My family (and in-laws and sil and niece and nephew!) are leaving for Disney World on Saturday. Obviously my 9mo is recovering from a horrible double ear infection and has a really stuffed (though not at all runny) nose. He's at the end of a run of Z-pack antibiotics and the dr. gave us the go-ahead to go, not that there's much of a choice anyhow... I'm wondering if anyone has some suggestions to keep him a bit more comfortable on the plane. We give my 3yo lolipops for take off and landing, which of course she LOVES, but clearly that's not a choice for my little man. I'll try to nurse him or give him a bottle (he doesn't do the paci thing and while he does suck his fingers, he can't because he's so stuffed up) but am looking for some other ideas to keep him swallowing and hopefully not feel like his head will explode. Thanks in advance :)
Ditto the suctioning. Use some saline spray (Little noses, etc...) and suction him before take off and landing. Good luck!
I just spoke with a pediatric ENT surgeon that I work with and he suggested some Afrin nasal spray before you get on the plane to decrease the congestion. He also said that you can give a little Sudafed also to decrease the congestion. This should make for a very comfortable flight for your little one!
When we took my daughter to Disney in October she had just had ear infections too. ( 10 mos. at the time) Our doctor gave me drops for her ears to give her before take off. They were like the thick greasy ones I remember getting as a kid....but they really did seem to help with the pressure and slight pain from the take off and landing. It would not hurt to ask. I have also done the vicks thing on the feet....helps a lot!!! The best is if you can get him to nurse or bottle feed. Have a great time!!!!
Great ideas, feeding him on landing works a treat....and when all else fails, his crying will help - they have to take another breath! Enjoy your holiday!
Do they have infant benedryl, that might keep him more comfortable and maybe sleeping, better that than having him scream in pain because of the pressure.
Get one of those nose bulb things and suck out all the "stuffiness" before he get on the plane, and even before landing if you can.
Old nurses trick to get them to swallow (also works to get them to swallow medicine)....blow in his face, they swallow by natural reflex! I'm not kidding, it works. Also pacifier should be a last option...yes they do the suck motion but its the swallow that really helps. So I would try nursing, then blowing and last case the pacy. Good luck!
Try using a teething ring I know it is difficutl to keep them frozen during a flight but that helps. The other thing that I used is put a little vicks ont he bottom of his feet and put his socks on (I know sounds odd) but for some reason it always helped my kids when they were congested with breathing through their nose.
Hope it helps
You can manually pop his ears. Pinch his nose with one hand, and then pump the little tab on the outside of the ear in a couple times. Practice on yourself first so you get a feel of what to do. Every time you swallow to pop your ears, pop his ears too. That will give you a guage for his discomfort. If another adult is going with you, one of you can pinch the nose, and the other can pop both ears at the same time. It feels a little funny and kind of itchy, but it's not painful, so shouldn't lead to screaming.
One thing that I have found to help with booger-encrusted noses are these wipes called Boogies, which are available at Target (and I'm sure most other places.) It's one of the few things that my son will even let me get close to his nose, and has really helped him to achieve some measure of nasal clarity during his illnesses.
Any reason why the doctor gave a Z-pak rather than another antibiotic? From my conversations with my hubby, who is a physician, z-pak is pretty much no better than a placebo, as virtually ALL bacteria are resistant to it.
