2007, Issues 2
Educating, Connecting and Supporting families in Monash
Dealing with the Sniffles
Mandy Lawless, MCH Nurse
The cool damp weather has well and truly set in in Melbourne and we all know what comes with it - A seemingly endless series of coughs and colds. Blocked and streaming noses, temperatures and generally feeling miserable.
How much worse must it be for our babies and toddlers who need to nose breathe to feed well at the breast or bottle ! Often they become fussy at feed times or pull on and off to catch their breath.
The mucous in their noses often dries out overnight as the air temperature drops and this can make them feel more blocked up. And leads to restless, sleepless nights.
Thankfully there are some simple things we can do to make them more comfortable...
If you are breast feeding, a couple of drops of breast milk in each nostril before feeds and before bed at night will moisten the mucous and help them to sneeze it out.
Sterile saline solution eg. FESS or Narium Drops are a good alternative and can be bought over the counter at any Pharmacy. A nasal "aspirator" (rubber bulb type) can then be held at the opening of the nostril to extract the loosened mucous.
Overnight, a steam vaporizer can be very effective in preventing crusting of the mucous when the cold night air and central heating can be a problem. Current recommendations are that they should be used with water only in young children (especially babies under 12 months of age) ie. The use of eucalyptus/menthol type inhalants is not recommended and they pose a serious poisoning risk if ingested !
If a vaporizer is used, the door of the room should be left open and the vaporizer placed at least 2 metres from the cot / bed on a sturdy surface . The unit and cord must be well out of the child’s reach as the steam can cause serious burns.
If your little one has a fever or is miserable, a dose by weight of infant Paracetamol drops may be given according to the directions on the bottle . Do not repeat the dose sooner than 4 hours later, and do not give more than 4 doses in 24 hours. It is best to speak to your Pharmacist or Local Doctor before giving Ibuprofen containing products to young children eg. Nurofen.
Updated: 26 June 2007
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