4 Month Old Congested at Night

Updated on March 10, 2009
J.M. asks from Ronkonkoma, NY
13 answers

hello again ladies,
my 4 month old has been having issues the past few nights with congestion....she goes to bed but wakes up shortly after all congested, can't breathe and then is very difficult to get back down. She already sleeps on an incline...not sure what to do-she is going to the dr. in another week for her 4 month well visit. She is totally fine all day, this is only at night...anyone have any insight to what it might be from? Thanks!

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D.

answers from New York on

I have a waterless vaporizer that I plug in when my kids get sick. It's made by Pediacare and it has eukalyptis pads you slide in. It works like a glade plug in thingy. They work great and help my kids sleep all night long.

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K.Z.

answers from New York on

I would also suggest the humidifier, but you may also ask your pediatrician to check for reflux. Some children get reflux when they lay flat for long periods of time, and this may be happening to your little girl. The reflux is easily disguised as congestion. Just a thought, and something to check with your doctor.

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S.G.

answers from Rochester on

I'd suggest a humidifier, and using saline mist in her nose (and sucking it out with the nose bulb). Hopefully it will make a huge difference.

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G.T.

answers from Rochester on

It sounds like her room may be dry. Put a humidifier in her room and see if that helps. This kind of thing is very common in the winter when the heat is on and the child is put in a closed room for a few hours (like at night). Usually a simple humidifier helps tremendously!

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J.B.

answers from New York on

Hi J.,

Sorry to hear about your little one's congestion which appears to be only at night. Perhaps rubbing the chest with a little Vicks Vaporub and using a vaporizer might be of some help. Some children are allergic to things in the bedroom - toys, carpets, blankets, stuffed toys, etc., - and this could also be causing a problem. At her age, I don't think she would be using a pillow yet, but it shouldn't be a down pillow in any case. I might suggest you move some of the irritants (toys, stuffed toys, etc.) to another part of the room away from the child for a while and see what happens. I would try the Vicks and the vaporizer (sometimes the cold one is better) though while she is sleeping. If it continues a couple of days more, I would definitely get her in to see the doctor a little sooner if you can. Doctors will only listen to what you are telling them, and in a panic you might be forgetting things.

Good luck,
J.

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T.N.

answers from New York on

Hello~
I'm not sure what the cause might be - perhaps just a cold - but before she goes to bed I would suggest sitting with her in the bathroom with the door closed and running the shower for about 10 mins to get a good steam going. This will help break up some of the congestion so she can sleep better.

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L.W.

answers from New York on

You should get a second opinion from a eye ear and nose doctor because she might have sleep apnea and needs her tonsils and adnods removed. My 4 year old had the surgery a couple of years ago and you would never know something was wrong with him. After the surgery we stayed in the hospital for about two days and had no complications after when we returned home. I highly suggest this surgery especially if you read about sleep apnea on the web.

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D.S.

answers from New York on

HI. Sorry to hear abt your daughter. what you can do is put a humidifier in the room where she sleeps and put some vicks dropos (ther sell it at any pharmacy drug store) in it and run it at night . turn it on a little before she goes to bed. also they have baby vicks vapo rub that you use on her chest at night. then when you give her a bath Johnson and Johnson has vapo bath (one cap full per baby tub full) i use that every night with my daughter since she was young. HTH :-)

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R.O.

answers from New York on

Not much you can do medically. But, follow some of the other suggestions, aspirators (nose suckers), humidifier or vaporizer. Or, you can put some vicks on her chest at night. Something my wife & I did with our 2 girls, now 3 & 6, is let them sleep in the car seat. This keeps them sitting up and making it easier to breathe than laying down.
And you can keep it nearby in case of any problems during the night.

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M.L.

answers from New York on

Try a humidifier in her room while she is sleeping and you may want to try and clean her nose out with saline drops before putting her to bed. Good luck.

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D.B.

answers from New York on

Have you tried a humidifier? Possibly a warm-air one? - Otherwise, there are some products - bulb aspirators and saline nose drops, etc that may help.

Good luck and take care!

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S.V.

answers from New York on

My now one year old had that for months. It was from teething. It started at 4 months even though he didn't get his first teeth till 6 1/2 months. He would drool excessively during the day from the teething and when he slept it backdriped. I would sometimes have him sleep on me to keep him elevated to help open him up. I would give him teething tablets and camilla homeopathic remedies and put baby eucalyptus oil mixed with olive oil on his chest--this all helped, but there were definitely some rough nights. As long as his mucus is clear, it is probably teething. Good luck!

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C.O.

answers from New York on

Hi !
Sorry that your little one is having this difficulty. Maybe she is allergic to something in the room?
Maybe it is a post nasal drip?
My little one (now 7) used to have terrible night's sleep - well, she was tired all of the time and would get croup attacks (scarier than anything in the world). Turned out that when she was 3 - had her adenoids out and I must say - what a difference. Sleeping normal hours, not tired all of the time at all! The sad thing is that I didn't even know how bad she was sleeping, except for the fact that she always wanted to sleep - until the surgery and I saw her sleeping normally.
Definitely check out any stuffed animals in the room and maybe the detergent you are using?
I wish you well,
Celia

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