7 Month Old with a Cold

I used Johnson and Johnson vapor bath. Let the baby smell the vapors in the bathtub. That worked for my babies.

Hi M.,
i found that vapor rub makes a waterless vaporizer. You plug it in to the wall and put a little square that is soaked in vapor rub inside and it fills the room with the vapors, its doesn't make any noise, you just plug it in and the heat makes the vapors fill the room and worked great with my 9 month old. It has a light on it and it usually lasts for a day or so.
good luck, hope this helped!
S. K

My son is 10 months and I have used the infant vapor rub when he had a cold. I rub it on his feet and then put him in footed pajamas. It helps and he can't touch it with his hands.

Hello M.,

get the book: smart medicine for a healthier child
by: Janet Zand, Robert Rountree, and Rachel Walton

you can find it at sprouts, whole foods, etc. also amazon.com
but you probably should get it right away. that book will tell you about the conventional, herbal, homeopathic and accupressure treatments. it's such a wonderful book. I highly recommend it for all moms.

read up on aromatherapy and massage. peppermint, lavender oils are wonderful. note: oils MUST be diluted before applying. and I wouldn't apply directly to infants...

what I use for my kids:
on a paper towel 4 drops of each oil: peppermint, rosemary and basil. keep the paper towel in the room they're in. not too close to them to avoid headaches. I like using the paper towels because I can easily throw them away and no clean up =)

(rosemary and basil for cough and peppermint for stuffy nose)

lemon and clove oil kills bacteria in the air.
try not to use harsh chemicals for cleaning when she's around.

if you're breastfeeding, boost up your immunity and avoid milk.

My Doctor told me to use saline mist every chance you get this keeps his membrains from drying out and flushes out his sinus cavities and keep him hydrated with fluids. Good luck.

T.

We use Hyland's Homeopathic (Find at health food store's) and Eucalyptus Oil and Peppermint oil on there chest. They breath so much better and it's all natural so you have nothing to worry about just don't get it to close to there nose or eyes.

I have a 15 month old and she has had a few colds. I also use saline and a humidifier and I give her lots and lots of fluids. Sometimes an aspirator can irritate the nostrils even more than the cold, irritation makes them swell and it becomes even harder for them to breathe. I wish I had more advice but vitamins and fluids are the best things I know of, looking forward to seeing some of the other posts. Being a little more fond of natural remedies, I don't use the vapor rubs, I do place Melaleuca oil in her humidifier though. Best of luck to you.

Starting at 7 1/2 mos. my son got one cold after another. He was basically sick from October through Jan. It got so frustrating. The infant vapor rub is totally safe. We used that....it didn't seem to help at all. We also tried the Johnson's vapor bath and that didn't do anything either. The only thing that works is time. Keep using the humidifier and the saline/nasal aspirator and just watch her. If she is having a hard time catching her breath or coughing- nonproductively (nothing is clearing after she coughs) then call the Dr. to see if they want you to bring her in. I took my son in about every two weeks because his symptoms would change but it ended up just being a new cold. It was crazy. He isn't in daycare or anything so I have no idea how he kept catching so many colds. We didn't go to playgroups or anything. After about two mos. of colds, he ended up with ear infections so that may happen to your daughter. Just a heads up. Good luck and keep us posted. :)

Are you using a vaporizor that is heated? If so I strongly recommend using a cool mist vaporizor!! My daughters pedi. says that the heated ones cause bacteria to grow in the air, which makes sense. also try putting a thin coat of baby vicks on the bottom of the feet and then cover with their feet with socks. this will get rid of their cough and help them breath!! It is amazing how well it works, now anytime my daughter starts a caugh that wont stop or if she has congestion with it, I go straight to the vicks on the feet. It will cut out the cough within a minute.

As far as breathing treatments go you do not have to put the mask over her face. just let the stuff blow in front of her face and the more she cries the better it is. IT opens up her lungs when she cries to allow the medicine to get in there better. I had to do it with mine when they were her age.

I feel your pain! We are just getting over 3 weeks of a miserable cold in our 8 month old! After begging her pedi for some OTC remedy, they told me about the little noses decongestant drops-miracle workers! Dried her up & made eating/nursing possible. They were hard to find-went to 4 stores but they were not among the recalled drugs-just a challenge to find (we found them at a CVS). I had to call & specifically say I needed something like those in order to nurse her-normally the nurse just tells us they don't like to give OTC to kids under one year but when I begged she said that these were good & safe. Also I took her in bathroom for about 15 minutes a few times a day with the shower on hot & then I would suction her nose-that seemed to work better than saline drops for us. Good luck & I hope she feels better soon.

Not only is it safe, but also very effective. Another trick? Rub baby Viks on her feet at night and then cover with socks. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it seems to work.

all of the infant stuf is ok. just follow it up with pedialite to keep her hidrated! plus i bet she would appreciate pain reliever! she's prolly really uncomfortable

I have used the vaporub meant for babies for both my children and it has worked really well. They are now older and will actually ask for it. No complaints of burning like the regular kind does.

Becca

I am so sorry to hear that your little one has RSV. I am a pedi RN and have much experience with RSV. Make sure that you continue to use lots of saline and nasal aspirator. you probably noticed all of the mucus that she has. Just keep sucking it out esp before feeding. also continue to use the humidifier and vicks won't hurt either.good luck to you! hope you're all better soon!

M.- I have a 10 month old baby girl too and she has been dealing with colds/allergies since Dec! I am not into giving children/infants any cold medicine if I don't have to, but I have had luck using the plug in VICKS in her room rather than using a vaporizor/humidifier. My doctor said that since Hope has allergies, the mold issue from the moisture in the air and in the walls, etc. wasn't a good option. The plug in deal has a strong scent of menthol and makes it easier for her to breathe. I also use saline and an aspirator, although she fights me on that!

If she is so congested that she can't sleep, you will probably need to give her some antihistime. My doctor suggested it in this order (i.e. If Benedryl doesn't work, go to Dimetapp and so forth):

Children's Benedryl - 1/2t 2X day
Children's Dimetapp- 1/2t 2X day
Children's Claritin- 1/2t 1X day
Children's Zertec- 2.5 ml 1X day

Good luck!

A.

The vapor plug ins work well, too. We still use it for my 2yr old . . . I know how you feel, I remember how hard it was to decide whether or not to give my baby any OTC meds before he was one. His cold became so bad that he got a sinus infection (runs in the family) and he had to be put on an antibiotic. Not all meds are bad, if what you are trying doesn't work talk to your pediatrician about OTC meds before it gets too bad.

The vapor rub works amazing. Also a cool mist humidifier is much better. Use bottled or purified water to ensure the air quality for the baby and clean it every other day with hot water and some oil vinegar.

I also have a 7 mo. old little girl and the vapor rub works wonders. I also tried the vapor bath it works good too.

If you are nursing you can squirt breastmilk up her nose to help with the congestion.

put the vapor rub on her feet at night ( the bottoms) helps with her coughing as much. also, i used little noses and little colds... those seemed to be ok to use when i asked. and it helped ease the sniffles a bit, however, i'd only really use things at night to help sleep and rest( nap times) during the awake time i did nothing. unless there was a fever involved!

My son is 10 months old and he has been taking Robitussin DM (adult bottle) occasionally for a cold for past 4 months. That was recommended by his pediatrician. The dosage amount was the same as for Infant Tylenol (.8) so I always used the Tylenol dispensor when giving the medicine. You should ask your Dr about that medicine. My son seems to get colds a lot so when he gets one and is really congested in his lungs my Dr will prescribe Albuterol cough syrup. This last cold (with congestion in lungs) would not go away so my Dr. prescribed breathing treatments, plus an antihistamine (Allegra). I also use saline and aspirator to clean out nose and a cool mist humidifier. Elevating one end of the crib mattress also helps if your child doesn't switch positions in the night where the head is lower than the body (which mine did). Good luck. K.