Sick Lil' Guy

A cold will last 7-10 days and usually starts clearing up at around 5 days. If he is still as miserable at that point, I would take him to the doctor. It could be a sinus infection. Hang in there!

J. G, I'd keep a close watch on him, allergies are horrible right now, and if it is allergies he could end up with an infection. If he has a temperature at any point, I'd take him in to see the doctor. Keep pushing the clear fluids as much as possible. It really does help. N. L.

J.-
Sorry to hear your son has been sick. We are going through the SAME thing right now too. Not that I can add a whole lot more to the responses already given, but I took my 1 year old son to the Dr. after about 6-7 days of runny nose, congestion, mild cough, etc. It turned out he DID have an ear infection, even though he wasn't crying when laid down or pulling at his ear. Some kids don't feel the ear infection right away due to all the drainage (relieves the pressure). So, I would say it is a good idea just to get him checked out for the ears. My son ended up having a sinus infection and ear infection. He was given an antibiotic and a sinus/cough medicine called Rondec DM (prescription) that seems to help. After 5 days he is finally starting to get better. I hope this helps and that your son gets better soon!!

It sounds like your little guy may have conjunctivitis (pink eye). It is where the cold virus gets in his eyes. If the whites of his eyes seem reddish/pinkish, if he seems to be rubbing his eyes more than usual (itching), and/or he has a yellowish/greenish goopy discharge, it is possible this is what he has. "Pink eye" can be viral or bacterial, but generally the doctor treats it as if it is bacterial and gives antibiotic drops or ointment for it. Probably best to have it checked out since it is pretty highly contagious. Hope he gets well soon! Good luck.

It sounds like a sinus infection. I am an allergy victim and my eyes have been red, puffy and watery and not to mention the nose running like a faucet. You can feel like death by Mac truck also. Unfortuanately it can be difficult to distinguish a cold from allergies. Allergies can be triggered by weather changes.
If the stuff coming out of his nose is clear then I wouldn't call the doctor. That is a sign thats its not an infection. You should do what you feel is best for your son.

J.
Sorry to hear about your little guy. I am in the health and wellness industry and I know that with all the new and old viruses out there we have to take extra precaution with our children. It may, and I don't know if you already are, be that your little guy may need some suupplementation. I would be more than happy to talk/help you with his issues. Please feel free to contact me.
S.

Sounds like you are doing all the right stuff. If the fever persists it could be bacterial, but generally it sounds viral ~ "has to run it's course". My twins just had the same thing...........it was pretty bad for 5 days then began to improve. My Doc says that day 4 or 5 is usually the peak, then it should improve in 3 or 4 more days. It is no fun for you or your child! Hang in there!

My son had some viral infection this summer that caused his eyes to water almost constantly. The doctor said it was an adenoid (sp?) virus... although perhaps your little one has allergies that are bothering him on top of the cold? Our entire house has been suffering from allergies that past week.

Sleep him at an angle - bouncy seats or car seats work great. This helps the stuff drain.

Hi J. I too feel so bad for your little son. I know he has to be misserable. I didn't read all the letters above but I always put the rub on my kids chest,back, and above all put it on the bottom of their feet and put socks on them. It always helped. Try it I hope it does the work. Good Luck
K.

I would probably take him to the doctor just as a precaution -they might be able to offer one or two other suggestions. But it sounds to me like you're doing everything you ought to be doing.

The pediatrician will tell you that "all the testing today indicates they're not really sure that decongestants are effective on kids." HOGWASH!! Both my kids respond very well to Sudafed.

My allergist once told me it's better to take "single medications" like "plain old sudafed" instead of the "cough and cold" multi-purpose products. That way you know exactly what you're giving the child and don't run the risk of o'ding on one of the ingredients. So it might be worthwhile to get "plain old sudafed" and "plain old benadryl" and see if those help. BUT talk to the pharmacist (and/or doctor - preferably even both) first!

For what it's worth...and good luck!

Have you tried Benedryl? It will help with the eyes. I have a daughter who has the same reactions to a cold, runny nose (like a faucet partially open), red and runny eyes, etc. the first few days of a cold. Benedryl is a blessing for her.

Hello,
You did not mention if he had a fever, if he does he needs to be seen by a doctor. If not then he has a bad head cold and it has to run its course. Everything else you are doing is just right. I just want to caution you that vapor is head and if there is any bacteria present it can make it worse since bacteria thrive in warm moist environments. So the humidifer by itself should be enough. Becareful using the rub that penetrates through the skin so be sure not to use very much. I hope this helps!

Sorry to hear your son is sick. My husband recently gave my mother and I the same cold. We have all had the same symptons. It also gives you a horrible headache, that could explain crying I to have felt like I want to cry but that would make my sinus worst. You should call the doctor if it makes you feel better, I always took my daughter when I was unsure. You never know if something else is going on, but she might say let it run it's course. If is not better soon though then I would take him. I hear this takes a few weeks to clear up. My husband had it for about 3 days before the fever hit and it only lasted for a day,It's been a week now and he's felling better back at work, just with a runny nose and occasional headache. We've been taking sinus medicine. Remember mommy kisses help alot. Best of luck to you and your family. I also want to tell you that you have the most difficult and admiral profession.

as crazy as it sounds it may be allergies. My daughter had a lot of the same symtoms and our doc prescribe claritan, well the generic which was only $4 at walmart. I would take him to the doc. Good luck!

Sadly there isn't much a Doctor can do for a cold but it sounds more like allergies to me.Just keep him comfortable and put lip chap under his nose to help keep it from getting dry and sore when he has the runny nose.Hopefully the discharge is clear by now.But a green or darker sinus discharge could be a sign of infection.Give him plenty of water and juice and anything he will eat.I don't know if they make baby antihistimines but you might want to at least call the Doctor and ask and maybe get something for the cough if it is bad or he has laboured breathing .
I'll pray for him.

Your post reminded me of my son's two-year-old pictures. He is all blotchy and pink, and he was strategically placed in order to hide the dried snot on his shirt. I wonder why they always get sick at picture time?

It sounds like your wee one has a cold. My son got, and still gets, all the symptoms you described, including the red eyes. Mine also gets a fever when he gets a cold.

The doctor will probably not do a thing unless he has it for more than a couple of weeks. My pediatrician said that the runny nose is the body's way of getting rid of viruses, so let it run and don't try to medicate him. We used to put a tiny bit of vaseline around his nostrils and did the humidifier thing. Dabbing a cool wash cloth on the eyes made him feel better too. When worse came to worse, I would sleep holding him in a recliner to keep his head upright.

One thing...my pediatrician warned me about dehydration. I guess when they can' breathe well, they won't take bottles or brest because they can't eat and breathe at the same time. So clear his nose out with the snot suking bulby thing as much as you can, and keep him drinking.

It is, unfortunately, the first of many miserable colds and this too shall pass. Good luck!

J. - I agree with Chris, you might want to take him in and have his eyes checked for pink eye or conjunctivitis. Unfortunately, if it is either of these; you will have to stay home b/c they are contagious. If he is having trouble sleeping at night b/c of congestion; one thing you can do is to prop the head end of his crib up so his nose drains out instead of down his throat. I doubt it is allergies (and you will probably never get a doctor to admit that it is anyway. I keep hearing from doctors that kids don't develop allergies until they are older). Other than that; use a lot of saline solution to keep his nasal passages moistened. GOOD LUCK!!!

Hey J.!
I am so sorry your little guy is sick!I know what it's like to feel helpless! My son is currently having his first cold and I feel so bad for him! Something that we tried was getting a couple of Crib wedges and stacking them on top of each other (I didn't think that one was high enough) underneath the sheet. Then, let him sleep on that in addition to the humidifier and vapor rub. That seemed to help him a lot! I did call his pediatrician and basically they said we could bring him in but, unless he needed antibiotics, there was nothing they could do! Good Luck!!

I would definately say take him to the doctor even if they do just tell you to let it run its course. You might feel better and maybe they can suggest something else that you haven't tried. I am not sure about the eye thing. That might just be from the cold and not feeling well. Is he teething?? It does sound a little like allergies. Cian woke up this morning with a very runny nose also, maybe since we are back at school it is something going around. It is hard to watch them when they don't feel good. You just want to do all you can...and sometimes it is just a matter of their body doing what it has to. Oh! When we went to the hospital and Cian had croupe the doctor said not to use the vapor rub. I am not sure why but I remember because we had used it and I was mad at myself. Let me know if it works for you. I hope he feels better. If you need to talk give me a call.
M.

Sorry - you didn't mention how old he is. I would talk to your doctor about allergies. My son only has allergies in the early fall - they don't bother him that much (he's 6 now) but if I don't put him on Claritin at the first sign he ends up with a secondary sinus infection from all the congestion. Allergies on their own shouldn't really cause a fever, but a secondary infection, sinus or ear, could. Was it a high fever or low-grade? Usually Doctors can tell a little by that - I think viral infections tend to spike higher fevers than bacterial ones that they can prescribe antibiotics for. My advice is that it wouldn't hurt to call the nurse line at the pediatrician's office and ask if they think they should see him or not, ours is usually pretty honest about whether they think it warrants an office visit or will give a time frame to call back if it doesn't improve.

Motrin, Really?? A doctor told us not to use motrin on our little one, due to the fact that it drops their temperature fast. It only takes care of the fever, nothing else. I didn't realize that until I already did it and wondered why she never even woke up to eat or drink anything. It scared me. He told us to stick with Tylenol or advil. Where tylenol and advil helps out with muscle aches and headaches and other pain. Plenty of fluids, especially water or pedilite works, don't give him anything that contains sugar, when your not feeling to well, sugar liquids or foods cause diarreaha. Sounds to me that your doing everything as your suppose to. When our little one had a really bad runny nose, we had taken the nose syring and kept her airways clear. No more mucus blocking the passage ways. As for red eyes, it could be because he's not getting enough sleep, headache, the bug is in his nasal passages for sure, and its effecting his eyes, if they become blocked with eye gunk, I would take him in, especially if its almost a yellow or green color, that's a sign of infection. Right now he's probably at the first stages of the nasty cold. Try to imagine yourself in his shoes, but at your age. Red puffy eyes, runny nose, coughing and sneezing, I'd say he's got a headache for sure. So you can imagaine, what you would do for yourself, maybe you can try for him (excluding the cold meds). Good Luck!!

If there is no fever, and he is not pulling at his ears and he is breathing OK, you are probably just experiencing a cold, and in little ones this can take a long time to clear up. You are doing a great job with him on what you are doing, and the clear fluids advice is right on, this will help him drain better and be more comfortable. Babies can also have a form of conjunctivitis with a cold, totaly viral and part of the whole picture, so unless this goes on for longer than a week, or he develops indications of a secondary infection, there is not much the doctor could do anyway. The thing the doctor will focus on is the acute onset, which suggests a cold and not allergies, not that this is always the case, but they will need a long history before they consider allergies.

If it makes you feel better to go to the doctor, by all means, make the appointment and go, You pay them! at the very least, you can quit worrying about it, and he will feel better when you are not worried too!

Good luck to you, and I hope he feels better soon!

Call the pediatrician, tell them what's going on and if he needs to be seen. They should be able to make the call. My pediatrician will tell me if I need to bring my kids into the office or not. They are honest and will tell me over the phone if I need to let it run it's course.

Not sure how you feel about it, but when my daughter gets a cold, which she does everytime she teeths, I give her Children's Benadryl. It dries her up, clears up any cough, and let's her get a little sleep too. Good luck! I wish you the best!

Our doctor says to put the vapor rub on the soles of their feet. It seems to help and keeps it away from any location near their mouths.

Hi J.,
So sorry to hear about your little guy not feeling well. We always use the humidifier, vapor rub and the sudafed plug-ins at night time. The plug-ins really seem to make a difference. Hope your son starts to feel better soon and best of luck!