Flying with a sick child

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Hello

I am aware this is generally a very bad idea, but we are moving tomorrow and can't postpone our travel.

Baby altered woke up this morning with a fever of 38.8 degrees. He has a cough and a stuffy nose too. He is exactly five months old.

I have given him paracetamol and his temperature has come down, but I suspect he may still need to take it tomorrow. We are due to fly in the afternoon on a 5 hour flight.

Does anyone have any tips for making him as comfortable as possible, apart from the obvious medication, keeping him well hydrated etc?

Is it possible to travel on an aeroplane with a fever? I presume it is, but as it is not something I ever thought I would find myself doing, I don't know.

Thanks for your help!

as it is a cold, rather than, say, chicken pox, I wouldn't worry about safety to others, loads of people travel with colds.

Do you breastfeed? Take off and landing are the worst moment for stuffy noses, especially in babies. A squirt of breastmilk up the nose is brilliant for clearing it for five minutes, enough for take off and landing. Don't worry if he cries for take off and landing, it is the easiest way to clear your ears due to pressure.

Dose him up about 30 minutes before take off, so it has kicked in before you fly, offer him extra milk if bf, and cooled boiled water if ff. You may be lucky and he sleeps more. Ds once threw up all over the airport and then slept the whole flight!

Thanks steppemum. His temperature is back to normal now, thank goodness, so hopefully all will be well. I will take an ampoule of saline solution for his nose though, thanks for reminding me! I can see myself running into difficulties trying to get the bm up his nose on a crowded plane.

He seems to be sleeping loads today, so not sure if he will still be sleepy tomorrow, but hopefully he will be. I really hope he isn't sick all over me though, ugh!