Conference moira::parenting

    Hi Jeanne,
    
    Have you tried a product call " Save the Baby it's like a Vicks rub but
    is made for babies.  My aunt picked it up for me you have to order it.
    They don't keep it in stock it's an old item. But most drug stores will
    be happy to order it for you.  My son is 4 months old and had a real
    bad cough we put just a little bit on his chest and it worked great the
    cough broke up.  They say to only apply it at night and keep him
    dressed warmly.  Has anyone else tried this product?  The pedi said not
    to treat the virus but we did everything you did.  But this seem to
    work the best.  Good luck.
    
    Tina

    You may also find some information in the following notes, all of which
    deal with respiratory diseases:
    
    310
    347
    349
    
    Laura
    co-mod
    

    
    I've found that giving a bath (a nice warm one, in a nice warm room),
    really helps to clear little heads out.  It doesn't last, but it does
    give some relief.
    
    Jamd

    I used to take Vick's and rub it on a cloth and put it under the crib
    sheet.  It was very effective for the congestion - use lightly so it
    doesn't irritate.
    
    -sandy
    

    
    You didn't mention if he is on any medication for this cold...?
    My pedi highly recommends Pedicare Cough Formula, and I've found it to
    really help, especially at night before bedtime.
    
    Good Luck, 
    
    Chris
    (who is thrilled and AMAZED that its actually been over a MONTH since
     we've had a virus/flu in our house!! Now watch, we'll all be sick next 
     week because I wrote that!!  :-)
    
    

    
    
    Nicholas has had a cold on and off since Christmas.  I give him
    Tylenol plus Cold about 45 min. before he goes to bed and it seems
    to help his congestion and help him sleep.
    
    I've used the cool mist humidifier and it doesn't seem to help
    him at all.
    
    When I was younger, my parents used a humidifier and put some
    type of liquid Vick's in it and that use to really help congestion
    but it was not a cool mist but more on the warm side.  I wonder
    if this is recommended these days?
    
    Good luck (hope you're getting some sleep1! :))
    
    chris

    Jeanne,  Has your pedi suggested any type of medication to help clear
    up his congestion.  My pedi highly reccommends the orange Triaminic and
    it really works well when Alex has a stuffed up head and the yellow is
    good for coughs with congestion.  I also run a warm mist vaporizor with
    vicks in it at night to help him breath better, and like you I prop the
    head of his bed up to help him breath too.  Alex has a tendensy to get
    very congested when he gets a cold since he had phnomeiua(sp) last
    January.  I have not heard of the "baby rub" that one of the other
    replys mentioned, I just use regular vicks and rub a small amount of
    Alex's chest and put a small amount under his nose to help him breath
    better.
    
    Hope Ryan is feeling better soon.
    
    
    Liz

    Liz,
    
    Chelsea has a full blown out cold and very flemmy sounding cough.  I
    have done most of the things you mentioned in your note.  She is taking
    the Triaminic DM (Purple) and it really doesn't seem to be doing
    anything for her...like breaking up the flem.  I have a call into the
    doctor this morning to find out if there is something else I can give
    her.  Her nose does seem to be drying up some...thanks to 1,000 nose
    sucks a day...poor little thing is so red and chapped...put some
    neosporin on it and that really helped.
    
    About the Vicks...using it on their chest and nose...how old do they
    have to be?  Chelsea is almost 9 months old.  Seems like this would
    really help her breath and feel good on her chest.  I am using it
    in the hot mist humidifier/alternating with the cold mist...I'll try
    anything!
    
    To top it off she has her first ear infection and just started the
    antiobiotics on Friday.  Her cough was so bad she gagged on her cereal
    and threw up the medicine.
    
    After doing three all nighters I'm getting sick and feel like I need
    to crawl under a rock and have a good cry....I know there is light at
    the end of the tunnel....just wish it would hurry up and give us a
    little relief!
    
    ..Lori

    Lori,
    
    I know it is hard and belive me since Alex was born (3 years ago) he
    has had every kind of sickness a child can get.  I think he was about a
    year old when I started to use the vicks on him.  9 months is still
    kinda young to give any over the counter medications to.  We also give
    Alex regular Robotuson(sp) if you read the back label where it says
    dosages it will tell you approx how much to give at 9 months I figure
    you should be giving her about 1/4 teaspoon about every 4 hours.  Know
    I am not a doctor so you might want to check with  your pedi first.
    
    I hope Chelsea is better soon,  I know when Alex had phenomia(sp) last
    January he was really sick and almost ended up in the hospital.  But we
    finally got him stabelized and got to keep him at home.
    
    Good luck.
    
    Liz

	Lori,

	Emily had the same thing starting just a week before Chelsea.
	In fact, I almost replied to your note in the "teething" topic
	that it sounded just like Emily's symptoms before being diagnosed
	with infections in both ears.

	The doctor we saw (on vacation) recommended Triaminic, and told
	me to choose the type based on her symptoms.  I ended up with
	Triaminicol, which seems to treat the cough and the cold.  I started
	her on antibiotics at 1:00 last Monday, along with the Triaminicol,
	and she slept right through the night (after being up three times
	the night before).  Maybe you want to ask your pedi if the Triaminicol
	is ok ?

	Karen

    Lori,
    
    My daughter, Hilary, is 8.5 months, and we recently went through the
    same thing.  Our pedi prescribed Ventolin, which is the drug my hubby
    uses in his inhaler for asthma.  It helps open her airway.  Poor thing,
    after eating a big meal, she would get some phlegm in her throat and
    throw up the whole thing.  So, we'd start from scratch, very slowly. 
    We only used it for 3 days or so and she stopped wheezing.  This may be
    another option for you to discuss with the doc.  
    
    Last week we had 6 prescriptions going for my 2 kids and myself, Dad is
    fine.  Now we are down to 1.  That's progress.
    
    Good luck, spring will be here soon.
    Julie

    Thanks for all your replies.
    
    Chelsea slept thru the night!!  YEAH!!!
    
    Called the Doc yesterday and got a prescription to break of the phlegm
    and also some ear drops for pain.  You could almost see the immediate
    relief she got from both medicines.  Her cough actually sounds worse,
    but I think this is a good sign of everything breaking up.  She was
    able to eat a little more cereal last night without gagging on every
    other spoonful.  I could tell she was feeling better cuz she wasn't
    clingy at all, laughing and playing all over the place.
    
    I think we are on the road to recovery, but I don't want to get my
    hope to high yet.  All I know that one nights sleep for Mom does more
    good then I can even tell you.  I'll check the name of the cough
    medicine tonight and let you know what was prescribed.
    
    ..Lori

    Seems like all the May babies got it at the same time (think they're 
    on the phone planning or something?) 
    Charlotte (9months old today!) is just getting over her 10 day cold
    with the double ear infection. And all this when I went to Denver on
    training! (Yes, Carol, I was at the Springs on Friday, checked by
    your desk but you were NOT in 8-( )
    So,
    Humidifier: yes (all winter long for the dryness)
    decongestant: triminic for infants. she didn't mind taking it and it 
    		  helped.
    pain/fever: baby tylenol drops. Didn't mind those either - effective
    infection: antibiotics - HATED the banana flavour. My mother discovered
                  that if you warm the dosage spoon in a little warm water
                  to bring it up to room temp, it went down better. But
                  a lot of it ended up in the strangest places as a result
                  of her squirming!
    bed elevation: N/A since Charlotte is a moving target in her sleep.
                   Will cause hysterical laughter with the positions we
                   find her in. In 10 minutes she could change from
    		   squished up again the head board to on her back at the
    		   bottom (head side down). I give up.
    
    She's almost over this cold now, we check in with the doc for a shot
    tomorrow, so we can have her opinion. Little bit of congestion left.
    
    Wishing the other babies health,
    Monica

    Monica,
    
    Yes, yes, it MUST be the 9 month mark that is causing these colds. 
    Sarah is just starting to get over a bad one (which she has graciously
    passed along to mom and dad, who are now passing it along to everyone
    they work with...).  What confused me at first is that she had her 9
    month check up on the 2nd and got her Hep B shot and the next day was
    really out of it.  She started with a runny nose, not eating/drinking
    alot, irritable and a slight fever.  Gave her Tylenol but it didn't
    help and by Thursday night she had an elevated fever and wasn't
    sleeping at all.  Of course, on top of all of this she was teething
    through a new tooth.  We've had her on Tylenol and Dimetapp, per pedi's
    instructions, but thankfully, by Sunday the fever was down and only the
    cough and runny nose remained.  Her cough didn't sound too good
    yesterday so I took her to the pedi who says her cough is fine but, oh
    yes, she does have a slight ear infection.
    
    We've also had the humidifier running almost all winter and her crib
    mattress elevated.  Sarah does the same thing in her sleep and I never
    know where I'm going to find her.
    
    I think it's time to buy stock in the pharmaceutical companies that
    make amoxicillin and bactrim.  I could be rich!
    
    Hope all the colds clear up quickly.
    
    Susan

    I think most kids get awful colds in their first year.  My oldest was a
    late June baby and had the worst first winter.  Part of the problem we
    discovered later was the furnace in our old apartment spewed out ash
    thru the vents.  Tiny particles that were breathed into the respiratory
    system.  The next summer we moved to a house with radiator heat and not
    only did my June baby have one cold that year, but the April baby had
    only one cold his first winter.
    
    I was an at home mom at the time, so there was no exposure to a bunch
    of "daycare" germs.
    
    
    -sandy

    
    Thanks for all the replies.  It looks like we have alot
    of colds out there.
    
    I took Ryan to see the Pedi and she gave him Bromfed
    cough syrup.  It worked great and he was well by the
    weekend.  Unfortunatly, I caught his cold and being
    pregnant did not help the situation.   This is my
    first day back to work.
    
    Jeanne
    

    	Another thing to keep in mind when the little ones have the colds:


    	Spencer is not a fussy eater at all *unless* he is under the
    weather and then it becomes time for us to be very creative when
    feeding him. (In fact he is such a good eater that we know he is not
    feeling well if he starts refusing food). We have been known to try 3
    or 4 foods in order to get enough calories in him when he is sick. 

    	The rule in our house is that whatever he can get down is fine with
    us (even if that does include 100's of cookies) we can worry about
    proper nutrition later.

    				Wendy

    I remember those awful sleepless nights.  I also rememer making one of
    those "desperate mother calls" to the pedi after several sleepless
    nights.  We had been using dimetap (actually the generic drugstore
    brand that is a whole lot less $$) but still we only got 4 or more like
    it 3-3-1/2 hours of sleep.  I asked my pedi if there wasn't something
    out there that wold give us ALL more than 4 hours at a stretch.  She
    prescribed something called "Rynitan", it's a very thick purple (could
    be blueberry flavor) liquid, it's good for 12 hours, and IMO just short
    of a miracle!  I would give it to him at 7p.m. and 7a.m. which made him
    feel good enough to sleep at night, and good enough to be human at the
    sitters.  We still keep a bottle on the shelf, but have had fairly good
    luck as he gets older, with Pediacare chewables, the pedi "Nyquil"
    formula, still use dimetap and benedryl (the cheaper drugstore brands).
    IMO, all of these work about the same.
    
    Lately we have tried to give him the decongestant about a half hour
    before his meals, so that his nose will be relatively clear to eat.  My
    pedi has just recently told me that it is OK to use Duration spray, BUT
    ONLY TWICE a day, and no longer than 5 days at a stretch.
    
    lyn

    Since this is the "colds" topic, my 11 week old baby has had a cold for
    over a week.  She sounds congested but she doesn't have a runny nose
    and seems to be eating just fine for the most part.  She has 
    had a fever of 99.5 - 100 for over a week.  
    Is it unusual for the congestion not to drain?
    I've tried an aspirator bulb (she hates it) and saline spray (it makes
    her laugh).
    Of course since this is my first, I am imagining the worse.  She
    doesn't seem to be getting any better.
    
    I have the head of the crib elevated and a cool air humidifier is in
    her room.  The doctor said that at her age there is nothing that can
    be given to her.  
    
    Is there anything I can do to aid in the draining of the congestion?
    
    Comments, assurances welcome!  ;^)
    
    Nancy

    Nancy,
    
    Sounds like your doing all that can be done.  Kyle (8 mo) has had a
    cold for over 3 weeks now, I've been told that a week isn't all that
    long for a cold to last.  What does the dr say about the fever though? 
    I never tried the saline drops/spray but that's what our dr suggested
    for congestion.  And yes, he hates the aspirator too!  As it turned
    out, I took him to the dr a few days ago since this was going on so
    long.  He has a very mild ear infection in one ear so we were given our
    first bottle of the pink stuff which should help with both the ear
    infection and the cold.  The antibiotic isn't recommended for just a
    cold though.  (not by my dr anyway.)  This is only his second cold and
    he's never been overly congested, always had a runny nose so can't help
    with the congestion part.  
    
    Dr also suggested Pedi-Care, it's a decongestant.  11 weeks might be
    young for this though.  And, we also found that he's knocked out by the
    stuff after about 20 mins from when he takes it.  However, that only
    lasts for about 2 hours, then he's pretty wired!  For us, this is not a
    good bedtime medicine!  We spent a few nights up at midnight with him
    before we realized that it was the medication that was causing this.
    
    If she's eating good and not too cranky I wouldn't be overly concerned. 
    I would question the dr on the fever though even though it's not very
    high.  
    
    Hope she's feeling better soon!  
    Jean
    

Nancy,

My 12 week old daughter also had a cold. We did the same things you mentioned.
Our doctor told us to use the Ocean Drops(saline spray) and well as the 
Pedicare decongestant. We only used half a dropper because of her age/weight. They base the amount to use on weight - 12 
We also elevated her crib mattress. 

It has been almost 3 weeks now since she got her cold. She sounds real good
during the day but you can hear that she is still a bit congested at night. She is also eating well. We stopped the 
just using the nasal aspirator now. My daughter **really** hates the aspirator
and the saline drops. I am also a first time mom so I was surprised how long the
cold seem to linger on. But our doctor told us that this would probably last
a few weeks.

The one thing I did differently is that I have a hot air humidier. I got it as
a gift and I did not realize that there was cool air humidifers also.

Does anyone know which one is better for a cold and why? Most people I have
talked to have cool air humidifiers.

Rose




--------------------------------------------------------------------
Rosemary Chabot                        Digital Equipment Corporation
[email protected]                        Multivendor Customer Service
(508) 841-6088                                Applied Research Group

    
    Since my 16 m o son had a cold most of his first year and is usually
    congested, we asked his pediatrician what the best humidifier is to
    use.  He said whatever one you have at home.  In his opinion the most
    important things were to keep the room moist and keep the humidifier
    clean. We happened to have an ultrasonic humidifier (cool) already so have
    continued to use that. 
    
    Kathy

    Well, the last reply was a year ago, but I have a question...
    
    In one of my catalogs there is a vaporizer that doesn't use steam
    to deliver the vapor.  It has special menthol and eucalyptus oil pads
    that go in it to create the vapor to help ease stuffy noses and
    congestion.  Has anyone tried something like this?  I'm trying to
    decide if I should buy one of these and keep using the humidifier/air
    cleaner for Aaron's next cold or just buy a warm air humidifier and use
    something like Vic's vapor rub.  I'll try anything that helps make him
    more comfortable.  I'm just kind of concerned about using a warm mist
    humidifier because of the posibility of it scalding him (I was scalded
    when I was little person by the hot vics in a vaporizer, I put my hand
    in it!).
    
    Has anyone tried this kind of vaporizer (one that doens't use water)?
    
    sandy                                                                

    I haven't used this vaporizer, but I think I have seen it in the
    Right-Start Catalog? Its shaped like a dragon?
    
    We have been using a regular humidifier, and it seems to work.
    Nicholas woke up w/a runny nose this am, so I think tonight I am going
    to have to run the humidifier.
    
    AmL

    I think it's in both the Right Start and One Step Ahead.  It's not
    shaped like a dragon, it doesn't use any water at all, which is why
    it's appealing to me (no hot steam to burn him if he manages to touch
    it).  When he had his cold there were nights I felt that adding
    medication to the air (like vics vapor rub or the menthol eucalyptus
    oils on the pads that go in this vaporizer) would benefit Aaron.  If
    this doesn't work as well as the good old fashioned steam vaporizer
    then I would prefer paying $14 for that as opposed to $39 plus $5 for
    the "no-water" vaporizer and extra pads!
    
    It looks like it's a new product.
    
    sandy

    I don't know anything about this vaporizer, but I did have a brief
    discussion with our pediatrician about using things like eucalyptus
    with my daughters.  His opinion was that it wasn't a good idea to use
    them with young children.  He said that there have been some
    preliminary studies of seizures in young children when using vics type
    products.  I don't know any more detail about it -- but will ask him at
    our next checkup.

    Wow, that's good to know.  I'm taking Aaron in for an ear check on
    Friday, I'll ask her about it also.
    
    Thanks!!
    
    sandy

    My pediatrician told me not to use Vics or any other vaporub (like
    mentholatum) in the humidifier.  He said that it can cause seizures
    and even death if a child should swallow any of it. I can't remember
    now what the particular ingredient is but it might have been
    eucalyptus.  Lila
    

    A Bionaire humidifier that is used in my grandaughter's room has a
    small insert under the vent.  I think some manufacturers call them
    medicine cups.  
    
    Eucalyptus does help stuffy noses....but, we use very little.  I bought
    a tiny bottle in the health food store (aromatherapy) and we put a few
    drops in the cup.   That's all you need; it seems to alleviate her 
    discomfort and I don't believe that would be harmful.
    
    Lorraine

    
    I'm sensitive to smells.  Eucaluyptus is one that goes right up my
    nostrils, gives me a headache, and generally drives me crazy until I
    can get away from it.  I guess you just never know what or how people
    can be effected by things.
    
    Kathy

    I took Aaron to have his ears checked this morning, he still has a very
    small amount of fluid in his ears, but it isn't worth using more
    antibiotics right now (I agree, I would prefer using a little
    medication as possible).  I also asked about the Vic's vapor rub.  His
    pediatrician said that there is alcohol in vics so it's unwise to smear
    it on our children (since the skin will absorb the toxin), though a
    very small amount may be used.  She also said that using just a little
    in a vaporizer is fine, just don't use very much.
    
    She also reminded me that it just treats the symptoms and they'll
    return until the cold has run it's course (which I realize, it's just
    that when Aaron wakes up so stuffy I feel that he needs help through 
    the night).  So I think I'll buy an inexpensive warm mist humidifier
    and use a little of the vics when Aaron has his next cold.  I'll keep
    it on his dresser (which is across the room from his crib) and leave
    the door open just a tad so the vapor won't be too overbearing.
    
    In the meantime I'll keep using the cool mist humidifier/air cleaner.
    
    sandy