My little guy is just two years old and every night he wakes up with a stuffed up nose. I had been giving him allergy medicine (Zyrtec, on doctors orders) last fall for stuffiness and allergy type symptoms, so I started it again with the warm weather thinking that was the problem. He has no other signs of allergies, just a stuffy nose at night. Not before he goes to bed, when he wakes up after a few hours, he is completely stuffy. Not to mention this causes me and him both to miss out on a good nights sleep. The Zyrtec had been helping for a while, but now it doesn't do anything- not to mention I hate to have my kiddo on meds all the time. Have tried humidifiers, propping him up on a "flat" pillow, and saline spray to no avail. At his two year check up, the doctor seemed to think he might have too much dust around him. So, I washed all stuffed animals, bedding, even pillows themselves. I have always changed bedding weekly. Nothing has seemed to help. Any thought????
You might consider a new mattress and pillow. Mold and dust mites in pillows and mattresses is not at all uncommon. Also, invest in mattress covers and pillow covers.
Mucinex does wonders!
Have you tried Vicks? It might help, although it sounds like you've tried a lot of things. Seems odd that nothing helps, I would ask your doctor what other thing might be causing this.
Same thing happens to my daughter who is 4 1/2. I have found Breathe Right Nasal Strips for kids work wonders!
When my son was little we had to (you're not going to like this) pull up the carpet and relace it with stick tile or another hard floor. Got rid of all stuffed animals & replace the curtains with mini-blinds. I even had to get rid of his bed and dresser because it was wicker. We got a new mattress and pillow - but that was mostly because he went from a crib to a twin bed (it was a bunk bed so my husband stained a 2X4 to match and used it on the bottom bunk so he would'nt fall out). It was kind of drastic but I didn't have to keep him medicated that way.
Hi M., our son is 3 1/2 and having problems too that I'm trying to figure out, so I don't know if I can help or not. He's had a runny nose since the beginning of May and we kept trying all the allergy meds: zyrtec, allegra, claritin, and benadryl, plus a couple nose sprays, with no luck. He was tested for allergies in February of this year and came back with only a few mild seasonal allergies, nothing major. Well then a few weeks ago, after 6 weeks of runny noses, he came down with a mild case of pneumonia, so got a Z-pack for that, although his nose was still runny, but at least less so. Now for the last week he'll be OK during the days but then wake up at night with a coughing fit, so much so that he usually throws up! so I can totally sympathize with the lack of sleep for everyone!! I did try Mucinex Cough last night which may have helped a little. I don't know if it's just the pneumonia working its way out, or if it may be allergies (he does sneeze a lot, plus his eyes itch so it seems like classic allergies) that he may need a shot for instead of just over the counter allergy meds. It might also be acid reflux since he has these coughing fits at night (I dont' know if that might be a problem with your son getting congested too?). We've been to his doctor numerous times these last couple months over this, and now we have to go back tomorrow, but I tell you what, I'm not going to settle for weasel words and take more medicine, we're all way too tired for that! I encourage you to do the same and hopefully we'll all figure out what's going on with our babies! Good luck, hope we get some answers!
See if he does any better next time you spend the night somewhere other than home. You may have a mold problem. We are in a rental right now while our house is being built, and my son has had so many sinus/ear infections since we have been here that we had to have tubes put in his ears. I am sure that his problems are allergy based, and I suspect this rental has mold issues. We can't do anything about that, since it's not our house. I don't know what you do about it if it is your home, but I think if you Google it you can find out how to get your home tested and, if necessary, treated.
my son's allergist recommended NOT using an air purifier. He suggested eliminating all possible allergens....not just washing the stuffed animals, but removing them from the sleep area. He also suggested hardwood floors & checking for mold in the house. No smoking in the house, & keeping pets away from the bedroom. All of these helped, but the mold issue thru summer months was a challenge. We tried not to open our son's bedroom window, & kept the AC filter bleached. Hope this helps!
I'm wondering what your pillows are made of, my brother had this problem with feather pillows. Mom has a dust allergy and got a good air purifier with a hepa filter, that she keeps in her bedroom at the doctors recommendation. She said that the dust started disappearing from her room soon after using it. Try taking the stuffed animals away for a while to see if that helps too. Hope some of this will help, as a person with persistent allergies I say try the Zyrtec again, just give it to him about an hour before bedtime, I found that taking the allergy meds at night help you wake up feeling better, you can handle symptoms better when your upright and awake, so having them wear off in the evening is better than wearing off just before you wake.
Have you tried an air purifier? Be careful with the stuffed animals as they collect dust. Zyrtec is good and one of the few things you can give kids they are under three years old. Does he maybe have any food allergies? May be you should take him to be tested for allergies. There are hypoallergenic pillow cases and sheets. They sell them,you have to look for them. I would try bye bye baby or bed bath and beyond. An allergist may be the best thing at this point. Good luck
Have you tried vicks vapo rub? I use the adult strength on my boy's chest (2yo and 5yo), but they also make a pediatric strength. You can also use the adult strength on the bottom of their bare feet if you are still uneasy about it.
