My 8 week old has horrible congestion ONLY at night time. Only in his throat and nose, no running nose or phlegm ever comes out. It causes him to cough and sometimes he can't catch his breath. He sleeps swaddled bassinet now so his head is up and I use Vicks cold mist humidifier every night. Does anyone know why and how would acid reflux cause this?
During day he sleeps at an incline too. He got put on zantac two weeks ago for acid reflux and thats when congestion started. The gripe water helps only for a little bit. Seems like his reflux improved (to the extent he is not screaming all day) but he is still throwing up and has trouble eating.
Can you add how/where he sleeps during the day? Is that different from how and where he sleeps at night (how meaning laying down vs. at an incline vs. sitting up)?
Our son slept in his carseat for the first 3 months or so (due to reflux). it made a huge difference. He was all nice and cozy and very happy.
Not sure, but I do know that newborns can sound congested regularly because they have such small nasal passages. Could it be that laying down narrows them more for your lo?
Zantac makes his reflux less acidic so that it doesn't hurt. It doesn't stop the stuff from coming up from his stomach. And when he lies down - even on an incline - the stomach contents come clear up his throat and into his nose. That is the how and why reflux causes it.
Hopefully you've read up a lot on reflux, but things to help are:
-stay verticle for at least 20 minutes after every feeding
-never lie flat on his back, the more of an incline you can put him at, the better
-no large meals, a rule of thumb is half as much twice as often. So if he wants to eat 4 ounces every 4 hours, then feed him 2 ounces every 2 hours (or if you are nursing 20 min every 4 hours, nurse for 10 min on one side every 2 hours, using a different side at every feeding)
My DD's pediatrician had us incline her sleeping area by putting lifts under two legs of the crib when she suffered from reflux as an infant. It turned out to be easier to let her sleep in her bouncy seat.
Her explanation was that with reflux, sometimes the contents in her stomach would back up her throat, past the mucous that protects the airways. The acidity of it would irritate the tissues and cause irritation, which would make baby congested.
Try asking his pedi about reflux medication, if it doesn't get better or gets worse. Gripe water before bed often helped my DD's reflux when it was mild.
ETA: ask your pediatrician about the possibility of GERD.
What's the temperature in his room at night?
The meds from the doc should have the reflux controlled. If it's not the doc needs to give the baby a different med.
Sleep the baby in a bouncy seat all the time. It really helps. Once they start turning over all the time then it's time to move them to the flat mattress.
The drainage runs down into the stomach and that may be making the tummy upset. The reflux could just be mucus.
Don't know though. The tests they do for the swallow test always shows the areas of the esophagus not closing right and the stuff coming up it too.
