DEAR DOCTOR,

My two-month-old daughter recently caught a cold and now, her nose is blocked, and she is having a hard time breathing through her mouth. How can I make it easier for her? I worry that she may suffocate. Are there some natural home remedies I could try to help her breathe through the nose normally and perhaps deal with the cold too?

MAY

DEAR MAY, 

Nasal congestion or "stuffy nose” occurs in a small baby, as in an adult due to inflammation of nasal mucosa. Inflammation tends to produce more secretions, which get dried up, causing nasal blockade.  It can be due to viral infection, exposure to cold, allergy to something around or applied over her body or sinusitis, i.e. inflammation of the air sacs in the skull.  Nasal congestion can be due to extremely dry air or even due to hot weather.  It is a fairly common problem and pretty harmless. Fever would occur only if there is a superadded infection. Usually it clears up in a week or so. But if it is severe or recurrent, there may be problem in feeding and or sleeping.  Due to blocked nose, the infant has noisy breathing, which may be rapid too. Overall it becomes scary for the parents to watch. 

Steam inhalation is something easy to do and can help to clear the blocked nose. As a paediatrician once advised, "just hold your baby tight in front of a kettle/vessel emanating steam for just a short while. It will be automatically inhaled by her. More she cries, more steam will enter inside the nostrils and humidify dried up secretions, thus clearing the blockade.

The dried up secretions inside and around the nostrils can be cleaned using a soft napkin dipped in lukewarm water. This serves to clear the nasal passage efficiently.  Lukewarm or even room temperature saline drops can be put in both nostrils. One or two drops can be put in each nostril with a small dropper, as many times as needed or advised by a medic.   The secretions can be cleaned gently with a soft humid napkin or sucked out by a small suction bulb. Using a room humidifier is also beneficial. Keep the head slightly elevated when she is sleeping. This will minimise the discomfort of a blocked nose. Giving a warm bath to your baby would help to relieve the nasal congestion, as well as provide her a feeling of freshness.

Continue to breastfeed the baby. If the baby has a problem in sucking due to a blocked nose, breast pump can be used to suck the milk from breasts then she can be fed with a clean dropper or bottle. Breast milk will keep the immunity high and minimise risk of any infection. Avoid using chest rubs or nasal drops with chemicals, as it may provoke allergy and induce more secretions, thus augmenting the problem.

Consult a child specialist, if along with nasal stuffiness, the baby has fever or is irritable, refusing feeds or sleeping poorly.

Dr. Rachna Pande is a specialist in internal medicine.

rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk