ideas on how to help congestion and coughing please

Hi all! My little guys both have bad congestion and wet sounding coughs. The congestion is more in their chests and not so much in their noses (they can still breathe through their noses and don't have a problem eating). I called the dr. this morning and the nurse said that I didn't need to bring them in unless they started showing signs of respiratory distress or had a high fever or both. So, now what can I do for them now that I'm at home? DH went and bought a Vicks Plug in for their room and we used it last night, they haven't gotten any better or any worse, so, I don't know if it is working or not. The nurse didn't give me any suggestions to help them, so, does anyone else have any ideas?

 

Hi all! My little guys both have bad congestion and wet sounding coughs. The congestion is more in their chests and not so much in their noses (they can still breathe through their noses and don't have a problem eating). I called the dr. this morning and the nurse said that I didn't need to bring them in unless they started showing signs of respiratory distress or had a high fever or both. So, now what can I do for them now that I'm at home? DH went and bought a Vicks Plug in for their room and we used it last night, they haven't gotten any better or any worse, so, I don't know if it is working or not. The nurse didn't give me any suggestions to help them, so, does anyone else have any ideas?

 

I was always told to use a cool mist humidifier too. BUT, I would not let them keep telling you that they had to have a fever. Lauren never ran a fever, but her cough wasn't getting any better. So, I took her anyway and she had broncholitis... so, if it doesn't get much better, insist that they are seen, or find a new pedi.

HTH

 

If the cough keeps up for more than a week or you notice Wheezing - take them to the Ped. You may need a nebulizer. Hope your babes get better soon. We've been at this for 6 weeks off and on and it's hard.

 

Mine just finished up their 2nd colds! I tried the Vicks cool mist vaporizor without much change, so asked my pedi & he told me to use a warm air humidifier & it helped alot. His thoughts (cool vs. warm) were, if they can't get out of the crib, they can't get burned. He's also against giving any meds at their age (though I did rub Vick's Baby on their chest when it got really bad & it helped with congestion). The other thing that seemed to help alot is I would take them into the bathroom with me when I showered. I'd leave them in just a diaper (so they wouldn't get too hot) in their bouncy seats & not turn on the fan so the bathroom got real warm & steamy. Hope this helps!

 

I love the vapor bath! IMO the cheaper walmart brand works just as well as the J&J by the way. I have also used the J&J soothing vapor baby cream, just a little on the chest, and like the PP said, a steamy shower works pretty well. HTH!!

 

Griffin is just getting over his second cold. I use a warm mist humudifier in their room, and I rolled up a towel and put it under one end of his crib matress so it's on a slight angle so he sleeps with his head slightly higher than his body and I find this really helps with the coughing at night. Hope your babies feel better soon!

 

My boys just got over a cold they got right after Xmas, they had teh stuffy nose then it just went to a deep cough kind alike you explained, they had it for 2 wks approx before it went away!
When my kids are sick I give them a bath with this vapor bath soap then I have a vaporizer in there room , one that you plug in.. plus I put vicks on there chest... Seems to work for us,, hope this helps

Misty!