6mo baby with lingering cold

[CAbbas]

My little girl is 6 months and has had a cold for 5 weeks now. The first week she had a low grade fever which was kept at bay with Calpol and since she's just been snotty and coughing.

She's happy enough in herself but the cough wakes her up at night which makes for exhausted parents! She's sleeping a lot in the day (2 hour+ naps!) which I expect is normal if she's unwell.
Last week she had conjunctivitis on top of it all for 8 days....
I've been using saline to help with her blocked nose and I think the coughing is more as a result of the mucus from her nose irritating her throat than a chest infection or anything. I've also been putting Karvol on a muslin on the side of her cot.
I've been to the doctors twice: after 10 days of cold when she was coughing so much she would throw up after her feeds and once when she had the conjunctivitis. Both times I was just reassured and told that the cold would eventually clear. I'm a first time mum and don't know if there's anything else I could be doing to make her more confortable and help her get over this nagging cold...
Any help?? :(

Hi there. Reading your message, it sounds like you are describing my little girl who is also 6 months old! She has had a cold for 5 weeks, too - a nasty cough and a constant stream of mucus from her nose - which all seems to be worse at night. I am doing the same things as you e.g. karvol and sometimes calpol.
I went to the Doctor on Tues who said the same thing - not gone to her chest, nor is it an ear infection. Just said it was an Upper Respiratory Tract infection (aka a common cold!) and that she had probably had 1 cold after the other (she has just started nursery 3 days /wk which is what has done it, I think!).
Anyway, I was reassured by the doctor and like your little one, she is happpy in herself - but it is getting really tiresome now - and I know she is getting fed up too - but I think we just have to tough it out!
PS - have you tilted her cot mattress up a bit? Also, taking her into a steaming hot bathroom (run hot shower for a while with door closed). As your post was a few days ago now I am hoping things might be better for you already, anyway? Good luck!

Humidify the air as much as poss. So hot steamy baths, in the kitchen while you're boiling pasta etc. Place a pan of water on/by the radiator. You can also buy a humidifier if you want.

It's tough. My ds is nearly 1yo and is going through the same thing.