9-Month-old with a Runny Nose...

Definitely use the humidifier. If he's really congested, saline drops/spray should help losen everything up. Don't feel bad about pnning him down and sucking it out. Sometimes it's necessary. Prop up the end of his mattress where he lays his head - put a pillow under the mattress at that end - so his nose can drain. Take longer baths, a little warmer than usual, so he can breathe in the warm air or sit in the bathroom with him while the steaming shower runs for a couple minutes.

I hope some of these ideas work. Again, don't feel bad about the pnning/sucking. He's too young to have any permanent emtional scars from it! : )

I don't know if you are nursing or not but if you are, you can express some milk and put a few drops in each nostril. Breast milk thins mucus, it's a great decongestant for babies.

I think it's because of teething. I wouldn't consider it a cold or anything, kids get runny noses. I have used X-clear many times to clear my son's nasal passages. You spray it up and then try to use the aspirator. If he won't let you, you can just try to use a tissue. X-clear is a natural saline spray, you can use it for the whole family, it's really great.
The other thing I would suggest and this has been successful for me is to wipe his face and clean his nose in the bathroom in front of the sink while he's in my arms. For some reason the water to his face he is much more receptive to. He sometimes squirms a little but mostly he likes the water on his face so he let's me clean his nose with my fingers and then dry with a tissue.

put him the bathroom in a car seat or hold him and run the hot shower and the steam will but change his clothes in there cause the steam will make his clothes damp

That is common with teething. A lot of companies have pulled cold and congestion medicine off the shelf for young children. I would not use it for a congestion problem unless it is clearly recommended by your doctor. You may want to try a warm bath before bed to help loosen congestion. Never put vicks vapor rub on a child under the age of 5 or use vapor stuff in the humidifier water or those plugs. Vicks has been implicated in infant death.

Hi there -- Your son has the common cold. Absolutely no over the counter medicines at all, unless he has a fever, then tylenol or motrin. You'll just have to wait it out. they last 7 to 10 days (my daughter is always 10 days) I'd add the humidifier (cool mist) to the bedroom when he sleeps and raise the end of his crib if he starts coughing. Don't worry about cleaning out his nose, just wipe it when the snot runs down toward his mouth. If you're still not sure what to do, call you pediatrian.

Good luck.

We're going through the same thing right now with my 10 month old. We use a combination of wiping (with a wet wipe or tissue w/ lotion), suction and saline spray. She just got her first tooth, and she's working on the second.

She hates all of the ways you suggested, so I have to hold her down....I read about a great way...and its to sit on the floor with her head towards you...and pin her arms down with your legs. Makes the suction easy and gets it over with quickly. It really works the best.....saline spray first to loosen, then suck it up with the bulb.

We've used the humidifier, but that doesn't seem to do much.

Taking a hot bath and putting him in the bathroom with you may help too. I also take a bath and put her in her tub seat with me....and the water sprays on her head and down her face and eventually gets some mucous out.

It can be from teething. My girls always had a runny nose when teething. Don't give meds and let it run. As long as he can breath good and it is running clear then let it be! A.

You can try a saline spray to loosen it up. I know the pinning down is horrible, I always thought my neighbors were going to report me or something with how my daughter cries/screams when I clean her nose, and have to pin her down. Then one day I asked my doctor, will it really help her get better faster to always try and aspirate her nose. He said no, absolutely not, it's really only necessary if she can't breathe, and that putting her in a warm steamy bath would help her a lot more. I think it just bothered me to look at it. So, I started just doing a quick wipe if it was dripping, and giving her more baths or bringing her in the shower with me, as she was really sick for a few weeks with a virus and teething. It really helped her be less fussy since I wasn't at her all the time, and it was way less stressful for me. Good luck.

bath's are good, because then you can use a warm cloth to gently wipe his nose. If he is not bothered by any of this, leave him alone. Do not give him over the counter meds. Any doctor will tell you, you are pretty much wasting your time and money. Those nose sucking things, well I never did, or do not know anyone who ever had success with those things. How would you like to have a vacuum taken to your nose. You get what I mean. Good luck, and like I said if he is happy go lucky otherwise, leave it alone, this does happen with teething quite often.

Hi R.. I have a daughter who is 11 mos. She always gets a runny (clear) nose when she's cutting a tooth. I have not found a better way to clean out her nose than trying to distract her and pinning her down. But I have found all natural teething tablets that work really well. They're called Hyland's Teething Tablets. They dissolve on her tongue and she loves them! You can get them pretty much anywhere - Target, CVS, Stop & Shop. Good luck!

Hi R., Have you had your son checked for allergies? they seem to be in full force right now. Yes it could also be from teething and most 9 month olds do not want you to clean their noses. Grandma Mary

I do think it is related to teething. I do not think you should attempt to give any medicine. As long as he is not having too hard a time sleeping and is not complaining about the runny/stuffyness you should leave him alone and just let him get through it. Distraction with books and toy are the best way. Keep his mind off of it the best you can. Drugs are not the answer for this. If his teeth are giving him pain then you can try things for that but not any cold or allergy meds, he is too young for that stuff. He may just have allergies. My son has the same thing right now, and so do I so I don't know if it is a cold or allergies. The other thing is to let the bathroom fill with steam and keep him in the room to help his breathing.

If you wipe your own nose, will he mimic you? You may need to make him unhappy by wiping his nose. I would clean gently with a wet cloth rather than frequently using tissues which may irritate his skin. I don't have any advice about suctioning, I never suctioned my kids' noses when they were babies.