Ill after doing the suction on nasal aspirator

[Kes44]

With several young children snd through my job I have my fair share of exposure colds etc and very rare I now catch them, however a day or 2 after using one of those nasal aspirators on my congested baby (the sort the parent sucks on from one end ) I started coming down with a bad throat and now 4 days later am feeling quite ill. It’s the first time I’ve used one of these but did require a lot of fiddling about/putting the filter in and out (and no clear way to tell which way had put the filter the previous time after washing) has anyone else become ill after using one of these on their child? Btw -no one else in the family has caught baby’s cold

I think that if you were caring for a baby with a cold, you are exposed to the cold anyway. I don't think the nasal aspirator would make a big difference.

You’re missing the point that I’ve been exposed to my kids and DH colds and illnesses for years (plus current baby’s previous colds) and very rarely catch them or get ill, seems a fairly huge coincidence that just after using this device for the first time I get so ill

But it happens. All parents are exposed to the relentless never ending onslaught of kids’ colds but every now and then, you get hit by it. DH came down with a horrible cold caught from DC a few weeks ago which ended up needing antibiotics and he’s never been ill once in all the years I’ve known him. It just happens sometimes.

Yes it could have been the nasal aspirator giving you more exposure to it. Or it could have just happened anyway. I’ve used a nasal aspirator many times and never experienced what you’re experiencing now. So no one can answer your question and tell you that’s why you got ill.

It’s not unusual to catch a cold off a child you’re looking after.

It's just a coincidence.

I think you've just been lucky in the past. Colds are really contagious.

It is very unusual for me and rather strange to supposedly catch it via normal means at that phase of her cold, she was most ill with it well over a week ago but just had some lingering congestion and then surprisingly, I suddenly start getting symptoms 24-48 hours after using this device for the very first time

So never use it again then. What more is there to say.

They really aren't that complicated to use and it's unlikely that it's caused you to catch a cold anymore than spending time with a baby who's full of cold.

I used it for 18 months and never got more unwell after compared to usual. It will expose you, but you're exposed anyway holding the baby all day.

You know you’re not supposed to drink the aspirate, right?

You win internet of the day 🏅

yes for stupid comment of the year 🙄 certainly some nasty people on MN

Exactly this.

If you believe it made you unwell then why post on here about it? You have your own answer. Just don’t use it anymore.

Nobody has been nasty to you.

I think that maybe you thought you were immune to colds and flu, but you arent.
I think that using the snot sucking device is definitely going to expose you to your babies infection, but i think if its a bad cold, youd have probably caught it anyway.

You seem a bit pissed off about it.

Exactly ..op ,if you are determined that you are somehow superhuman and can’t catch a cold from your baby, then the alternative is that in sucking the aspirate you ended up inhaling some of the mucous.

Yes precisely why would anyone discuss anything with anyone, no less post on trolls nets. Forgive me for being in a baby bubble surrounded by kind reasonable people for the last few months, has given me a sharp reminder how nasty some people out in the real world are

I didn't miss anything. I just know that you would have been exposed by caring for the baby anyway, maybe you are just more tired caring for baby and couldn't fight this one off. Hope you feel better soon.

It happens, I’m a paeds nurse. 20 years experience in general paeds so plenty exposure to all sorts of bugs and germs, also have 4 kids of my own and many things brought home, youngest is asthmatic so gets every cold/cough etc going.

However, despite rarely getting anything usually I’m not invincible and the odd virus 🦠 sneaks upon me. Could be coincidence with the aspirator thing, sounds a bit gross I use suction at work but found the more you suction the more you produce and it can cause trauma so we use it when needed only. With gloves and mask on tbh. Never mind sucking it out yourself, likely why you’re ill and whatever is going about just now is pretty nasty.

Stop the suction, use saline nasal drops, nurse upright, so sleeping as upright as you can manage safely it does help. Feed little and often as they struggle to breathe and suck. Hope all are feeling better soon

I am “fairly” resistant to d&v bugs after years in the nhs, so could well be caring for someone and never get it but if I stood next them and took deep breaths after they’d had a d&v episode then I would be more likely to catch it as would get a higher viral load from airborne particles…..a nasal aspirator isn’t a closed, sterile system so technically you could inhale more particles then you may receive from normal sharing of airspace.. i think people are just making the point that when you care for a baby you are going to get the double whammy of both air transmitted droplets and contact transmission.