Why do babies hate having their noses wiped???

Question

I have a 6 1/2 month old with a cold and he will wail and flail and swat at me when trying to get the junk out of his nose. And I use a nice warm wipe, no napkin or paper towel or anything.

Answer 1

It is actually a very natural reaction- one which drives my husband crazy! I couldn't make him understand until I did an experiment with him. I waited until he was distracted when working on his laptop computer sitting on the couch. Walked up to him from the front, reached out with a tissue, and wiped HIS nose. His reaction was just as unhappy and loud as the baby's (with some added words)! The point is, it is uncomfortable for most people to A) have someone invade their personal space like that, especially when not expecting it, which babies are often distracted by other things even when you try to prepare them for it, and B) you can't breathe when someone is pinching your nose- we know enough to switch to mouth breathing, but even so the initial surprise can startle you, which can equal fear in a baby. The baby crying and flailing is just his way of telling you "Hey, I don't like this!" My husband had a few other choice words! Don't worry, the baby will get better as he learns to communicate more verbally.

Answer 2

My little guy hates getting his hat and coat on! I placed his hat on the different day to decide for a walk and he cried for 10 minutes!My son become interior the NICU too so I made up for the hugs while he finally have been given out! Im instructed in many situations too that he's spoilt yet I didnt have a toddler to overlook him, I had him to smash him!

Answer 3

Just might be irritating to him, try doing something to distract him like wave in the air his favorite toy in one hand and have him look at it while you quickly wipe his nose.

Answer 4

its actually quite simple , honestly there is a medical reason for this and once i let you know you will say to yourself oh my god ,, of course..
babies actually breathe via there noses and if you block the airway they get upset(as we wood if someone covered your mouth)the reason why babies breathe mostly through their nose is also quite simple, babies have a natural instinct to breast feed and obviously you can not eat and breathe at the same time via your mouth, so they are classed as nasal breathers,,
hope this helps
x

Answer 5

hey ^^^ thats a great answer. My son hates it too, but here's a little tip: hurry up, and anticipate what way he's gonna move his head, and put the wipe there, so that he runs into it. That's what I have to do.

Answer 6

bz babies skin are too soft and that they get iritated if u bath them or wipe thier nose etc u better get him medicines where the cold goes away when he goes toilet
and more over babies breath through their nose...so if u block the nose naturally it iritates them

feel free to ask me anything about your baby.......

Answer 7

That is just a baby thing ,all babys are like that Im 42 and never met one yet that likes it good luck .

Answer 8

its probably cause they arent aware that they have a problem and that stuff is coming out of their nose... and then when you start to whipe them you already know they are going to freak out so you get the back of their head with one and and with the other cover their breathing area.. maybe i dont know

Answer 9

Would you want someone shoving a tissue in your face and wiping with pressure?

Answer 10

because they don't know what wiping their nose really is. to them it's just you going to their face with a foreign object....