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Original poster

Baby has very very bunged up nose/bad snuffles and difficulty breathing - help please

20 replies

stressed2007 · 09/02/2008 21:01

My 5 week old has suffered from a blocked/snuffly nose since he was born (by c section) . We took him to the doctor at 3 weeks and he prescribed saline drops to put on his nose which do seem to help if only temporarily. However he does sound very bunged up most of the time like he is having trouble breathing and my m-in-law thinks that the reason we have such difficulty getting him to take a full bottle of milk is because he can?t breathe and drink at the same time. I have seen a nasal bulb alluded to in other places as something that sucks mucus out ? is this different to the saline drops I am using? Also can anyone suggest other things which may help. Can you get Vicks/Karvol for babies this young. It is so bad I am thinking of getting a referral to a specialist. Does anyone have any thoughts as to what may help? Thanks.

OP posts:

Lulumama · 09/02/2008 21:03

when you say a full bottle of milk, how much are you giving?

also, all newborns sound snuffly, sometimes a bit congested and blocked up.. but that is not abnormal.

i don;t think vicks or karvol is suitable until at least 3 months

Lulumama · 09/02/2008 21:04

it can take a 5 week old a good while to take a feed and to stop and start a bit

WaldenYapp · 09/02/2008 21:04

Keep putting the saline drops up.They help tremendously.

Also, get your wallpaper stripper going, as well as the kettle, you need steam!¬!!!!

Sunshinemummy · 09/02/2008 21:06

We used a nasal bulb with the saline drops. It definitely helped when DS was little and had a cold.

moodlesoup · 09/02/2008 21:06

our dd was sniffly - we put little containers of water with eucalyptus oil on the radiators to help her breathe.

i'm not sure you can use snufflebabe (equivalent of vicks) until they are 3 months so it may be worth ventilating the room with eucalytpus.

hope he starts breathing more easily.

KerryMum · 09/02/2008 21:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

rachaelsara · 09/02/2008 21:07

Bowl of water on the window ledge above the radiator, or wet towel on radiator for a bit of humidity.

avenanap · 09/02/2008 21:08

How much is he taking? has he always taken this much feed? I'd phone NHS Direct if he stays like this or gets worse. If he can't feed it sounds like he needs medical intervention. He'll get really dehydrated.

Heated · 09/02/2008 21:08

Used the nasal bulb before which was strangely satisfying and ds didn't seem to mind.

I've used Vicks too but can't remember at what age precisely, nor did I know there was an age restriction.

Mercy · 09/02/2008 21:14

As lulumama said - how much is a full bottle, how much are you giving?

Agree with others re bowls of water/drop of eucalyptus oil/damp towels/nasal bulb etc - all worth a try! (central heating/dry air can be a factor too)

And it's not necessarily an allergy. My ds was like this when he was breastfed.

Hope he gets better soon.

LIZS · 09/02/2008 21:18

Use nasal aspirator after the saline and before a feed. You can't use vapour stuff in one so little but could try a humidifier. Alternatively is he sicky , perhaps has reflux which can cause congestion and feeding problems. How much is a "full" feed btw ? mil may simply be expecting too much in one so little.

Shitemum · 09/02/2008 21:21

I second the bulb thingy, mine is actually a tube which you suck on. DDs seemed to welcome it even when tiny.

Showmeheaven · 09/02/2008 21:34

My ds suffered with this a lot. The bulb thingy only helps if there is mucus to suck out. My ds had dry stuffiness. I did everything thats mentioned above, but I also agree with KerryMum, it may be an allergy. You should consider moving him onto Soya Milk if he doesn't improve (talk thru with your GP first).

Showmeheaven · 09/02/2008 21:37

Oh, another thing I use to do was give my ds his bath in the shower room. Put the shower on for a few mins beforehand to get the room nice & steamy. Then bring in his little baby bath and give him his nightly bath in this. The steam really helped to give my ds a good sleep every night.

jollyjolly · 09/02/2008 22:59

My DS got a cold at 2 weeks old, and he struggled to feed quickly too, i just let him have what he wanted when he wanted it.
Regarding the cold. I used saline drops but was very concious of not giving him too many drops. I also found that running the hot tap next to him, making sure i'd got hold of him and his arms. then held him over the sink with the top next to him, helped him sleep much better. I propped up his moses basket at the top end with books, so he wasn't totally flat.
Also from 7 weeks i put some Karvol, a couple of drops not a whole capsule, onto a bib and hung it on the outside of his moses basket. so it was near enough to do something but not close enough to harm him.
I cam to the conclusion that if i had a cold i would put the karvol on my pyjamas, and he'd smell it when he was feeding, so surely i could do that to help his cold.

Just don't over do it. then as soon as he got to 3 months i used medised i think, which was great.

Original poster

stressed2007 · 10/02/2008 00:53

Thanks for all your replies. Just so I have this right here are my points to questions asked and my further questions (sorry to set out like this but I am afraid my post pregnancy brain is terrible and nothing seems very straightforward to me!):

The nasal bulb is different to the saline drops? Can I buy this from the chemist over the counter? As I understand it this will only help with loose snot and not if bunged up high

I can use eucalyptus oil in water on radiators now even though baby only 5 weeks? How much do I add to the water?

Is the baby too young to have one of the electric humidifyers to steam the room? If so does anyone have any suggestions for a good one?

My baby was eating so much last week that when I went to get him weighed the HV told me to up the feeds to 160ml (6 a day). However what tends to happen is he will have 60-80ml and stop and then want more in further 60-90 mins and so on so we can never get him take full bottle. We have bottles very similar to Dr Browns but to be honest I still think he is getting a lot of wind from them. He is on SMA gold. He sounds ike he is gulping for air when he drinks and he is stiff as a board when I try to bend him over to wind him and refusing to bend and writhing around.

Why would Medised help at 3 months - isn't this for pain reief for fever etc?

Happy to try the soya milk but how would we know if this was the reason for him being bunged up/wind. Would the GP run any tests?

Thanks very much. Be great to get some more replies. Am still up with him at 1am so will probably be here all night!

OP posts:

LIZS · 10/02/2008 07:51

The nasal bulb is different to the saline drops? Can I buy this from the chemist over the counter? Saline loosens the dried up mucus so you can suck out the blockage, should clear the nose sufficiently. Try a chemist or mail order ie here.

I can use eucalyptus oil in water on radiators now even though baby only 5 weeks? How much do I add to the water? Not sure

Is the baby too young to have one of the electric humidifyers to steam the room? Is ok afaik

My baby was eating so much last week that when I went to get him weighed the HV told me to up the feeds to 160ml (6 a day). Think that is expectign a lot , he's only got a tummy the size of his fist so his feeding soudns pretty normal to me. Less but more often perhaops.

Why would Medised help at 3 months - isn't this for pain reief for fever etc? Medised also contains a decongestant

Happy to try the soya milk but how would we know if this was the reason for him being bunged up/wind. Would the GP run any tests?

Get dr advice before changing there are associated risks with soya and he could refer if needs be.

hth

Pheebe · 10/02/2008 08:44

Nasal bulbs you can get from mothercare, think I also saw one in tescos yesterday

humidifier is absolutely fine, we used ours for ds2 when he was 3 weeks old. watch your wallpaper though if you're going to use it for a long time, it'll peel

eucalyptus oil, use a desert bowl, half full of water with 1 or 2 drops of oil in it

feeding - I'd try giving him less, say 2 or 3 ounces, more often, say every 2 hours if he's currently feeding every 3. Formula fed babes can cluster feed too, try working out when during the day he's hungriest. our ds2 is hungriest in the evenings so thats when we give him the bulk of his milk at the mo (he's 13 weeks).

fwiw its unlikley to be an allergy if he's been snuffly from birth. definitely don't change him to soya milk without discussing with your gp especially as he's a boy, soya milk contains something (plant oestrogens I think) and there's some concern about giving it to boy babies

Lulumama · 10/02/2008 08:57

agree with everything LIZS has said.

also, a 5 week old baby is not going to drink the same amount every time you feed him, and babies have frequent growth spurts.

once they drain the bottle, add an extra ounce

but don;t worry if htey don't finish every time

and please do not change over to soya without GP or paediactric advice

hope things settle down soon x

LiegeAndLief · 11/02/2008 12:17

My ds was very stuffy, but dry stuffiness, like showmeheaven. He was bf so probably not allergy, but was also born by cs. We tried all these suggestions and more but nothing worked - he used to sound like he was going to stop breathing at night. I went to the gp several times and also told his consultant (he was prem so we had a few hospital visits) but none of them seemed bothered and he did grow out of it, although he still snores! It was awful living through it though. So no helpful suggestions at all but lots of sympathy . Hope some of the advice above works for you.

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