Talk to Cussons Mum & Me about your top tips for dealing with a snotty baby - you could win a £150 voucher plus a year's supply of Cussons Mum & Me products NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

With cold season once again upon us, Cussons Mum & Me, a range of specially designed skincare and personal care products for Babies featuring a special Baby Bath to help Comfort Snuffles, would like to know about your top tips for relieving a baby with a blocked nose as well as your stories about blocked noses and babies.

Here's what Cussons Mum & Me have to say: "If your baby has a snuffle, it can sometimes be hard knowing what to do to help them. That's why we want to hear from you, the real experts. We listened to the voices of over 1000 mums to help design the Cussons Mum and Me range. The special Baby Bath to Comfort Snuffles with a gentle menthol fragrance, offers a different way to help comfort little noses, and soothe baby." All baby products are Paediatrician Approved and Hypoallergenic.

So, what are your top tips for helping a snotty baby? And please share your horror stories of baby blocked up noses on this thread.

Whatever your top tips are, Cussons Mum & Me would love to hear about it.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £150 shopping voucher plus a year's supply of Cussons Mum & Me products.

Please note your comments may be included on Cusson's Mum & Me social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,
MNHQ

We dot vick around the mattress and keep the little one propped up with a slightly higher pillow. We also pop his pjs in the dryer so they are warm and pop his blankets in the dryer too.
We find the warmer he is the better he sleeps especially when he has a cold

Very warm steamy bathroom then outside into the cool air. Then a few drops of Olbas on a tissue to help breathe. This works for me too!

Sniffly noses are a terrible problem. Babies can't breathe, feed or rest properly. My 4 were all in nursery from being v young, so got loads of colds.

During the day, it makes a huge difference just going outside well wrapped up and getting cool fresh air. Being in a hot dry atmosphere indoors makes it much worse. A saline nasal spray helps too.

It's hard to drink or eat with a stuffed up nose, so give foods which are quick and easy to chew and swallow. If they are bottle feeding, give them plenty of rests so they don't suck in too much air.

Avoid wiping the nose as much as possible, as it leads to very sore skin. Dab drips away with balm soft tissues and apply paediatric Vaseline to protect the nose and top lip.

Give them a nice bath before bed and get the bathroom steamy by running the hot shower separately (if your bathroom allows!).

Use menthol or herbal oils like Karvol or Olbas oil. Put a few drops on a muslin square and knot it on the edge of the cot out of reach. Prop up the head end of the cot, either by folding a towel under the mattress or propping up the legs one end.

Thanks for these tips - will give some of these a try. My 12 month old has just started nursery and is on his third cold so far. He hates having his nose wiped... I echo the advice to wrap the baby up and get put in the fresh air when you can.

I swear by Olbas Oil on their pillow, and when they are in bed I pop another pillow under their mattress so they are elevated slightly. Lots of mummy cuddles and Calpol if they are in pain.

Karvol capsules have been discontinued

I used menthol plug-ins, Vicks, Calpol or Karvol depending on which refills I could get. I also bought a vaporiser which you fill with water and Vicks oil. That worked a treat but set off the smoke alarm!

Karvol drops or Olbas oil on a flannel placed nearby work too. Never put it on the pillow because it really stings if you get it in your eyes.

DH is South African and swears by Zambuk as a cure all for everything. When kids are snotty, it goes on their chests, backs and around their nostrils. Lovely & soothing eucalyptus smells

the calpol plug ins were a godsend in our household, pair that with raising the head end of his cot for a day or two and the cold was gone! i bulk bought them when we figured that one out

Saline nasal spray works wonders (although not very popular with my baby girl!). Warm baths help too. Then Baby Vicks all over her chest, back and the soles of her feet followed by a smear of Vaseline around her poor red nose - and hopefully a peaceful(ish) night's sleep ??

11 week old baby just got first cold so reading with interest after very little sleep last night! We bought saline drops yesterday and they seem to have helped...

I put a damp muslin on the radiators with eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender oil spotted onto them. Stops the room being so dry and the oils help with the unblocking. I do it in my own room too!
I agree with calpol when they are miserable as I will always take cold medicine when I'm feeling grotty so why should I treat them any differently?!

DD didn't get to many colds but when she did she was a total snot monster. I'd be mopping nose gunk off my boobs after every feed.

We used saline drops to help alleviate her colds when she was little and they did seem to help.

As well as baths in a steamy bathroom, I put my baby in his bouncy chair and brought him into the bathroom with me in the morning, so he gets the benefit of the steam from my shower.

Baby vapour rub and saline drops are good because they're gentle, my ds found the things that suck the snot out a bit scary!

My top tip is to tilt the cot to a sensible angle so that (to put a finer point on it) mucus runs out freely. Use books or you can buy some cheap blocks off the web.

Vaseline on a sore nose and also taking the LO into the bathroom while you shower. Really does clear a stuffy nose.

Tipping the cot up really really helps.
Saline drops, as others have said.

My 1 year old has asthma which comes out as a dry cough. Last time she had a cold, I put olbas oil on the cot bumper. It triggered a massive bout of coughing which was worse than the blocked up nose. Won't be doing that again. Once we'd done the (dreaded) inhaler she was well and truly awake and upset and more bunged up than when we started.

The plug in vapourisers do seem to work well, and always worked brilliantly for DD1 (now aged 5). However, I tried to buy a second one (when they both had colds at the same time) and am struggling to find one without a nightlight as part of it. I don't want a nightlight incorporated, just the vapouriser part.

Snufflebabe is fantastic when my little one is all snotty. It works like Vicks and helps her to breath at night when she's bunged up.

A mixture of snuffle baby and raising the mattress one end slightly seems to help.

My 11 month old hates having her nose wiped with tissues, but is much more receptive to being wiped with a soft muslin. We make a bit of a silly thing of it, by tickling her face with the muslin then getting a crafty nose wipe done as well!

Also putting olbas oil onto a hanky and then trapping it between the sheet and the mattress. That way the scent doesn't get lost, but isn't potentially right next to her skin/eyes.

I am often reluctant to give medication to the baby. So remembering that when I have a cold, I take medication to help me feel better - therefore it is ok to give paracetamol/ibuprofen to the baby. I wouldn't want to suffer myself, so why should she?

I bring ds into the bathroom with me when he has a cold. When he was a baby I would put him in his bouncy chair, now I let him sit on the floor and play with some toys. Benefits both of us- he gets the benefits of steam, and I get a long hot shower!

Snuffle babe rubbed on the chest worked wonders plus the vapour rings that fit on the top of the bottles clear their nose as they drink

A warm bath or a visit to the swimming pool helps when our DS has a blocked nose. During the night when DS starts snoring due to blocked nose, saline drops are most helpful as they are easy to use and our baby doesn't even wake up!

My dd has issues with her adrenoids and has been mostly snotty from the start, I have always spent time with her in the bathroom, a hot shower on for the steam, which helps break up the phlegm, I then rub Vicks (or equivalent) on her back and chest, as well as a few drops of Albas around the pillow. We also prop her or the bed - up, this stops the snot dripping down and causing her to splutter, cough, get more bunged up. My dd (now 4) has loved, since being around 2, her own cotton little Hankies which she can pop up her sleeve - so sweet, I think it made her feel a little more in charge,?than having to ask for a nose-wipe. From being around 2 we made up a little song called " a pinch and a pull" to teach her to wipe her nose by herself - she loved (and still does) using her little hankies. Snot has been a big deal in our house

What a great idea to develop a product like this.

For younger babies we always used saline drops in the nostrils before breastfeeding and a few drops of karvol or olbas on a hanky in the room out of reach.

I remember my daughter really struggling to breath (to the point of starting to turn blue) because she was so gunked up - Thankfully she was sick to clear the gunk and was ok after that but it was scary.