my baby finds it hard to sleep at nights due to blocked nose. any suggestions on what to do to help her?

Question

The gp did not suggest much other than a steamy room or fresh air. Unfortunately I've been trying both of these for a while now but they don't seem to work

Answer 1

You can buy Saline drops from the chemist that help to unblock the nose. Karvel is very good too, but the best thing that somebody advised me to do is raise the head end of your babies crib/cot with a couple of books (or whatever you have to hand) and this helps to keep the nose unblocked. It worked a treat with my son. I used 2 videos to raise his crib.

Answer 2

My Daughter Also Found It Hard To Sleep With A Blocked Nose Etc. My Gp Suggesed I Either Put A Pillow Under Her Mattress On Tne Cot To Prop Her Up A Bit Or Let Her Sleep In Her Car Seat For A Few Nites So She Wasnt Lying Down. It Worked For Me.

Answer 3

If you're in the UK, pop down to your chemist and pick up some Karvol. It's drops that go on the pillow and they have menthol in them to help decongest babies and toddlers snuffly noses.
Make sure you use an old pillowcase though as it's quite oily and can stain.

Apart from that, there's an Olbas thing that goes in babies room and lets out the stuff that clears noses. (It works kind of like the Glad air fresheners with the fan in?)

Also, have a look on mothercare.com or babiesrus.co.uk as you can buy "feet" that go at the end of babies cot/cot bed to raise the head end to aid problems sleeping caused by congestion. I got these to work with the above two mentioned products and it worked. They only slightly raise the bed and are very solid and stable so it's perfectly safe to do.

These did the trick for my three month old baby last week. He's much better now though and doesn't need them as much.

Answer 4

Hello I 've had 4 kids and found that this works:

have a shower holding your baby, stay in for a while, the steam etc can help unblock her airways and you'll be right in the shower rather than just in a steamy room.

Buy an electric humidifier - about £30 but will be useful in years to come

If baby is over 3 months, use olbas oil (available from Boots, supermarkets etc) in an oil burner.

try to cut down on dairy products other than baby milk - or perferably your milk - as too much yoghurt, custard etc can block the nose more

hope that helps!

Answer 5

Keep a humidifier on in her room at all times, use Little Noses Saline spray and suction her nose every night before bed. Be sure that her room is free of dust and other allergens (like room sprays or cleaning supply odors, or potted plants). Buy a wedge cushion the raises one end of the mattresss. Be careful trying to raise her with anything not meant for a baby's crib, because of suffocation risk. These things should help. Also, give her a warm bath before bed. If you bathe her in a baby bath tub, turn your own shower on at the same time and let the steam fill the room while you're bathing her.

Answer 6

I bought a device that actually sucks the....errr.....snot out. You put one end up their nose and the other in your mouth and suck!! Don't worry there is a removable filter to stop you eating anything you shouldn't! Works more effectively and far more quickly than any of the vapour rubs do when the nose is very blocked in my opinion and you can use it from an early age. I actually used ours last night as my five month old daughter has a really bad cold. Once you have cleared the airways then the vapour rubs work more efficiently. She was breathing easy and fast asleep moments later. If you are in the UK you can get them from Sainsbrurys for £6.99.

Answer 7

I have 2 suggestions: (1) Consider putting him to sleep on his stomach - ask the GP (2) Get him checked for sleep apnea and then get an nCPAP for him. A monitor will only monitor this and not treat so make sure if he has sleep apnea he gets an nCPAP (nasal Continous Positive Airway Pressure). Regarding the SIDS prevention Back to Sleep statistics they are misleading, overstated, and not even applicable to 99% of infants. Best of Luck.

http://cgi.thescientificworld.co.uk/cgi-bin/processHtml.pl?Id=2005.03.71.html&format=Dreamweaver

http://www.chestjournal.org/cgi/content/full/116/1/10

Answer 8

Health visitor suggested to me that you put a pillow underneath the mattress at the head end, this should raise the upper part of the body above the lower part and so help breathing (matress will be slightly at an angle. Obviously still place your baby at the bottom of the bed.

Answer 9

Buy some karvol and sprinkle it over a muslin square or cloth and put it next to your baby's cot but out of reach because it can irritate if it gets in the eyes. Wonderful stuff :)

Answer 10

Besides a humidifier which you said you've been trying, what about using saline drops in her nose and suctioning her nose before bedtime and rubbing Vick's Baby Vapor Rub on her chest. Good luck!