How to Treat Nasal Congestion in Infants

Infant nasal congestion is more than an irritation to the baby. It can keep her up at night, fussy. It can prevent proper nursing or bottle feeding because she can’t breathe out of her nose.

There are many reasons, health being one, that parents want to instantly cure infant nasal congestion. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to help the condition.

Although more serious cases cannot be entirely fixed, you can always improve the situation.

 

Things You’ll Need

• Nasal aspirator
• Saline drops
• Vaporizer
• Pillow

 

5 Steps to Treat Nasal Congestion in Infants

 

1. Wait until right before bed.

Or right before your baby is ready to feed before you begin any treatment. Sometimes the suction that takes place can irritate the nose even more, causing worse congestion. It’s best to wait until you absolutely must before treating.

 

2. Squirt a couple drops of saline in your baby’s nostrils.

Of course, only do one at a time to lessen the shock. You can buy these over the counter at any drug store. They work to thin out the thick mucus so it can easily drip out the nose or down the throat.

 

3. Use a nasal aspirator, given to you at the hospital.

These are bulbous suction devices. Squeeze the bulb, place it in front of a nostril and let go. The suction should take much of the nasal congestion and many of the nasal drops out of the nose.

 

4. Raise your infant’s crib at the head a few inches.

Of course, if your baby moves around a lot when he sleeps, this isn’t the best option because his head might end up below his feet, defeating the purpose of elevation. A pillow can be placed under the crib mattress to elevate it.

 

5. Run a vaporizer in her room each night.

This actually does wonders for infant nasal congestion. Humidifiers work as well, and they are much quieter. If you have a humidifier, don’t bother buying a vaporizer.

 

 

You Might Also Like : How to Use a Nasal Aspirator on a Newborn

 

Check out the video version of this article on YouTube

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaPp–kB_DU