Just a Cold?

Hi,

My daughter's are always getting coughs when their allergies act up and I have found one thing to get them some comfort so they can sleep at night. It's going to sound really hoacky and I saw it in an email. But rub a generous amount of vick vapor rub on their feet and put some socks on them before they go to sleep. It's really crazy, I don't know how it works but, it just does. good luck!

It may be just allergies! If she is not coughing up something or fevered, I would wait but keep a close eye on them!!

Bethany,
It sounds like you're doing everything right. Are you using saline when you bulb suction her nose? It's really important that you do b/c it will thin the secretions and you'll be able to get more out. Also, use about 5-10 drops in one nostril. Close off the other one and then put the bulb syringe in as far as you can. (I promise you will not hurt her) then suction. She is going to cry and be mad but you are blowing her nose for her. If you see a small amount of blood its okay-your nose is very vascular and sometimes it bleeds. Alot of times babies cough and sound really congested in their chest when it's really all in their nose. Is she eating okay? alot of times babies can't eat when their stuffed up. So, suction her out before you feed her. Is she acting happy? is she consolable? I would certainly keep doing what you're doing until monday unless she starts breathing really fast (more than 60 times a minute) or running fever. You can always take to Acute Kids. I've heard they're great. Good luck.
P.S. I'm a pedi RN :-}

When my 7 month old was sick a month ago...the nurse on call, on a Sunday, told me that unless her fever was above 101 or she was wheezing severely it was ok to wait until Monday. She did end of having RSV, but we got treatment starting Monday and she was well in a week. Unless she has more serious symptoms, I would just call your Ped. first thing in the morning.

Hi,

You have gotten plenty of advice already, But my doctor told me the other day when i carried my 4 month old in to get his shots since he was stuff and has a small cough that I could give him Robatussin, he said with all the hype out there about cold meds that that was was safe and just to give a very small amount less than a 1/8 teaspoonand to spray saline mist in his nose to flush it out. Some parents may just and say he is wrong but i let his rep speak for itself. Hope your little one feels better.
T

Well with my experiences, when my children had that it was usually teething, is she running any fever, cranky? since you are a SAHM she probably isn't exposed to that many illnesses.... sometimes it could be allergies too, try some saline nose spray and let it sit in there for about a minute then suck it out with the bulb syringe and push liquids, the cough could be the drainage from her nose.... good luck :)

Are you able to call and speak with an on call nurse on the weekends? You could run the symptoms by her. If she is not running a fever or anything, the doctor will just tell you to keep doing what you are doing. You are doing everything right! If she does have a fever, they might advise you to give her some infant's tylenol depending on the grade of the fever (they will ask you for her current weight and tell you the correct dose). Best wishes for a quick recovery!

Don't waste your money. Unless it seems like she is having trouble breathing between coughs, she will be fine until the doctor can see her.

Your Dr. should have a nurse on call. If it is the weekend and and I am unsure, I call the Dr. ( get the answering service) and receive a call very quickly from my Dr's nurse or an associates' nurse. This way I can tell them directly and they can ask whatever questions to make the best decision. This way if it can wait, they are expecting my call on Monday. Some Dr's schedule light on Monday to fit in those over the weekend developments.

They are saying now days not to give a baby cough medicine. Can you call your doctor or the doctor on duty and ask what else you can do. Do that first and they should advise you about what to do.

Unless the coughing sounds like she has congestion in her chest, I'd call the doctor Monday morning. There isn't much anyone can do for a cold except what you're doing. My ped. said he makes most of his money because of parents bringing in their kids in for coughs. I would definitely take her to the doctor though.

Does she have a temp? If not, it's probably just the start Allergies.

Also, on of the other Mamas posted about the color of the mucus. It's harder to go by that in infants as they do not get the snot out efficiently -- so green snot in babies and toddlers isn't always bad.

If she has a temp then I would take her to the doctor if she is not running a temp then I would probably wait until Monday.

God Bless Lady V.

Are you sure it's a cold? This is allergy season big time. When my son was little my pedi.told me if the mucus was clear, it was an allergy. If it is yellow or greenish, that is a sign that there is an infection. Does your doctor have an after hours number? You could call and see if they can recommend something for the cough. You can also elevate one end of her bed so it will help her drainage. I just used a couple of bricks under the head of our son's bed. I also do this with my bed. I know it is hard to let a little one go through a cold but it is the only way she will build up antibodies to it. You might try putting Vicks on her feet to help with the cold. If she isn't running a fever, she will probably be fine until Monday.Hang in there. M.

I would definitely wait it out. I doubt your doctor will even want to see her unless she has fever for more than 3 days. Good luck! It is hard just waiting and watching them suffer!

I'm sure you have by now made your decision but I just wanted to tell you as a mother of two I have plenty of experience here. I have a daughter Presley who is 4 yrs old and my son Nixon is 18 months old. My children are two different extremes when it comes to getting and being sick my daughter is blind(she was born that way) and she is often sick she is a normal healthy child but the reason why she is blind also affects the part of her brain that affects the pituitary and she must have growth hormone shots daily which in turns causes her to easily get sick, she has just always been the sickly child. My son though has really on been sick once and even then it wasn't that bad. He has never even really thrown up!

So my advise seeing as how I have had to adapt to both extremes is always call your pediatricians on call and see what the Nurse thinks. That is why they are there and trust me they don't mind you calling. I would NEVER take the chance of wasting $100 on a needless doctors visit. Give your child a chance to fight it off besides you don't want them to be out on antibiotics to often or they will get immune to them

I hope everything worked out and your sweet angel gets well soon. I have found sniffles and coughs are pretty typical and usually you get told to give them Tylenol or Motrin as needed, plenty of fluids and lots of TLC!

S. Ashcraft

Bethany,
I certainly hope your little one is better and I entrust her to GOD at this present moment and ask him to bring healing and recovery to her expeidiently. I have a granddaughter who is 2 months old and she had the same symptoms about 2 weeks ago and I would just cringe when I heard her cough. My daughter took all of the same precautions you did and finally she took her to the doctor and the response was it was just a cold and that she would fight her way through it and she did. She had called beforehand to see if they would give her something and they would not at her age. My daughter is also a stay at home mom mostly, she only works weekends and she has a son 19 months old. He and his father had the bug first then the baby got it then my daughter. They are all fine now.

Whenever I have taken my son to the doctor when he has been liek that, they tell me to wait it out and just do the things you are already doing. So don't spend the money. Then call the nurse on Monday and see what she says. If she is wheezing then it could be RSV, but if not they won't do anything for you.

I' haven't tried it myself, but several of my friends swear by this little cough remedy: rub Vicks Vapor Rub on the soles of your feet (your baby's feet), then put on socks before going to bed. From what I understand, it relieves the cough for hours.

i would wait unntil MOnday, unless she got worse overnight.I would like to ask u what if u don't mind what type of work do u do at home. I am on disability and I would love to do something at home. sincerely J.

Sounds just like me and my baby...but of course listen to your mother's intuition. Sometimes it helps to go the bathroom and turn the shower on hot and just sit in the bathroom breathing the warm steam. We also made a tent above the baby's bed and put the humidifier in there with him so he'd get more concentrated moisture. Another thing is letting your baby sleep in its carseat so its not laying flat on its back.