coughs +colds

[leander]

My Ds 5 mo has got a bad cough + cold and just wont take his bottles, he takes some but struggles to breathe so we take it really slowly but he gets really frustated and starts screaming and then refuses to take anymore.I am worried about him getting dehydrated but what can i do? He is also teething which doesn't help.

Are you giving him milk? Maybe you can give him another type of liquid if he is congested. Milk just seems so unappetising when you have a nasty cold. I know your ds is young but something else might not hurt for a day or so. That is if you are giving him the milk.

If his nose is blocked maybe saline nose drops would help clear it.

Is is nose very blocked? perhaps he doesn't want to suck a teat for too long because he can't breathe through his nose?

Just re-read your message and see that you have already said that he struggles to breathe. If you can clear his nasal passage somehow, he might be more happy to feed from a bottle. Some mothers suck out the mucus from their baby's nostrils as a quick way of clearing them. Something to consider if the medicinal route fails!

Thanks for all your advice I think i'll try the vapouriser not sure about sucking the mucus out!!
any advice for his cough?

Our hv recommended putting some Karvol rub onto the hand that I use for feeding our dd when she has a cold, so that she can inhale it and so breathe more easily whilst drinking. You could also try rubbing it on your chest for him to inhale as he is on your lap. (I don't think it is suitable to rub on a baby until 6mo). Also taking him into a steam-filled bathroom might help. The only advice that we were given re. coughs was to raise the head end of dd's cot (not the matress) with something about as thick as a Yellow Pages.

I also found that the steam filled bathroom helped dd a lot with breathing, so did raising her mattress with sleeping. Good luck!!

Leander, you can get a thing from chemists to suck the mucus out but my dd never liked it. Try putting karvol on a muslin and put that on your shoulder or near where he is when you are feeding him.

Also, Saline drops are great.

For teething I an expert, dd been doing it since 8 weeks and getting everything too early (!) - Teetha homeopathic granules are great, you can get them at Boots, Sainsburys etc.

Also agree with the vaporiseur and the raising the mattress up - we do all of this and it helps.

Olbas oil on a hanky tied on to the bars of the cot. A couple of drops really helped ds1 with his first cold at 18weeks. Also a drop or two in his bath (big bath, rather than small one) worked well. We also use a vaporiser (plug in job from Boots-excellent) in his room and tipped the bed up. Stopped this once I realised that he tended to turn 180degrees and end up head down, not v helpful!! Like the sound of Ionesmum's advise with the Karvol on the hand!! Great tip.

Thanks all, Ionesmum the karvol on hand was great it really did help he's starting to take his bottles again and is feeling much better.

Great!