Runny Nose - Sandusky,OH

It sounds like allergies to me. My daughter had a clear runny nose for almost 4 years and I finally got it cleared up by restoring her immune system, eliminating sugar, dairy and refined carbs. You may consider trying probiotic and even experimenting with eliminating dairy if he is on milk based formula or eats other forms of dairy. You may not need supplementation at this point but if it goes on too long...a chiropractor with nutritional experience is who diagnosed mine with yeast and we treated it with a whole food supplement called zymex. it worked wonders with her congestion and constipation.

The first thing that popped into my head was allergies. My husband has them and has had a runny nose all this month. Get him checked out and good luck.

There aren't a whole lot of meds you can even give an 8 month old for a runny nose. As long as it's running clear, not green or a lot of yellow, you are fine. Humidifier in the room, laying in a proped up position and that wonderful blue buld to suction out as much as you can often.
If it's green or yellow I would call the ped. Green normally is the tall tale sign there's an infection.

One product that I use when my child has a stuffy nose is Aura Caccia Clearing Kids Foam bath. It is made w/ eucalyptus. Actually smells great.
It is free of parabens and sulfates, so I feel it is fairly gentle.
Obviously this isn't going to make a runny nose go away, but it does help a little I believe.
I also wouldn't medicate a stuffy/runny nose. :)

It's possible your son could have a food allergy or sensitivity. The most common ones are dairy and wheat (I have both). Wheat can be especially interesting, because it can compound allergic reactions, even to other allergens.

I wish I had known about my sensitivities years ago. Once I stopped consuming wheat, dairy, and sugar, I started feeling better than I have in about 30 years. I still eat oats, and I use tofu or avocado in place of dairy (the texture is wonderful and reminiscent of cheese), and I use either honey or pure maple syrup in place of sugar. To replace milk, I use either Trader Joe's Light Coconut Milk (texture of heavy cream for cereal ~ yum!) or rice, almond, or soy milk.

Do allergies run in your or his dad's family? My kids are allergic to tree & grass pollens, but fall is just as bad on them because of all the leaves falling (some pollens stick to the leaves and when they dry up they cause my kids issues). Some kids will only get a runny nose & get congested, but others will get the red, watering and puffy eyes or a cough also. Sometimes it is hard to tell if it is just a cold or allergies. Personnaly, if I don't treat the allergies (Zertec - 2 of the 3 were on it before they were a year, the 4 yr old was just started this year he isn't as bad as the others 2 though) mine will end up needing treatments for ashma... or when it gets to bad I can't treat at home - off to the hospital we head and hope it's not another hospital stay (cause thouse are never less the 3 days).

Might want to check into the family histories a little or talk to a doctor and see if he does have allergies. They are something they can "grow" out of, but please don't let him suffer through them.

Oh, and humidifers aren't always the answer... when my daughter was in the hospital - I was told they are one of the biggest NO NO's for kids with allergies and ashma. Because they actualy can cause the airways to restrick more - which means it is even harder for the little guys to breath and keep their O2 levels correct.

Good luck & I hope his runny nose clears up soon!

I'm guessing it's just slow teething. Is it yellow or green, or just clear? That's the best indication of infection. If it's clear and thinner, it's teething or allergies.
Run a humidifier in his room at night and when he sounds congested, drip some breastmilk in each nostril - it works better than saline!

E.,
It sounds like maybe allergy's to me. You don't say he is coughing or fussy and has no fever so I would give him warm liquids to drink and see if that helps. Also use a suction bulb on his nose as often as possible so it doesn't get sore from running.You can use lip chap under his nose to help keep the skin from getting sore, but it has to be reapplied every time you wipe his little nose.I wouldn't worry to much unless his chest starts to sound congested, if it does then I would see his Dr.

YOu could run the cool mist humidifier and give him some saline drops and sucction his nose before going to bed. I would do this with my kids and it would help them sleep better. Once they would get better sleep it seemed to clear up. YOu want to be careful with the saline drops, my daughter would end up with an ear infection every time we would give her the drops but my boys did not. So just keep an eye on him.

Is he breast fed or formula? If he's formula, you might try taking him off the dairy for a while & see if that helps. Try using soy formula. If he's breast fed, then I'm not sure. My DS had a similar problem & also kept getting ear infections. Ends up that he was allergic to milk. Put him on soy, the runny nose & ear infections stopped immediately.

E.,
Sounds exactly like my 6 month old. I swear she's had an itty bitty cold for like over a month now. Hasn't gotten any worse at all, might even clear up for like 2 days or so then comes right back. Like you said no fever and very playful, just nose runnin' and congested. I was told though that they don't "diagnose" (or whatever)allergies until kids are like 4 or something. I don't know whatever. All I can say is hopefully you're nursing 'cause that helps tremendously. I don't like to give meds either unless it's absolutely necessary. By the way, been looking for teeth too. None yet.