Tips for Treating Babies First Cold

When your baby's goo goo ga ga turns into an ah-choo many parents panic. And by many parents, I mean me. I am always fighting the cold war. Knowing that babies and kids can get up to 8 colds or viral infections a year I am always in battle mode.

I have actually been accused of having the baby in a bubble. My common phrases include, “please wash your hands before touching her… or coming within 15 feet of her”. “If you have a cold stay home.” “Don’t touch her hands.” “Can you hold your breath while you are around her?” But alas, the common cold is well, too common. Try as though we might, it’s impossible to keep your baby away from germs forever. Eventually, your precious bundle is going to catch a cold as mine did.

When your baby does catch a cold, it’s not time to bring out the white flag and surrender. This is actually the time to keep up the good fight. Here are a few tips on caring for your baby when they get a cold.

• The car seat is useful for many reasons. Ensure the car seat is in a secure place and allow the baby to sleep there. Keeping the baby elevated will help empty out the mucus in their nose.
• Keep the air moist in the infant's room. This will help keep the mucus in the baby's nose runny. Otherwise, the mucus will dry up and be stuck in the infant's nostrils. To keep the humidity in a room high, run a humidifier during the night.
• Drain the infant's nostrils with a nasal aspirator.
• Give the baby a warm bath. This will help regulate their breathing. You can even have the baby in your bathroom as you take a shower. The steam will assist the baby’s breathing.
• Continue to nurse often if you are breastfeeding. You will pass on your immunities to the baby as well as keep their fluid intake high.
• Permit the baby to sleep often. Extra naps will help speed up the healing process.

Generally speaking you can treat the common cold yourself. However, you may need to bring in reinforcements if you notice the following symptoms:

• Your child develops a cough that becomes productive or wheezy
• Your child’s nasal discharge becomes thick and greenish-yellow in color
• Your child begins to tug at his ear
• Your child's fevers lasts more than a few days or his temperature spikes suddenly

 
Call your doctor and schedule a sick visit right away if you notice these symptoms. They may indicate that a secondary infection is present that needs to be treated with medication.