7 month old can’t shift cold

[becomingfall]

Hi everyone.
As the title says really, my little 7 month old has his first cold and it’s just not going. We both had it (daddy has escaped somehow!) the first weekend of April, mine took a while to clear up but he’s been on and off since then and it’s awful again since this weekend.

His nose is streaming 24/7 and so blocked, his eyes are red, constantly sneezing. His eyelids were swollen this morning. He had a very barky cough and wheezy chest when he woke up today so I did wonder if he was developing croup but it does seem to have settled now. He doesn’t have a fever. He’s lost his voice, can’t make his favourite squealing noise and can only produce a cry at about 1/10th of his usual volume!
No chest recession and doesn’t appear to be working overly hard to breathe

Anyway I know I likely can’t make it go away faster for him but does anyone have any tips/tricks/advice on how to make him more comfy while we wait it out??

Any chance there could be an element of hayfever involved? Is there a history of atopy in the family (asthma/eczema/hayfever)?

Have you been able to discuss it with your GP?

Otherwise there has been quite a variety of respiratory illnesses that have peaked this year that they could be working through. It's quite possible they have gone from one thing to another as they're at that age where they're building their immunity.

Sorry that wasn't much help on the tips and tricks.

It's a bit limited under 1 - if you felt it was allergy related you would need to discuss antihistamines with your GP. You can try a smear of vaseline around nose to 'catch' the pollen to help.

Their airways are very small so even minor inflammation can cause blockage and irritation/discomfort. Saline nose drops can be used to 'unblock' the nose which is available from most pharmacies.

Otherwise lots of fluids, lots of cuddles, raising the head of a cot slightly to keep them more upright. There are decongestants you can ask the pharmacists about.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/health/colds-coughs-and-ear-infections-in-children/

@Womblingmerrily thanks, hayfever might be a good shout actually. His dad has eczema and baby also has a couple of patches that have took us a while to get on top of, he also has an oat allergy (originally thought to be CMPA) so I will definitely consider hayfever.

No contact with GP yet, spent 35 mins on hold this morning then gave up as his wheeze and cough seem to have settled a bit and he was sat playing. I will try again tomorrow if he doesn’t get worse today!

so rubbish not being able to much to help them isn’t it!

It is so difficult with little ones - and at 7 months they're so new, still experiencing the seasonal changes and just starting to build up immunity which is a long and painful process (mainly for you.)

I would persist with trying to get some sort of GP contact to discuss over the next few day, even if there's no face to face appointments. There is always an assessment with 111 who can at least pass on information/ referrals to your GP or clinicians (Paramedics/Nurses) may call you back to have a discussion with you.