The word "nasal bulb" makes the average person cringe. The word itself sounds yucky and it's equally disgusting to use. Just the sound of snot entering the "bulb" and then having to expel it onto your napkin of choice- GROSS!
Welcome to my health blog of the week! And, welcome to my pet peeve of kids with snotty noses!
Yesterday, I went home from work to find that Gage (our [as of today] 17 month old) has a runny nose. If there is one thing I despise, it is a runny nose. They seem to be uncontrollable and uncomfortable. Two things that my OCD nature cannot deal with.
Gage has (knock on tons of wood) never been to the doctor because of a sickness- a stat I would like to contribute to my vitamin intake, workouts, and eating habits while pregnant. He has had a few runny noses, all of which we control and eliminate at home.
This latest runny nose/congestion I'm fairly certain has to do with plenty of elements: going outside for a lengthy time on our ONE sunny day this week and being around TONS of snotty nosed kids in nursery at church.
Alas, we have the snot nose again and here's how we deal with it (again, without going to the doctor):
1- Fluids. I pump him full of as much water as he'll drink. Something I just found out today, and am glad I did, based off of webmd.com, giving children milk while they're congested does more harm than good. The milk actually harvests bacteria growth and makes the sickness linger longer. Good to know mama's! Also, clear liquids are best and adding some lemon and honey kicks out that mucus faster.
2- Steamy baths. Gage likes to take a bath anyways, but we try to make sure the room is kept extra extra warm when he's congested. The steam helps break up the blocked nasal passages. If you have a dry house, a vaporizer is also great to use. In our house, we don't have this problem- we actually have too much moisture and use a dehumidifier (which we turn down when Gage is sick).
3- Chest rub. MMMMM- this is the one thing I love to deal with during sickness. The smell of Vick's vapor rub is so yummy and it help keep those little nostrils open during the night.
4- Elevated head during sleep. Make sure that a pillow of some sort is added to the crib (if your child is old enough to sit up on their own). This keep the draining flowing down and not back into their heads.
5- Nasal Bulb. VOMIT! That nasty little thing actually works. It is a good gag reflex, but it works. We "suck" Gage's nose on a very regular basis while he's congested. He's too young to know how to blow his nose on his own, so- we have to get it OUT!
6- Benadryl. We did call the doctor the very first time that Gage had a runny nose. His response: "don't bring him in, give him Benadryl. It will do better than anything I can prescribe." We bought the bubble gum flavor (which Gage loves) and we give him the dosage given to us by our doctor (1/2 tsp. every 4 hours).
Lucky for us, Gage usually beats the cold using these methods in 3 days.
Of course, if your child develops a fever/extremily thick mucus or has trouble breathing, I would highly suggest NOT using the 6 methods and going ahead to the doctor's office...
We would like to never ever have to use the nasal bulb, but that's like saying we'd like to never change a poop diaper again. It's just not going to happen. So, we use these 6 steps and we beat the cold.
Here's to snotty noses,
Erica