What can I do for an infant cold?

Question

My 8 month old daughter woke up this morning with a croup cough and a raspy voice. She has had a runny nose for a few days, but the doctor said it was from her flu shot she recieved about a week ago. She is very irratable and cries mamama and wont even eat an entire bottle. Well I called the doctor today and she was out of town for the holiday, but another doctor told me to just let it ride and it'll go away soon enough. But she is miserable. I gave her tylenol for her fever, I fed her applesause to soothe the sore throat I imagine she has and I rubbed vapor rub on her back this morning and just recently I did also. I don't know what else to do for her. She can't sleep. The tylenol and applesause didn't help. I feel terrible and I just want to make her feel better. Any ideas that have worked for you? Please Help.
Thank you.

Answer 1

You could try a cool mist humidifier to comfort the croupy cough. You may also want to purchase some saline drops to put in her nose and make sure you are sucking the nose out as well. 8 month olds are not able to blow their noses (unfortunately) so you will have to use a suction to do so. Just try to make her as comfortable as possible. Make sure she is getting plenty of fluids as well...maybe try some apple juice. You want to watch for signs of breathing problems if it does get too bad: flaring of the nostrils, heavy breathing in the abdomen and a bluish tint around the mouth...if any of these signs should appear you need to take her to the ER. Most likely this is just a cold and her immune system should fight it as necessary but just keep these tips in mind...good luck!

Answer 2

Personally, I don't think these products should ever have been made available without a prescription. Infant cold remedies containing decongestants and antihistamines haven't even been proven to work for a cold. Actually, antihistamines can make the cold worse by drying up secretions and preventing them from draining, resulting in a sinus infection or ear infection. A cold is a virus which has to run it's course. It is much safer and more effective to use a humidifier, saline drops in the baby's nose and an aspirator rather than using oral medication. Cough suppressants probably work, but should only be used under the supervision of a physician just in case the baby has an infection which requires an antibiotic. This is usually the case when the cough is waking the baby up at night. Regular Infant Tylenol and Motrin/Advil have not been pulled from the market, only the ones containing cold medicines. Also, it was the manufacturers of the products who voluntarily pulled them from the market to protect themselves from future lawsuits. The FDA did not require them to do it.

Answer 3

My baby just had her first cold a while back poor little girl. I propped up her mattress a bit with a phone book. Even co slept becasue she was having problems with sleep and breathing a bit. She would wake up coughing in the middle of the night and it scared her. When I took her to the ped. she told me there is nothing she can give her. Just to let it run it course. Told me what to watch for. If things got worse she could do a breathing treatment which they didn't get worse. I used the baby vapor rub, a cool mist hum., and gave her a little calomile (sp) tea. Try putting baby in a boucer when you take a warm shower for the steam. Also use the saline spray. And make sure it doesn't turn into croup. Call the ped. if things don't get better soon for her.

Answer 4

If she really has a croupy cough you need to speak with the doctor again, because pertussis is potentially serious and you want to rule it out.

If it is "just " a cold, then the only things you can really are:

treat the fever/aches with infant tylenol or infant motrin (speak with your pedi about proper dosage)
try using a cool mist humidifier in her room
try saline drops/spray for her nose
steam up the bathroom and sit with her in there for a bit
fluids, fluids, fluids, fluids, fluids
lots of tender loving care

There isn't any kind of cold or cough medication you can give her at this age, it's just the old mom's "tricks," and time.

One word of advice: most viral infections will go away in 7-10 days, and if it lasts longer go in to see the pedi regardless of what s/he says *now*. If a virus persists it's increasingly likely that your daughter will develop a bacterial infection secondarily -- that's because the warmth and wetness is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. My daughter developed a middle ear infection as a secondary infection a few weeks back, when she had a virus -- a course of amoxycillin knocked it out.

In the meantime, regardless of what the pedi says, if it sounds like pertussis and/or if there are any indications that your daughter's breathing is labored, call the doctor again or take her in.

Answer 5

Colds are common with flu shots. Its a virus and no one can give her anything to make it go away. Her body will fight it off on its own.

If you want to help with the cough and the runny nose use some regular nasal saline solution, squirt (not spray) it in her nose, suck it out with an aspirator a few times a day. It will shrink the swollen tissue, slow down mucus production, and stop the post nasal drip- effectively flushing the cold out.

I know you feel miserable, but so long as the tylenol brings the fever down and she has no rash, and can breathe, she's fine.

Answer 6

my daughter just went through the same thing but she is much older {22 months} anyway, they have pulled all the cold meds off the shelves here and so i took her to the doc cuz her cold seemed to never go away... it went away and came back off and on for three weeks and i couldnt take it any more.. they told me to change her to a liquid diet like yogurt, applesauce, pudding, etc.. and they said to stay away from juices cuz of the acid hurting her throat. switch to pedialyte to help prevent dehydration.. but keep feeding the formula or breastmilk... try putting a book or two under the end of her mattress where her head is to help her sleep at an elevated angle, this will help the mucus drain out rather than staying in her nose. I know they hate to have their noses suctioned but you need to do it over and over... if the mucus has color that is a sign of infection and when you get it out she gets better. get a warm water humidifier preferebly one that you can add vicks vapor steam to... {ask the pharmasist if you dont know what im talkin about} another thing that will help is by setting her in the bathroom while you are in the shower... make sure she is safe like in a playpen or something and shower with the door closed... the steam from your shower will help break up the mucus in her nose and after your finished with your shower you can suction all that junk out of there. im sorry she doesnt feel well and i know how horrible it must be for you to see her in this sort of pain. i hope you get this taken care of.. i would still make her an appointment as soon as you can but im sure they will tell you the same things that i have just said.. good luck

Answer 7

1st never use vapor rub on babies it causes phnemonias, i found that out from my doc when my son was a baby, 2nd get some saline drops for the nose. 3rd rotate tylenol and motrin, it breaks the fever faster, 4th do not lay her on her back have her in a sitting position to breath.5th take her in the bath room turn on the shower on hot and let her breath in the steam for 15 minutes 4 times a day. 6th get some pedia lite or gatoraide she needs electrologhts. i learned all of these tips while my daughter was in childrens hospital with an upper respitory infection when she was 2 months old now i livew by them.

Answer 8

Feed the child starve a cold.I gave my son Tylenol cough and congestion and it knocked the cold right out of his system, but they took it off the shelf! I rub vapor rub on his back. I always give him a warm bath.And feed him lots, so that he would have enough on his stomach for the cough medication to take effect.

Answer 9

My daughter just recently had a little cold. I used Simply Saline nasal spral and that blue suction thing you get from the hospital to clean her nose out. She would only sleep while I was holding her, so she slept on my chest on her tummy, which I know about SIDS and back to sleep, but it was the only way she would sleep and not be choking on her phlem.

Answer 10

they normally say just let it run its course. but try a warm bath, or taking her out into the cold air, it sometimes helps [expecially if it is the croup], umm if it really bad ask your dr to perscribe a cold medicine (since they took them off the shelves) if shes not eating get those cartoon suckers for sore throats that are inriched with vitamins so shes atleast getting something, or they make juices(like pedialyte) in like kid friendly bottles with cartoons on them, just so shes getting something if shes not enjoying soilds.

good luck!!