My three year old wakes up frequently in the middle of the night saying she can't breath and that she needs to blow her nose. In reality, her nose is just congested but there is nothing to blow out! So what should I do for her? Once she gets up, it goes away?
I am going to put a cool mist humidifier in both our rooms since she usually ends up in our bed in the early mornings.
I have thought about saline spray but she hates how that feels in her nose. She uses a pillow so her head is elevated.
Any other ideas? What abou Vicks vapor rub on her feet (heard this works?)
The Little Noses spray is more pleasant to use than the other kinds. The others come out as a stream while Little Noses makes more of a mist.
The misting 'Little Noses' saline spray isn't as bad as the regular stuff. Specifically, we use the Baby stuff.
However, I'd suggest humidifier like you're saying, but maybe do one of those plug-in Vicks things too. That helps my 2yr old and myself!
my infant was having those problems and it was actually reflux causing the problem. Elevating the head of the bed fixed the problem.
Do you have an allergy control pillow case? Perhaps she's allergic to dust mites which are prevalent in bedding and stuffed animals. I wash my daughters stuffed animal periodically and I have the allergy pillow cases on each of our pillows.
Also, I find that the vapor rub works much better on the neck and chest area to help with the breathing. I've tried putting it on my LOs feet but it doesn't seem to do much. Also giving her a warm bath at night with some eucalyptus oil will help clear the sinuses. I'm going to try some California Baby Colds & Flu Bubble Bath for my LO which has eucalyptus oil among other ingredients. It's received good reviews so far. Anyhow, good luck!
She might have allergies. You should take her to her doctor. My daughter was the same way at about 2 1/2 years old. It seemed to only really bother her at night. So the doctor gave her some prescription allergy medicine and nose spray. I know you said your daughter doesn't like the spray but it helped my daughter so much. She only had to use the spray for a while and now i only have to give her allergy meds once in awhile.
Careful with the Vicks: it actually causes congestion in a significant number of children (google for info). I can't breathe anything mentholated or I get asthma and severe headache.
Lying down increases pressure in the head, and can cause swelling in the sinuses. Allergies or sensitivities to dust (in stuffed toys?), laundry products, and even plastics and other synthetics in the bedroom can increase congestion or cause hoarseness.
The pillow probably helps if it's a pressure thing, and the humidifier will probably make a difference. Keep encouraging the saline spray – if she has any kind of chronic nasal inflammation, it will probably help, too.
A friend of mine took her son to a pediatric naturopath recently, and has been more than pleased by his improvement for similar nightime symptoms. It might be worth getting an evaluation.
Yes, what does the Pediatrician suggest?
My daughter had the extact problem when she was 3. Her doctor referred us to an Allergist in St. Louis and lo and behold she was found to be allergic to quite a few things. We ended up giving her OTC Zrytec right before she went to sleep and this totally took care of it.
elevate her head (two pillows)
humidifier in the room
saline spray
although my daughter gets claritin just before bedtime. helps keeping her nasal airways open
she has also been out on nasonex which she gets once a day in the morning (it's a nose spray. given with rx).
Rather than using just a pillow to elevate her head, I would put something under the bedposts at the head of her bed. Or like another poster mentioned, put a pillow under the mattress at the head of her bed.
I have never heard of putting Vicks on feet to manage congestion. I have used that "home remedy" for coughs, though. :)
It sounds like maybe there is something in her room/bed that she might have allergies to, if it only happens at night when she is sleeping in her bed. What is her pillow made out of?
What does her doctor say?
