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have you been wondering how to help your
child get rid of the runny nose nasal
congestion and cough
sometimes it can seem like they're
coming down with one upper respiratory
infection after
another especially when they start being
around more kids
in this video i'm going to focus on the
best ways to help your child clear
the runny nose congestion and cough and
i'll end by talking about the symptoms
that indicate your child should be seen
by a healthcare provider
the most common illnesses that toddlers
and children experience
are upper respiratory infections also
known as the common cold
more than 200 different viruses are
known to cause the symptoms of upper
respiratory infections
but rhinovirus is the most common the
child's immune system
is well equipped to take care of the
viral infections themselves
but there are things you can do to help
with the runny nose nasal congestion
and cough first i want to mention the
common symptoms that are typically
present
with an upper respiratory infection most
of them will involve the child having a
runny nose nasal congestion and cough
the following symptoms are also common
sneezing
sore throat fever decreased appetite
decrease in activity level
and increased fussiness some children
will also experience muscle aches and
headaches
after the onset symptoms typically
become worse the first two to three days
and then they usually start to improve
initially the mucus starts off
transparent thin
and runny within the next several days
it can become thicker and change
to a white yellow or green color the
mucous changing to one of these colors
does not automatically indicate that the
child now has a bacterial infection
as the mucus thickens less drips out of
the nose
and more drips down the back of the
throat around this time
the cough tends to worsen a lot of
parents become concerned about the cough
but in most situations when it's
associated with an upper respiratory
tract infection
the cough is actually the body's natural
mechanism
for protecting the lungs when the mucus
moves from the nose down the back of the
throat
the child will cough to prevent it from
going into the airways and lungs
and gets the mucus to move into the
digestive tract instead
on average upper respiratory infection
symptoms will last around 7
to 10 days although for some children
the symptoms may last
longer since children aren't the best at
blowing the nose or spitting out the
mucus
that collects on the back of the throat
here are some things that you can do
to help treat the runny nose nasal
congestion and cough
in the first several days of an upper
respiratory infection
when the mucus is thin and runny you may
use nasal saline spray or drops
to help keep the mucus from becoming too
thick and to clean out your child's nose
a great time to do it is whenever the
child sounds congested
during bath time or in the evening about
an hour before bedtime
if you're using saline spray put two to
four sprays into each nasal opening
while your child is sitting up and has
the head in a neutral position
if you're using sailing drops i find
that pushing on the bottle
to make a stream of saline flow into the
nose is more effective
than just putting in several drops at a
time since the nose is connected to the
throat
some of the mucus will run down the back
of the throat creating a postnasal drip
as the mucus in the nose gets thicker
the mucus that coats the back of the
throat becomes thicker
this can make the cough worse and wet
sounding
since toddlers and young children aren't
able to expectorate or spit out the
mucus
that's in the throat doing nasal flushes
can help loosen it up
by pushing the nasal saline drops into
the nose as a stream
or doing multiple sprays in a row will
help to physically flush mucus out of
the nose
and some of the mucus that's coating the
back of the throat
for children four years and older i find
the neomed sinus rinse for kids is very
effective
in clearing out mucus it's a small
squeeze bottle
that comes with pre-measured packets of
sodium chloride
after mixing it with water as stated in
the instructions
the child will need to stand in front of
a sink and bend the head forward
it's best to have the mouth open when
doing the saline rinse to decrease the
feeling of pressure on the eardrums
place the cap opening over one nostril
and
gently squeeze the bottle this will
cause saline solution
and mucus to flow out of the opposite
nasal passage
after squeezing half of the saline
solution into one side of the nose
switch to the other side and do the same
some
children will start to cough more after
the
nasal saline flushes this is normal when
the mucus loosens up
some will run down the back of the
throat the child will cough as a
protective mechanism
to prevent the mucus from going into the
lungs and will cause it to move into the
digestive tract instead
another thing that will help clear the
nasal congestion and cough
is teaching your child to blow the nose
typically after two years of age
children can start to grasp the concept
of learning to blow the nose
it's a gradual stepwise learning process
and takes patience
but here's how you can train your child
to do it first
start off by holding a tissue in front
of your face
and demonstrate how you blow with your
mouth to make the tissue move
then give your child the opportunity to
blow on their tissue with the mouth
and make it move next hold your tissue
in front
but slightly away from your nose and
while you have your mouth
closed blow air out of the nose at the
tissue to make it move
then hold your child's tissue near their
nose and have them try to make it move
by blowing air out of their nose keep
demonstrating and giving your child
opportunities to practice
once your child starts to grasp the
concept transition to holding the tissue
over the nose and have them blow
directly into it
as the mucus becomes thicker using nasal
saline to loosen it up
is very helpful and will make it easier
for your child to blow it out
for children who are too young to blow
their nose using a nasal suction is
helpful to clear the mucus
in my video titled how to treat runny
nose
nasal congestion and cough in babies i
go over
several options of how to do nasal
suctioning it's linked up here
if you'd like to check it out now let's
talk about how to treat the cough
with an upper respiratory illness one of
the more bothersome symptoms
to the baby and parents is the cough and
of course
cough is usually worse at night when the
child is laying down
more mucus drips down the back of the
throat and
triggers coughing episodes by doing
things to remove mucus
from the nose through the use of nasal
saline and having the child blowing it
out
will result in less mucus dripping down
the back of the throat
keeping your child well hydrated during
the time of illness
will also help to keep the mucus from
becoming too thick
there are a lot of chemical cough and
cold medications sold over the counter
however they are not recommended for
children under six years of age
studies have consistently shown that
they are not more effective at
decreasing cough or cold symptoms
compared to not doing any treatments
and there have been serious side effects
in children as a result of them
however honey has been shown to be
effective at decreasing cough
especially nighttime cough by coating
the back of the throat
it decreases irritation and helps
alleviate post nasal drip
in a study children one to five years of
age who received up to two teaspoons of
honey
30 minutes before bedtime had less cough
and better sleep than those who received
an over-the-counter cough medication or
those who didn't get any treatment
studies that looked at giving different
types of honey to children
showed that they all worked just as
effectively to decrease cough
honey is not recommended to be given to
children under one year of age due to
botulism risk
however a study showed a decrease in
cough in babies two months and older
who were given either three or four
milliliters of agave nectar syrup
30 minutes before bedtime compared to
babies who didn't get anything
another home remedy that has been shown
to be effective in decreasing nighttime
cough and congestion
and improved sleep was the use of a
vapor or chest rub
it can be placed on the child's chest
neck back or the bottom of the feet
now let's talk about symptoms that are
indicators you should have your child
evaluated by a healthcare provider
anytime children look like they're
having respiratory distress
they need to be evaluated promptly signs
of respiratory distress
include rapid breathing and in younger
children you will see their belly going
up and down as they breathe rapidly
other concerning symptoms include noisy
breathing or making wheezing sounds as
they breathe
children should be seen if their fever
is not improving with appropriate doses
of fever reducing medicine or if fever
continues for five days or longer
other concerning symptoms include the
child's cough continuing to worsen
or cough lasting longer than two weeks
as uncomfortable as it is when your
child is sick
remember that this is the way that your
child develops immunity towards
infections
and the process is helping to strengthen
their immune system
by doing the things that i mentioned you
will be able to alleviate runny nose
nasal congestion
and cough and help your child get over
them quicker
see you in the next video