For her congestion, you can giver her pediacare (the orange box) and buy a humidifier and place it in her room, or take her into the bathroom after you let the hot shower head run for a while. the steam will loosen the congestion so you baby can breath. I used to do this with my child every night before bed when he had a cold. for the fever tylenol only at this age. good luck.

Answer 3

I use/used Baby Ayr for my kids' stuffy noses. Just lay her back and squirt a couple sprays into each nostril. Then use the "nose getter" (what we call it) :-) (a nasal aspirator), to suction out the drops and mucus. I didn't think it would work too well when my youngest (now 16 mos.) was a baby, but it surprised me how well it got the congestion out. It really helps her nurse better. I hope you are breastfeeding, it will help her as she'll be better able to fight stuff off. If the fever gets over 101, give her some tylenol. I've found that if the fever gets higher, say 102 to 104, motrin brings it down faster. and if it does, go to the doctor. my doc says alternate tylenol and motrin, but check with your doc for the exact time and dosage. the dose would depend on your baby's weight. Keep her drinking, either nursing or bottle, so she doesn't get de-hydrated, and lots of love and holding and rocking. i hope the sweetheart feels better soon!

Answer 4

Lots of answers here already - hope you don't get confused!
You should NOT use the adult VaporRub on a baby!!! It's either the menthol or the eucalyptus babies cannot handle! Vicks makes an excellent baby vaporrub!
The steam showers and bathtub suggestions are good - just a warm bath tub wouldn't be good if baby is having a fever at the time.
Elevate baby's head when she is sleeping - I just put a rolled up towel or a pillow under the mattress to lift up that end of the mattress. Don't put the pillow in the bed for her to lay on - only UNDER the mattress!!!
Otherwise the doctor is right - infants tylenol and lots of fluids (breastmilk or formula - feeding might take longer and may be necessary more often because she can't drink as fast or as much with that plugged nose; lukewarm tea, diluted fruit juice, water, etc.; my son loved the juice that collects in a watermelon when you scoop it out!) Well, and lots and lots of love. Now is the time to sit on the couch and cuddle!

Answer 5

Since you have already spoke to your doctor and he has told you to continue with the Tylenol, there are these neat little patches now so you don't have to put Vapo-rub on your baby and risk her rubbing it into her eyes. They are called Triaminic Vapor Patch and they are available in Menthol Scent and Cherry (my son likes the cherry and won't wear the menthol). You can stick this in the inside of her pajamas so you don't have to stick it to her skin. There is also a waterless vaporizer.. It is a little plug in unit that holds little pads that already have the mentholated oil in them and when plugged in, the low heat releases the vapors. These work great too. ...This is by Pedia Care. Both these items can be found in the cough and cold aisle.
If she isn't better within a few days though, do take her back to the doctor for a full check-up to see if she might need something stronger than Tylenol.

Answer 6

Your baby has a cold. Colds are caused by viruses. There is nothing a doctor can do to help your daughter fight off a cold virus faster, and there is nothing to treat the actual illness. So you don't need to take the baby in to the office unless some new symptoms develop--say, an ear infection, croup, pneumonia, etc. And you will know if those things are going on.

In the meantime, you can try to elevate your baby's head while she's sleeping. (Put the legs of her crib up on blocks, maybe.) You can run a cool mist humidifyer in her room. You can feed her chicken soup, if she's eating solids and has no allergy issues. Keep her hydrated. (People will tell you to offer her Pedialyte, but that stuff is nasty. My kids won't drink it. And my pediatrician says that water is fine except in serious cases of dehydration, when you can give Gatorade.) Fever is actually a good thing; it helps her body get rid of the virus. Our pediatrician says, as a rule of thumb, don't treat fevers under 102. (Unless your baby has a history of febrile seizures, like our oldest, in which case you should treat at the first sign of fever.) You can give her warm baths; the humidity will help clear her head and settle her down. If you're still nursing, the antibodies in your milk will be beneficial. Recent studies show that OTC cold medicines do very little to alleviate symptoms or shorten the duration of a cold. But if your baby is truly miserable, and is getting nauseated from all the dripping or can't sleep at night because she's coughing due to the drips, you can give her Benedryl to dry it up for a while.

This is when you should use that bulb aspirator the hospital sent you home with. You can get a commercial nasal spray, like Little Noses, or you can make your own by mixing 1/8 tsp of salt into one cup of warm water. Then use a medicine dropper to drip it into your baby's nose. And use the aspirator to suck all the mucous out. Gross, I know, but it really works. You get dramatic, immediate results, and the treatment lasts as long as any OTC meds, plus you can do it as often as you need to and there are no side effects.

Some people say you shouldn't use VapoRub on infants. I sometimes used a dab of Mentholatum under my kids' noses, though. And now you can get Vick's tablets that dissolve in the shower and sort of fog up the bathroom. That might help for a little bit.

That's about all you can do.

Answer 7

Colds usually last about 7-10 days. There is nothing to do really. I work at a pediatrics office we usually tell them to treat a fever for 3 days at home with Tylenol or if over 6mos Motrin. Nothing OTC if under 6 mos except saline drops. DO NOT use Vick's vapor patches. Kids were pulling them off eating them and getting very sick. If the coughing is keeping her up at night she may need to be seen sooner. Your doctor was right about pushing fluids and treating at home. I hope this helps.

Answer 8

Johnson and Johnson makes a wonderful Vapo-baby bath. You use that in place of regular baby bath, and it helps temporarily clear congestion in babies. I usually gave my baby her bath with it right before bed. Also, to ease her congestion, use a humidifier with liquid Vicks and put it next to her crib. My daughter's pediatrician also mentioned if you don't have a humidifier, you can go into your bathroom and shut the door, turn your shower on as hot as it can get and just sit on the floor with your baby. The steam from the hot water will also help clear her little nose. Tylenol makes a infant cough and cold medicine, so does Motrin, both of which worked wonders with my daughter. Formula and breast milk may actually bother your child's breathing with the congestion becasue it tends to coat the throat and esophagus. Try using some pedialyte. Gerber makes handy on-the-go packets called LiquiLytes. Just add the little packet of powder to 6 oz of water in a bottle and let her drink that. My daughter just turned 1 and last winter we battled alot of colds with her. This is all the info her pediatrician gave to me, and I hope it can also help you too. Good luck!

Answer 9

I feel for you! My two kiddies both have colds, too. (I have a three year old and a nine month old.) A couple of things that were recommended to me by my pediatrician-- Ocean Drops, which is a simple saline solution that comes in a drops bottle. You put a drop in each nostril, and then use a nasal aspirator to suck it back out. It helps clean out the sinuses and moisten, but has no medication. Also, "Little Noses", which also comes in a drops bottle. This actually has 1/8% Phenylephrine, which is a medication that actually shrinks the tissues in the nose to help you breathe. To be safe--ask your pediatrician before using it with your child. My pediatrician recommended it when my daughter was only about 2 1/2 months old and she had a bad cold. Other than that, there's Pediacare medications. The type and doses should be told to you by your doctor.

Answer 10

Since she's over 6 months in age now, you can actually give her Infants' Motrin as well. My sons' pediatrician recommended (when they had fevers) to alternate them. Tylenol, then 4 hours later Motrin, then 6 hours later more Tylenol. This always worked great for them at controlling a fever.

Buy her a cool mist humidifier to put in her room at night. You can also buy a mattress wedge to put under her crib mattress to prop her up to make it easier for her to breathe. You can also use saline nose drops to clear her nasal passages. Refrain from using a bulb syringe to clean her nose though. Unless the mucous is right on the very inside of her nose and you can actually see it, please don't stick a bulb syringe far back into her nose. The mucous membranes inside the nose are very, very sensitive and can be damaged easily.

Vicks does make a baby Vaporub, but I've never used it. Both my boys have sensitive skin, and I was always afraid to rub it on them! I have a Vicks vaporizer, and there's a place on top of it that you can insert this little pad that is saturated with Vaporub, so it blows it out in the air and they inhale it that way. The vaporizer wasn't expensive...the cheapest one at Wal Mart, actually--I believe it was about $20.00, and it works great!