5 month old with a bad cold.advice please.can i use cold meds? or vicks on babys feet?

[mumandlovingit]

hi,

i apologise in advance if i dont reply very quickly, ive got all 3 children at home today. my 5 month old is teething i think and has got a horrible cold.she's coughing and sneezing and not sleeping well.she cant breathe through her nose well or dose off with her dummy as she cant breathe through her nose well. ive tried baby vicks on her chest, ibuprofen and paracetamol at correct dosage and spaced out during the day.

shes now really grumpy and tired as am i.

can i give her some medised at the correct dose for her age? i know it isnt recommended for babies anymore but my other two had it when they were little nd it worked great to help them get some rest when all else failed.id only give a dose before bed so she can get a bit more sleep bless her.is it really unsafe now? i dont know alot about it and why its been changed to only older children.

someone said put baby vicks on her feet under socks at night.anyone used this? or have any idea why it would help?

i will rise the head end of her cot and see if that helps and use a bulb thing i bought to clear her nose before bed.

any help/advice i am really grateful for.she was up so many times last night and is so irritable bless her.

thank you in advance.

I find that a humidifier clears babies' noses like nothing else. Has been a life saver for ds (and me) who's had a cold for the past 6 weeks.

Totally unhelpful if you don't have or can't get one.... sorry

haven't got a humidifier.im trying keeping the heating a bit lower today so she doesn't get stuffy with being too hot.im going to put baby drops into hot water in a jug in her room too so that the air is moist and she can breathe easier.just hard seeing her struggle and upset bless her.

i cant remember what i was allowed to do with my other children a that age, they're 8 and 9 now so alot has changed since then that you're allowed and not allowed to do.

i dont want to do anything which puts her at risk of making her worse or having a bad reaction or anything.

Put some wet towles on your radiator they do the trick too and give her some luke warm fennel or/and thyme tea as it will help with the sore throat and the cough.

Oh bevor I forget: Baby drops including eucalyptus are far too strong for babies under 12 months. The only thing I would recommend is to cut one onion and put it in a sock or something similiar and put it next to her cot. Smells awfull but it will clear her nose!

use snufflebabe instead of vicks and if she is really bunged up ,use saline nasal drops.

thank you for your responses.i put wet towels on the raditor in her room and used snufflebabe.

the drops i used are from birth from boots.i also raised the head end of her cot a bit.she's still poorly but better than she was yesterday and the day before.

im using the saline drops before each feed s that she can take it properly, she wasnt taking it well before as she couldn't breathe.

thank you again

have you propped on end of the cot/moses basket/whatever up a little so that her head is higher than her feet. This should help her breathe when she's a bit stuffed up.